With one final meet this regular season, the University of Utah gymnastics team is on the road this Saturday, March 11, as it travels to Athens to compete against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Co-head coach Megan Marsden acknowledged that the team’s Pac-12 schedule was difficult, but the Red Rocks managed to get through almost undefeated — its only loss was to Oregon State.
Marsden liked this year’s scheduling and how the Red Rocks started out with a team that isn’t in the Pac-12 and how they are finishing with a SEC team that is “veteran-like,” according to Marsden.
“With the Pac-12 schedule sandwiched between both of those meets, it helps us to be ready for postseason,” Marsden said.
As MyKayla Skinner prepares for the final meet of her freshman year, she hopes the team can continue to have fun, but she also hopes they can remain focused. Although Skinner is looking forward to this weekend’s meet and she hopes for another win, she is more interested in what comes after.
“It’s our last meet until postseason so I’m excited for that because [the team] always says [postseason] is a lot more fun,” Skinner said. “I thought season was fun, so I’m pretty excited for postseason to start.”
Utah hasn’t won in Athens since 2011 and Marsden said it is going to take greatness on all four events by the Red Rocks to win on Georgia’s home floor.
“That has been one of the small frustrations for Tom [Farden] and I,” Marsden said. “This team is showing that they are capable of scoring 49.4 or more on all of the events, but not all in the same night.”
Marsden hopes the Red Rocks can go toe-to-toe with their opponent. While a win is the desired outcome, if they can at least hang with the Bulldogs down to the end, Marsden thinks that will be just as valuable for her team, and it will give them confidence knowing that they can compete with the best.
Win or lose, however, the Red Rocks will be fighting for another great road score, and Marsden and Skinner are looking forward to the opportunity.
“We just need to go out there and do what is normal for us,” Skinner said. “We just need to do what we have been doing, have our heads in the game, and get the job done. Whatever happens, happens, but we need to go out there and do our best.”
The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. MT.
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