Only one competition remains as the No. 8 U gymnastic team tries to win its 11th national title at the NCAA Championships, which begin on April 24.
No. 2 Nebraska, No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Stanford, No. 9 Florida and No. 17 Auburn will match-up with the Utes in the evening session of the championships.
“Our session will be difficult, but the other one is also tough,” U coach Greg Marsden said.
Top-ranked UCLA will headline the afternoon session along with No. 3 Arizona State, No. 5 Alabama, who is the defending champs, No. 10 Michigan, No. 13 Iowa and No. 14 LSU.
The top three teams from each session make it to the Super Six, which will take place on April 26, and the winner of the Super Six will be the NCAA champion.
The Utes have had two weeks off since regionals, where they scored a 196.975.
But after the meet, Marsden was concerned about the emotional drain regionals had on the team.
“We were a little worn down,” Marsden said. “But I think we have gotten progressively better throughout the week and now we look like we are back on track.”
The lineup should resemble, if not be exactly like the one at regionals. Star gymnast Theresa Kulikowski, who has had a myriad of injuries, should be competing in the final meet of her career.
“She is doing fine, she really wants to compete this weekend and should have no problem being ready for the bars and beam,” Marsden said.
Other than Kulio, the majority of the team is healthy.
“There are some gymnasts who are worn down, but they should be ready,” Marsden said.
Even though Utah performed well at regionals, if it wants to capture its 11th title, or even make it to another Super Six, the Utes must improve.
“We are rolling right along and I hope that we can improve on what we did at regionals at the NCAA’s and do really well,” Marsden said.