The Utah gymnastics team is back in the gym prepping for Saturday’s meet against Washington, but many casual fans now feels that this young Red Rocks team’s loss to UCLA last Saturday means the season is over.
However, the loss brought upon an opposite effect within the team and in the national polls.
Because collegiate gymnastics bases its ranking system off of team scores versus win-loss records, Utah saw a jump in its ranking this week, despite falling to UCLA. The Red Rocks earned a 197.075 in that meet, which was good enough to place them in Super Six contention at No. 6. Ironically, the Bruins were dropped just a spot below the Utes at No. 7.
This didn’t come as a shock for the Red Rocks, who felt their team effort almost handed them the win over a tough Bruins side. Freshman Sabrina Schwab discussed the away meet and why the team is taking the result on a positive note.
“I think we took it more of a win rather than a loss,” Schwab said. “We got a 197 on the road, and we have been one of the few teams to do that. We did the best that we could do. We weren’t upset at all but more excited that we got a 197.”
The Red Rocks are hoping to continue their stride as they head into their toughest stretch of the season after the meet against the Huskies this weekend.
Earning Win No. 50
Over the years, the Red Rocks have had good fortune against their Pac-12 foes from the Pacific Northwest.
Utah has remained unbeaten against Washington in its history, culminating a 49-0-2 record in the process. Saturday’s meet against the Huskies could bring the Red Rocks a half-century mark of wins against UW, which would create a lot of motivation heading into the second — and toughest — half of the season.
Co-head coach Megan Marsden isn’t focusing on the win itself, but the team’s score and how it will affect regional qualifying for her team.
“We would not only like a win but also another great performance throughout all four events, and another high score,” Marsden said. “We only have two more opportunities to earn high scores at home, and our regional qualifying score includes home scores. We hope to use this meet to throw away some 196s we had at the beginning of the season at home.”
Senior Breanna Hughes also believes this meet is an opportunity to build confidence on all four events before heading on the road for three straight meets.
“We want to take another big step forward and just go do our routines like we do in practice,” Hughes said. “We just need to trust ourselves and put in four more solid events. I think that will give us a big confidence boost going forward. We just need to continue to build the momentum.”
Champions in academics
The Red Rocks are not only achieving great performances in the gym but are also getting the job done in the classroom.
The U recently released its academic results from its sports programs for Fall 2015, and the gymnastics program came out on top with a school-high 3.719 team GPA — the fifth time in the last seven years that the Red Rocks have claimed the athletic academic title.
All 12 members of the team made Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, while seven gymnasts earned Dean’s List honors. Even though each member of the team should be proud of balancing good grades with their top-notch gymnastic routines, it’s not surprising that the team’s GPA is consistently on the top of pyramid.
Marsden and the rest of the coaching staff wants to make sure the gymnasts will be not only the best consistently with their routines, but also give their all when it comes to their education.
@chad_marquez