Season-long preparations have Utah gymnastics feeling comfortable for nationals


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SALT LAKE CITY — With 41 national championship appearances under its belt, Utah gymnastics knows what it takes to advance to postseason.

Last year the team placed ninth of 12 teams at the national championship. It was the first year in program history that Greg Marsden wasn’t at the helm. It was an adjustment year, and the Utes finally learned what worked and what didn’t for Utah gymnastics’ new era.

The Red Rocks adjusted their training this season. They started working on routines earlier in the offseason, something they’re able to do with assistant coach Meredith Paulicivic, who is dedicated to choreographing floor routines. Utah co-head coach Megan Marsden said having someone in the gym to choreograph every day has helped the program create dynamic, unique routines catered to each gymnast.

The team also began doing more pressure sets earlier in the season. Co-head coach Tom Farden redesigned practice a few weeks into the season, having the team go through the motions of a competition, so the lineup competes on every event as if it’s a live meet.

“We’re a stronger team physically and mentally because of it,” junior co-captain Maddy Stover said. “The strict regimen set the team expectations and assisted in prepping the lower classmen early in the season.”

In summer, the team added new equipment in the Dumke Gymnastics Center to mimic the environment at the national championship. The apparatuses are raised on a podium floor and not concrete in postseason competition. Coaches installed a raised beam to help in preparation.

“It’s not raised at the same height used during nationals, but it lets the athletes get a good feel of what it’s like to compete on a raised beam," Marsden said. "It wiggles more when it’s on a podium.”

Most of the Red Rocks have experience performing on a podium because that’s what they competed on in their younger years in club gymnastics. They’ve learned to use it as an advantage because it gives an extra bounce for leaps and tumbling.

Utah will compete in the Friday afternoon semifinal, starting at 11 a.m. MDT, an earlier time than usual that they're happy about because it's at the same time the Red Rocks have practiced all season. If they advance, the team will also have more than 24 hours to rest before the Super Six the following night.

“We like that we’re in the afternoon session,” Marsden said. “The gymnasts have taken early classes all semester, our bus picked us up at 7 in the morning to take us to the airport, and our Thursday practice is at 10:30 a.m. They’re used to an early morning schedule.

“The added recovery time is good, too."

The Red Rocks feel ready for nationals, thanks to their new training and experience performing on elevated equipment. Their goal is to hit 24-of-24 routines, something they’ve done four times this season — against Washington, Oregon State and UCLA and at regionals. The fourth-ranked team plans to focus on one routine at a time, building off each one in hopes to post scores high enough to earn them a top-three spot and advance to Saturday’s Super Six.

“It’s going to take decent sticks and high scores to advance,” Marsden said.

If Friday’s meet goes as planned, Marsden said it will be “icing on the cake.”

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