It was a long week for the Red Rocks, but in a different sense than the week prior.
Two weeks ago, Utah had an away meet in Logan before traveling to Nebraska just three days later to take on the Cornhuskers.
This week, The Red Rocks never left Salt Lake City8212;but that didn’t make it a short week by any means.
“It was a tough week,” said senior Kristina Baskett. “Just because we did have the full week, (the coaches) really took advantage of it. We did a lot of numbers and a lot of conditioning.”
Because Utah had such a busy week last week, there was a lot of catching up to do in practice this week in preparation for Friday’s meet against No. 15 Michigan.
“We tried to pick up and get a little more done this week,” said head coach Greg Marsden. “Hopefully it won’t backfire, but we had to get back to work on some of the details this week.”
It’s those minute details that will eventually be the deciding factor between winning a national championship and finishing as the runners-up for the fourth straight year.
“We still want to get better,” Baskett said. “Whether we’re No. 1 or No. 2, we still need to improve before nationals. Our sights are set for nationals, not where we are right now.”
Senior Nina Kim, who’s fresh off the first all-around win of her career and was a huge part of those teams that fell just short of No. 1 during the past three seasons, said this is a different year altogether.
“We’re mentally stronger than past years,” Kim said. “We’re stronger than ever as a team and that’s what matters in the end, when we go for the championship.”
The strength of the Utah lineup has been on display all season, with a number of different people stepping up in a multitude of situations. Kyndal Robarts has solidified the beam rotation for Utah since her return from an early-season shoulder injury. Robarts could also return to the rotation of vault as well as floor in the near future.
“Kyndal is very important to us,” Marsden said. “And it was important that we got her back from the shoulder injury.”
As Robarts has made a name for herself on the beam, junior Annie DiLuzio has done the same on the floor for the Red Rocks. DiLuzio is No. 5 in the country on the floor and the junior is right alongside Robarts on the beam.
“Annie does an incredible job for us on floor and sometimes on balance beam,” Marsden said. “But again, she is at or near the lineup on vault, so we expect big scores from her week in and week out.”
Utah will need big scores in the all-around tonight when they take on a veteran Michigan team8212;a team without a single freshman, which is led by three all-americans.
“Right now, because we are No. 1, we have a big target on our back,” Marsden said. “So everybody is going to be ready and be at their best when they see Utah, because if you knock off the No. 1, then it gives your team a lot of confidence.”
But the team is handling the pressures of being No. 1 well. Although the rankings during the season mean little until the national championships, there is no shortage of confidence inside the Dumke Center.
When Baskett was asked if she believed they were the top team in the country the senior simply replied, “Yup.”
“In past years I would hesitate to say that,” Baskett said. “But with this team, this year, I believe we are.”
Tonight marks the start of a three-meet homestand for Utah. After tonight’s meet, Utah will have an off week before hosting Arizona and Florida in back-to-back weeks.
“We’re really excited about the next three home meets,” Baskett said. “Because, obviously, home meets are our favorite, just to be out in front of our fans. It’s nice to have this stretch, especially after the long week we had last week.”
Erik DaenitzAfter returning from an early season shoulder injury, Kyndal Robarts has played a critical role in the Red Rocks beam rotation in the team?s recent meets.
