As the Utah gymnastics team celebrated its first regional win in two years, the Red Rocks are now back in the gym to work on their routines as they learned their fate for the semi-final round at NCAA Nationals.
Being put into the evening session, the Red Rocks are once again placed with rival UCLA, as well as fellow Pac-12 member Cal. Oklahoma, Alabama and Nebraska round out the six-seeded group as they all will be fighting for a place in the Super Six.
But with another extra week of no competition, Utah will once again take advantage of the time off to improve on its competitive drive from Regionals.
Most of the gymnasts, including Baely Rowe, agreed that a lot of routines and performances didn’t go to plan last Saturday, but they felt that their willingness to push on and not give up gave them the winning edge. Rowe also feels that the extra week of practice will help the team substantially before traveling to Fort Worth, Texas to compete.
“We still have a lot to work on,” Rowe said. “[Regionals] wasn’t perfect, but we didn’t need to be perfect. We have a lot to work on at practice, and that’s what we’re going to do these next couple of weeks before Nationals.”
With that in mind, Rowe and the rest of her teammates are ready for the challenges that await them deep in the heart of Texas.
Championship streak stays alive
Utah also had another thing to cheer about after Saturday’s berth to the NCAA Nationals — becoming the only team to qualify for all NCAA championship meets in college gymnastics history.
This is the Red Rocks 35th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and the 41st consecutive overall in postseason history – further cementing Utah’s place in college gymnastics folklore.
Before Regionals, pressure was pushed to the maximum, as the team and coaching staff knew the implications of not finishing in the top two spots to qualify.
Co-head coach Tom Farden especially felt it was necessary for the team to continue the streak of championship appearances, as the streak began before he was even born.
“Obviously Utah has been going to the National Championships longer than I’ve been alive, so that’s intimidating,” Farden said.
The team got the job done, and Farden can relax and prepare for his next challenge in his first year as co-head coach with the big trip to Texas.
Pac-12 schools represent
It was a good day to be a gymnast in the Pac-12 on Saturday, as Stanford joins the Red Rocks, Bruins and Golden Bears to represent the conference at Nationals.
Each team had great performances over the course of the season, with UCLA and Utah each competing at the top of the rankings, while Cal and its close neighbor Stanford rounded out the Top-20.
Having the most teams from a conference compete for a national title is always special for each school involved. Farden also felt that it makes Utah more of a force to be reckoned with towards other teams in their group.
“It’s exciting for the Pac-12 to have that kind of representation at the National Championships,” Farden said. “It means that our conference continues to make a lot of strides with a lot of big teams and good [coaching] staffs. We’re just excited to be part of it.”
With all four teams gearing toward winning this year’s championship, the Pac-12 continues to show its competitiveness in the sport of gymnastics, and will be great news for recruitment for all schools involved, including Utah.
But conference relationships will simmer come competition time, as the Red Rocks and the rest of the bunch focus on themselves with the goal of finishing on top of the podium.
@chad_marquez