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SALT LAKE CITY — As former Michigan gymnast Abby Brenner walks out of the press conference room in the Huntsman Center, where she passes Utah head coach Tom Farden along the way, she calls him Thomas in a joking but serious tone.
He doesn't skip a beat and accepts it, almost like a father going along with his kids' musings in an attempt to appease them.
Before she leaves the room, Brenner starts muttering under her breath — just loud enough for people close to her to hear — lyrics to the musical "Hamilton." As she gets to the hallway, the lyrics grow louder before she completes the stanza. And she's gone.
It's a quick interaction that summarizes who Brenner is and the personality she has brought to Utah since her transfer as a fifth-year senior over the summer. She's comfortable being who she is — in all its glory — and she injects a rare energy to a sport that often is hyper focused on the smallest of details in hopes of a perfect score.
Brenner is also incredibly talented at her sport and brings a veteran presence — often a reassurance — to a team that is no stranger to competing at the highest level of collegiate gymnastics. In her recent addition to the floor lineup, she brought an energy that carried over to her fellow gymnasts as the team recorded a season-high score.
Her energy — which never seems to dim — is contagious but safe at the same time. And its a boon for the program.
"She's got such a zeal for, not only athletics, but just living life," Farden said. "She just loves to — she's such a positive person, loves to look at the positive sides and likes to get emotionally tied to the athletes, to the program, to her coaches, and is invested in everything that she does. So it's really hard to criticize some of those things, and also it is extremely helpful."
She isn't afraid of the spotlight. She doesn't seek it out like some exhibitionist looking for the next opportunity to bring the attention back to her, but she's not afraid to be the one to stand out, either, even in a new environment. If anything, her outgoing personality shines makes any change that much more palatable.
It's who Brenner is, and it doesn't take long for her to build an instant connection with whomever she meets. It all just comes natural for the three-time All-Big Ten gymnast.
But more than anything, she hopes to be seen as a trailblazer, the one to break the mold and be successful in all she does as a woman with a defined purpose. Gymnastics is her current focus, but she has bigger plans — ones that few women have obtained at a high level.
Once her collegiate career comes to an end, she doesn't want to stray too far from athletics. Brenner wants to gets into coaching, but has an even more ambitious desire to be an athletic director of a Power Five school — a position only five women currently hold at that level. And coming to Utah was her first step in someday realizing her dreams.
Brenner transferred to Utah to compete at a high level for a program with real NCAA championship aspirations, but her transfer was also an opportunity to be a part of a real-life case study to her future. She wanted to be a part of the Red Rocks, who have consistently been one of the most successful women's programs in all the country.
In her undergraduate degree at Michigan, Brenner pursued sports marketing and used her senior project to research the Red Rocks fan base — the always faithful 15,000 that pack the Huntsman Center for every meet to make it one of the most well-attended women's sports in the country.
"How can a women's sport be so popular?" Brenner said she asked herself. "And I was super intrigued by that being just what it is. ... I felt like I could learn so much not only about gymnastics here through different coaching styles or a different program, but also I can learn a lot about the marketing side — how to fundraise, how to do all those things that go beyond the sport, too."
In the world of collegiate gymnastics, Utah is the origin story. Former coach Greg Marsden transformed the sport and saw it for its true entertainment value that has been more unlocked in recent years nationwide — and made even more marketable in the name, image and likeness era of the sport.
What better location to learn how to be a coach or athletic director than the place that features the only program in the country to qualify for every NCAA championship and receive top-tier support for one of its women's sports. To Brenner, it was a no-brainer decision.
"I definitely want to be a trailblazer," Brenner said. "I think women have a very unique perspective, and I think with women's sports coming in in popularity and growing, I think one of the cool things about Utah is it's my first time seeing an athletic department really allocate resources to all different sports and, especially, like a female sport like gymnastics.
"You see how when you put money into it, you actually can see it grow and produce and become such a big thing. But not every athletic department does that. I came from Michigan where it was an athletic program that was strictly football and basketball. Women's gymnastics, we won an NCAA championship and it was kind of just masked, and I think that's kind of crazy."
And most important to Brenner, Utah let her be herself.
"It was such a seamless transition," she said. "I love all the girls here. The coaches have been super great, just like allowing me to be me and not wanting anything different or not wanting me to change or be anyone else, but allowing me to come in here and contribute how I am as a person to the best of my ability, and the girls have been super accepting of that, too."
In the short time that Brenner has been a part of the program, she's infused her flair into the team culture. It's been a natural fit and one welcomed by fellow gymnasts and coaches alike as the team feeds off her energy in pursuit of an NCAA title.
And along the way, Brenner has been given a recipe for how to be successful in her future trailblazing endeavors in the symbiotic partnership.
