Typically, a meet against BYU would be used to warm up for competition against Florida or Michigan, but the tables are turned this time around.
The past two weeks have served as warm-ups for Friday’s meet for the Utah gymnastics team. Utah competed at No. 3 Florida on March 14 and at No. 4 Michigan on Saturday. The Utes welcome unranked BYU to Salt Lake City this week.
Senior night promises to be emotional this Friday when Utah fans watch Jessica Duke, Katie Kivisto and Ashley Postell perform in the Huntsman Center for the last time.
Luckily, the senior nights at Florida and Michigan gave Utah a taste of what to expect.
“Some of us started tearing up, and it wasn’t even our seniors,” junior Nina Kim said of the meets at Florida and Michigan.
All three Red Rock seniors have faced their share of trials and tribulations since joining Utah. Both Duke and Kivisto considered quitting — Kivisto actually told head coach Greg Marsden she was finished at one point — and Postell’s last minute detour from UCLA to Utah added stress to the transition process.
Marsden said if Postell were honest, she would probably admit to thinking about leaving the team once or twice.
Kivisto sat down with Marsden during the 2006 season and gave her resignation. Her freshman and sophomore years were not what she expected them to be.
“The first two years, I had a lot of figuring out to do,” Kivisto said. She left Boca Raton, Fla., to join Utah and struggled with leaving home behind.
An eating disorder during her freshman year made college even more trying, and by the end of her sophomore year, she was questioning her career.
An elbow injury in March of her sophomore year was the final straw that made her quit, but it eventually led to her figuring things out.
With the time off from competition, Kivisto did a lot of thinking and assessed her gym career. When push came to shove, she wasn’t about to let something like an elbow injury make up her mind for her.
“It kind of cemented into me that I want to do this and that I don’t want to give up anything easily,” Kivisto said. “It wasn’t on my own terms, and that was what bothered me at the time. I don’t think it was really because I loved gymnastics. It was because I didn’t want to give up.”
Kivisto got back into the gym and into shape for 2007. Now the team looks up to her because of her commitment.
“Katie really emerged as a leader,” Marsden said.
Duke didn’t have to deal with leaving home because she hails from Sandy. However, the hometown favorite nearly didn’t return for her senior year. Although Duke has not been a star for Utah, she has always been a steady role player. Before this season, that wasn’t an ideal situation for her.
“I’ve learned so much about myself, and I’m ending this year on a really good note,” Duke said. “Fall was really hard for me, and I didn’t even know if I wanted to be here for this last season.”
Gymnastics in the fall consists of conditioning, conditioning and more conditioning, she said. With so much talent on the team and no promise that Duke would see much mat time, the opportunity didn’t always seem worth the work.
“I have to work extra hard to get in shape,” she said. “I don’t have a little body.”
Duke eventually found the motivation she needed during Christmas break and is thrilled with the results. Still in the role-player mold, she has realized it is where she needs to be.
“This year I’ve felt the best that I’ve ever been, but I’ve competed the least amount — but I’m happy about that,” Duke said.
As a junior in 2007, Duke competed much more for Utah because of injuries to her teammates. She knew something was wrong, she said, because she was competing instead of more talented gymnasts. She appreciates her role now because it is better for the team.
Postell said quitting never seriously crossed her mind despite a tough transition from high school to college. When she wasn’t cleared academically in time by the NCAA to attend UCLA, she ended up in Utah, which added to all of life’s other demands.
“I think I would have been a different person if I had gone there,” Postell said.
She feels there is a bigger risk of finding the wrong things to do and the wrong people to be around in Los Angeles than in Salt Lake City.
With their careers coming full circle in the next month, the seniors have one last home meet to show their fans what they can do. They have already proven all they can to Marsden, who said it will be difficult to say goodbye to Duke, Kivisto and Postell.
“You go through a lot with every athlete,” Marsden said.
They have one more month to go through, and everyone is happy they are still able to experience it.