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SALT LAKE CITY — After a 196.900-193.350 victory against in-state rival BYU last week, the Utah gymnastics team is beginning to find that it's a special group.
The returning members have improved and the freshmen have come in ready to compete and win. It helps generate competition within the squad and is creating a strong team.
“As coaches we like it, but it makes setting the lineup hard,” said co-head coach Megan Marsden.
The tentative lineup is a little different this week. Freshman Sam Partyka is scheduled to lead off on vault after she scored a 9.825 in exhibition — meaning her score didn’t count toward the team but gave her an opportunity to perform at a meet. Senior Corrie Lothrop (9.750) is not set to compete on vault.
Another freshman is also getting the chance to lead off an event this week. Tiffani Lewis scored a 9.850 on her floor exhibition, and she will take the place of Breanna Hughes (9.750), who led off in last week’s meet.
Most of our high-level gymnasts have spent a lifetime trying to be perfect. As coaches, we don't talk about centering in on one item. We talk about using your mental approach and your trigger—whether it be to salute the judge, take a deep breath or put their hand here — to tell themselves 'I'm ready. Here I go,' so their bodies can do what they've trained to do in front of a lot people and judges.
–Megan Marsden
“(Switching the lineups) is tough for them, but in the overall picture it makes for a better team with the competitiveness and vying for spots,” said Marsden.
The competition also makes the gymnasts listen more closely to the score the judges give them.
Marsden explained that the athletes aren’t completely satisfied with all of their performances. But while it may seem like perfection is the goal, given that the sport tends to lead itself to the perfect score, the Red Rocks’ focus is to “put it on automatic” and use a good mental approach.
“Most of our high-level gymnasts have spent a lifetime trying to be perfect. As coaches, we don’t talk about centering in on one item," said Marsden. "We talk about using your mental approach and your trigger—whether it be to salute the judge, take a deep breath or put their hand here—to tell themselves ‘I’m ready. Here I go,’ so their bodies can do what they’ve trained to do in front of a lot people and judges."
This week’s meet is the home opener at the Huntsman Center, and Utah will compete against Boise State, Southern Utah and UC Davis. It’s the only quad meet of the regular season, creating a few differences for the gymnasts, but it’s how regional and nationals are designed. One of the differences is the time between routines. As soon as one gymnast gets her score, the next begins.
“We’ll encourage them to notice how this goes and pay attention to what they need to do with their mental approach," Marsden said. "They may need to speed it up because there won’t be enough time in-between competitors."
As for the more than 7,000 season tickets that have already sold, Marsden expressed the team’s gratitude for the support.
“It continues to show that our marketing team and our fans are extremely loyal to this program," she said. "For many (of the gymnasts), it’s one of the reasons they came to this program. It’s their fans."
