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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah gymnasts Georgia Dabritz and Kailah Delaney met each other their freshman summer. Delaney introduced herself to Dabritz in their dorm in a “typical awkward first meeting,” according to Dabritz, and the rest is history.
“They’ve been buds since the beginning and a couple of teammates about as tight as any we’ve had,” said co-head coach Megan Marsden.
Dabritz and Delaney have lived together throughout their time in Utah. Dabritz says her best friend is a neat freak. “Everything has to be perfectly placed and she loves cleaning,” said Dabritz.
Delaney says Dabritz isn’t as aggressive as she appears on the competition floor. “A lot of people think she’s intimidating by how she competes, but she’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met. She’s hilarious and very sarcastic,” she said.
What made the two click is their similar personalities. Before their freshman gymnastics season started, they spent a lot of time together inside and outside of the gym. They’re also both health, society and policy majors.
“They know everything about each other. They understand each other and have been by each other’s side throughout their ride through Utah gymnastics,” Marsden said.
They know everything about each other. They understand each other and have been by each other's side throughout their ride through Utah gymnastics.
–Megan Marsden
Dabritz came to Utah from Newburyport, Massachusetts. Her mother, Karen Tosti, is a gymnastics club owner and coach. Her brother, Russell, competed in gymnastics at Minnesota and sister, Elise, was also a gymnast.
“Utah was my second visit I took,” Dabritz said. “The first school I visited wasn’t very friendly and accepting. When I came here everybody was super nice. The girls came up to me and were telling me about the school.”
The senior has made a splash in Utah’s program. She has seven 10.0 scores — five on bars, one on vault and one on floor — tying for third in school history with former U.S. Olympian Missy Marlowe. Dabritz’s five perfect scores on bars ranks second behind Theresa Kulikowski (seven) and ranks her first in the nation for the third consecutive week.
Delaney, a Yorba Linda, California, native, is a redshirt junior. She received a medical extension after missing the entire 2013 season with a knee injury. She has hit 12 of 12 routines this season and earned 15 career victories.
Marsden said she is nothing less than impressed with the gymnast’s improvements. Delaney has scored 9.9 or better on vault in the last seven meets, ranking her 10th in the nation. Her career best on the event (9.975) came against Stanford Feb. 21.
This year has introduced a challenge to the pair. A talented freshman class and improved returners has given the team several options for the beam lineup, especially if one can’t compete for some reason.
During the second week of the season, Delaney suffered from some dizziness. As a precaution, the coaches replaced her with Dabritz, who scored a 9.85. Her effort earned her a spot in the all-around for five consecutive weeks.
“If I’m in the lineup or if she’s in the lineup, I’m happy no matter what,” said Delaney. “It’s what’s best for the team, and we both trust our coaches’ decisions.”
But then Dabritz fell off the beam Feb. 14 against Washington. The coaches thought it was best to take her out of the lineup and use trainings to regain confidence. Delaney returned and earned a season-high 9.85 her first week back, followed by a 9.825 against Oregon State.
“It’s hard, especially because we are so close, but it’s a friendly rivalry. We both push each other to be better,” said Dabritz.
After Dabritz earned a 9.925 in exhibition in Corvallis, Oregon, the gymnasts swapped once again last week. Dabritz returned to the all-around lineup in front of an NCAA record 16,019 fans. She earned a career best 9.9.
“I looked at Kailah the other night after Georgia’s 9.9 beam routine and said, ‘I don’t know if anyone can fully appreciate how big that is,’ ” Marsden said.
As for now, Dabritz is expected to compete Friday on beam against Georgia. And although the last spot for beam keeps changing, both gymnasts are happy for each other. They say there’s no tension because of it.
“I feel like people think it’s a lot more difficult than it really is,” Delaney said. "We’re happy for each other. It’s just the sport; you have to be supportive of your teammates.”
“It’s really inspiring for us to watch each other go out there and hit,” added Dabritz. “We’re rooting for each other, but we’re also fighting for it.”
So it seems the two gymnasts aren’t letting anything get between their friendship, even competing for a spot on the beam, and instead are wishing they could both be in the lineup.
“I wish we could have eight people in the lineup, but we can only have so many and we have to work for it every day,” Dabritz said.
