Over the weekend the University of Utah gymnastics team took on Pac-12 foe California in the Huntsman Center on Saturday, Feb. 4. Despite taking a 196.45-195.725 win, the Red Rocks struggled on their way to victory.
After what seemed like a solid start to the meet on vault, things got sticky when the Utes went over to the bars. First up on the bars was sophomore MaKenna Merrell, but after scoring a 9.75, co-head coach Tom Farden felt that her score affected the mood of the event, and after that the girls began to swing tight.
None of the first three girls scored higher than a 9.8. Sophomore Kari Lee was next up to try and help her team score some high points. However, after overextending a handstand, she had to swing around to get back into her routine. She scored an 8.9.
Junior Tiffani Lewis was up next and managed to not let Lee’s castover affect her, according to Farden, and scored a 9.85 — the highest in the event. However, senior Baely Rowe struggled on bars as well after falling during a transfer from the bars into a handstand. With that fall, Rowe scored a 9.275 and Farden said that it was very uncharacteristic of her.
“When we went to bars, I don’t know what exactly happened,” Rowe said. “I think we got into our head a little bit and kind of let that get to us.”
The Red Rocks didn’t let their struggle on the bars affect them as they headed over to the beam. Junior Maddy Stover was first. Since it was her only event of the meet, she used that to her advantage to give her team the lead after Cal managed to tie up the score.
“Tom kind of talked to us after,” Rowe said. “He calmed us down and said that we had a meet to finish and that is exactly what we did. We kind of grouped together and the first one to start us off — Maddy — we are always confident in her so with her starting us off, we built after that and it was great.”
The Utes weren’t the only ones to struggle on the bars, however. One girl from California seemed to have a hard time making a connection on the bars, and fell twice in the same spot. After finishing her routine, California’s Alicia Gallarzo scored an 8.1. Lewis explained that even though that happened to their opponent, they didn’t really pay close attention to it during the meet.
“Most of the time we like to keep in our own bubble, so we were a little unaware of what exactly was happening with the other team,” Lewis said. “It’s a bummer, but we try to focus on what we can do next, not necessarily what we can go back and change.”
For Farden, he felt the pressure the team felt on Saturday was a good lesson to learn because it is something they will feel once they get to the Pac-12 Championship, and even the Super Six. Until now, the Red Rocks have had the luxury of some kind of cushion through the first two events, and Farden liked seeing them get uncomfortable.
“I want them to be comfortable with uncomfortable, but I am proud of them that they came back in the second half,” Farden said. “It was the tale of two halves. For whatever reason, it was a sticky start. But finishing strong like that, incrementally, I don’t know one coach in the country who wouldn’t be proud of that.”
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