Everyone ranging from gymnasts to coaches to the dust bunnies in the corner of the Dumke Gymnastics Center has reiterated that the U gymnastics team has come together these past few weeks. The Utes will have a chance to prove their rejuvenated unity Friday night at the Huntsman Center, and they will get no better test of their cohesion than when they compete against the visiting No.
Let's face it, as much as every Ute loyalist wished it were the case, the U isn't even close to programs like North Carolina, Duke and Kentucky when it comes to college basketball. While the U may have one darling season out of many where it can compete with teams like Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State and USC, they are not a college football giant, either.
Whether you feel the firing of Runnin' Utes head coach Ray Giacoletti was justified or not, the fact remains that if the Utes don't beat UNLV on the Rebels' home floor tonight, this will be Giac's last day as a Ute. Make no mistake about it, either. The reactions to Giac's resignation vary as much as the "real" reason Giacoletti is stepping down after just three seasons at Utah.
It turns out a loss isn't always worse than a win -- at least in certain circumstances. It seems that is the exact situation the U gymnastics team has on its hands after two losses to top-10 competition in three weeks. "This thing is too competitive. There are too many teams that want to be (at nationals) and are capable of being there to take anything for granted," U head coach Greg Marsden said.
As hard as it might be, try to imagine what you'll be doing next week. Even if you're not a diehard sports fan, you will likely spend some time filling out one of those lovely little NCAA brackets. Now imagine not having the God-given right to be tempted to advance a team like Bucknell, instead of UConn, into the second round of your bracket.
Last Thursday, Kelsey Patterson clinched a second straight trip to the NCAA championships with a sixth-place finish in the 1-meter diving event at the Zone E Regional Qualifier; she finished with a score of 564.05. The Ute senior and reigning Mountain West Conference Diver of the Year also went to the finals of the 3-meter diving event before eventually finishing in 12th place overall.
If some evil supreme being had conjured up all the ways the U gymnastics team's chances could be ruined this weekend at Nebraska, that list would have had a lot of check marks once the Utes took the floor Sunday afternoon. Even so, the Red Rocks gave the Cornhuskers all they could handle-in a building the Utes have won in just once before-only to fall to Nebraska in the end, 196.
At some point during Nina Kim's preparation for the balance beam, Red Rock captain Nicolle Ford takes Kim aside and gives her the best impression of a Tony Robbins pep talk that Ford knows how to give. Kim and the rest of the U gymnasts will get an early opportunity to see what life will be like next year without their captain when they travel to Lincoln, Neb.
While the rest of the student body is freezing its collective ass off, the U softball team continues its tour of warm-weather states with the USF Louisville Slugger Classic, set to begin this morning in Tampa, Fla. The three-day affair will see the Utes take on Auburn, New Mexico State, South Florida, Maryland and Central Michigan.
There is an old adage in sports that you can't teach height. Maybe the same can be said for raw talent. At times, from the looks of the U basketball team, toughness could even be thrown into that category. But if the Runnin' Utes are looking for a good example of a player to emulate, they need not look any further than their own Daniel Deane.
