The Daily Utah Chronicle

Gymnastics inch closer to the start of postseason competition

By By Tony Pizza and By Tony Pizza | March 29, 2007

Real gymnastics season about to begin Even though the U gymnastics team's season officially went underway nearly three months ago, realistically, it is just about to begin. It's not that the meets haven't counted up until now; the Utes wouldn't be ranked No.

Fallout on floor

By By Tony Pizza | March 27, 2007

The room in the Huntsman Center that holds press interviews for the Red Rocks after every home meet is filled with some of the nicest leather couches money can buy. Any member of the U gymnastics team who has been in there can vouch for that. Typically, the atmosphere in that room is more upbeat than "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" could be with Robin Williams as a guest.

N.L. East Preview: Philadelphia will be philling good come October

By By Tony Pizza | March 27, 2007

So the New York Mets finally released Atlanta's 11-year stranglehold on the National League East. Do they have enough to repeat, or will they cough up the NL East to someone else? My guess is the Mets fold and finally give the City of Brotherly Love a chance to like one of its professional sports franchises once again.

Queen for a day

By By Tony Pizza | March 26, 2007

Nicolle Ford had an idea of how hard Senior Night would be by talking to her former teammates, friend and student coach Kristen Riffanacht. Yet no form of preparation could prevent Ford's emotions from surfacing when she was showered by a standing ovation from the 11,256 Red Rocks fans that came to bid the Red Rocks' "Queen" farewell in her last regular-season home meet of her career.

Pizza’s Deliveries: MWC don’t get no respect

By By Tony Pizza | March 16, 2007

See if you can answer this quick trivia question: Name the only two schools outside of the NCAA's six major conferences (SEC, Pac-10, Big East, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12) to participate in the championship game of the men's NCAA Tournament in the past 20 years.

One giant step for Ute-kind

By By Tony Pizza | March 16, 2007

Baby steps. That has been the recent mantra of the U gymnastics team. There is no doubt, however, that the Red Rocks would like to see those steps turn into big ones this weekend in Corvallis, Ore. "It seems like each time we keep taking further steps forward and we're getting a lot better," Ashley Postell said.

Performing major art

By By Tony Pizza | March 15, 2007

When Ute gymnast Daria Bijak arrived at the U campus after successfully defending her German national All-Around championship in September, she looked a little bit like a deer caught in headlights. Three 24-hour transatlantic trips tend to have that effect on a person.

So close, but how far away?

By By Tony Pizza | March 14, 2007

It might be a slight exaggeration to compare the Red Rocks' 2007 journey to the one Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee made just to drop a ring in the red-hot magma of Mount Doom. But the path the U gymnastics team has taken this season hasn't exactly been a walk in the park, either.

McInturff adds icing to end of U swimming season

By By Tony Pizza | March 12, 2007

Before this year, no U swimmer has scored a single point at the NCAA Championships since the 2000 season. Friday, senior Alison McInturff changed that fact as she rewrote history. McInturff broke a Utah and Mountain West Conference record in the 200-yard freestyle when she swam a time of 1:46.

Red Rocks chomped by Gators

By By Tony Pizza | March 12, 2007

The U swim team said it owed the Red Rocks a favor. So nine men from the swim team paid the U gymnasts back by painting "Utah-Utes" on their chests, which helped create one of the most raucous gymnastic crowds ever to grace the Huntsman Center. The U gymnastics team used the energy from the crowd to tie its best performance of the season against the No.