The No. 6 Utah gymnastics team (2-0) will get an early start on Saturday when it welcomes the 11th-ranked Oregon State Beavers (1-1) to the Huntsman Center for their Pac-12 opener. Being Utah’s first matinee meet in school history, the Red Rocks hope to top a tough Beavers side that will give them a run for their money.
The Red Rocks’ ultimate goal is to climb up the rankings after their two wins over BYU and SUU. They feel that a win against one of the best teams in the Pac-12 will give them the boost they need to grab a higher spot.
Utah is also looking forward to senior leader Kailah Delaney returning to the starting rotation. She was forced to sit out of last weekend’s meet due to a knee injury in warmups.
The Red Rocks also want to improve on consistency throughout all events, something they have had issues with in their first two meets.
Oregon State, on the other hand, wants to knock off the top-placed Red Rocks. The Beavers have been one of the best teams in the Pac-12 in recent years, and they hope to get to that top level. If they upset Utah, the Beavers could climb to a top-10 spot in the national rankings, while building more confidence in themselves going forward.
Utah co-head coach Megan Marsden knows how much more competitive this meet will be compared to the last two, and is looking forward to see how her young team handles the pressure of competing against a team that’s one spot away from the top 10.
“Oregon State has been one of the top contenders in the Pac-12 since we’ve transitioned from the Mountain West,” Marsden said. “They’re always in the final rotation at the conference championships, so we know that they’ve placed a big target on our backs for this meet. It will be more competitive than the first two, and I’m interested to see if our girls can step up and rise to the occasion.”
Marsden is also curious about how her younger gymnasts will treat the meet, notably MaKenna Merrell. The freshman has had a somewhat rough start to her first season, but she is looking to improve and compete in more events.
“[Merrell] feels quite a bit of pressure to live to greatness, being a local,” Marsden said. “For the coaching staff, we feel that her impact has been a good one. With our freshmen, it takes time for them to fit into a competitive lineup. I know Merrell wants to do better, and I’m anxious for her to get even better because she feels a little more fulfilled. She hoped to be doing more events and getting better scores, and we know that takes time.”
There is pressure on the junior and senior corps to help lead and get the job done, as well. Senior Breanna Hughes feels the team needs to treat this meet just like any other and trust in their training to help get them over the top.
“We’re not thinking of it as more nerve-racking than it needs to be,” Hughes said. “We just need to go out there and trust ourselves and our training that we’ve been working on all week.”
With that in mind, the Red Rocks are ready to send a message to the rest of the Pac-12 that they are still at the top. Beating the Beavers will make that message loud and clear.
The first Pac-12 meet of the season for Utah will be an early start time at 3 p.m. MST on Saturday, with fans being requested to arrive early.
@chad_mareuz