The 2008 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships begin April 24 in Athens, Ga., and Utah will participate as the No. 5 seed.
Turning on the after burners
Utah plans to heal and rest from now until nationals. With several small injuries, the team plans to push through its final meet despite not feeling 100 percent.
“I think when we get into the moment of nationals, we won’t feel it as much until afterwards,” Kristina Baskett said.
Utah dealt with its bumps and bruises just fine during regionals. Nina Kim’s rolled ankle was of main concern, but she competed on the balance beam, a strong sign that she will be ready for nationals. Head coach Greg Marsden said staying healthy while still being productive is the trick to performing until nationals.
“It’s a fine line you walk between doing too much and too little,” he said.
Other bang-ups that Utah is nursing are Annie DiLuzio’s season-long shin woes, Baskett’s ankle, Jessica Duke’s and Stephanie Neff’s backs, Daria Bijak’s knee and other miscellaneous, run-of-the-mill ailments.
All-around champion-less Georgia still team to beat
When Courtney Kupets ruptured her Achilles’ in training March 1, the collegiate gymnastics world gasped. The two-time defending national champion’s season ended abruptly, seemingly opening the door for not only a new individual champion but a new team champion as well.
However, Marsden didn’t get ahead of himself when Kupets went down with the injury. Not only was he saddened by the news that one of the sport’s most prominent gymnasts had fallen, but he also knew it would have little effect on Georgia’s championship prospects.
“They’re probably in the best position of anyone in the country to absorb that loss,” he said.
If nothing else, the team has experience. Georgia is the three-time defending national champion. With two freshmen, nearly every Gym Dog has been on a championship squad.
Add to that the team’s ability to remain the No. 1-ranked program in the nation all season long and its explosive regional score of 197.775, and it’s obvious Georgia hasn’t blinked.
Despite not having an individual ranked in the top 15 in the country in the regional qualifying score standings — Tiffany Tolnay is tied for 20th with an RQS of 39.268 — the team has pieced together an impressive season. Marsden doesn’t think any other team in the country would be in the same position after losing such a key part of its team.
“To lose your best all-around person, you’re just not going to be able to compete for the championship,” he said.
Working overtime
The grind to crown individual and team national champions is a process that takes four meets and three days to decide. After the 12-team field gets trimmed to six over the course of two qualifying meets Wednesday, the top three teams from each qualifying session will move on to Thursday’s Super Six. This championship meet determines the top team in the country, but for the best collegiate gymnasts, this isn’t the end of the season.
On Friday, the top performers from Wednesday’s prelims will battle it out for individual national champion honors. By the end of three straight days of competition, everyone is feeling pretty burned out.
“We can’t let down after the first meet, and we have to bring it up higher for the second,” Baskett said. “When it’s over, you’re wiped (out).”
The team got an opportunity to somewhat simulate the torrid week of competition earlier this season.
On Feb. 22, the team defeated Utah State and Southern Utah in a tri-meet. The next day, the Utes boarded a plane to Los Angeles. On Feb. 24, they beat UCLA in head-to-head competition.
The two-meets-in-three-days stretch served as a sample for the team of what to expect in the postseason.
Marsden said it’s best for the gymnasts to take things one day at a time and use adrenaline to their advantage on days two and three of competition.
He expects the team to be sore after the first day of competition, but that’s all just part of the sport.