The 2016 regional will mark the 12th time since 1984 that the Utes have hosted such an event. The 2016 regional will take place on April 2 while the 2018 regional will occur on April 7.
“Obviously it’s a big advantage for us with the competition to host it because we have the support of our home crowd, we’re in familiar situations, we don’t have to travel, we’re in our own beds, we don’t have to miss any classes,” said Utah co-head coach Greg Marsden. “All those things are big advantages, not to mention it saves us a lot of money not to have to travel a team somewhere else. We actually make a little money because we’re one of the few places that can host an event for the NCAA in gymnastics and actually make money.”
According to the press release, “The top two teams from each of the six designated regional sites advance into the NCAA Championships. The 2016 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships were awarded to Ft. Worth, Texas, while the 2018 event will be held in St. Louis.”
The Utes have advanced out of their regional into the NCAA Championships every year since the program’s inception. Last season was the first time since 1999 Utah did not qualify for the Super Six, the second round of the Championships.
The Utes will open the 2014 season at home on Jan. 11 in a quad meet against BYU, SUU and Boise State. For the first time in school history, Utah will return all 24 routines from the previous year’s NCAA Championships. Not only is every member of the 2013 NCAA Championships lineup back, but so are Corrie Lothrop and Kailah Delaney, two All-Americans who missed most of last year with injuries. The lone addition to the team is freshman Baely Rowe, the 2013 Junior Olympic all-around champion.
This Friday, the team will hold its annual Red Rocks Preview at the Huntsman Center, where gymnasts will compete in an intrasquad meet. The event is free.
“We were all very disappointed and even a little embarrassed that we didn’t make it into the team finals last year,” Marsden said. “The team has really spent the whole summer and the preseason very determined […] now I think we can really be positive and focused and confident because we know we’re a better team than we showed at Championships last year.”
The Red Rocks Preview will begin at 7 p.m.