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The University of Utah Athletics
1999 Women's Gymnastics Season Outlook
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
December 22, 1998
SALT LAKE CITY - The 1999 Utes know two things for sure: Theyre hosting the biggest gymnastics party of the year in April and theyd love to be invited. The NCAA Championships are booked for Salt Lake City on April 22-24 for the first time since 1994. The current Ute squad would relish an invitation to the national championships for a record 24th consecutive year. Better yet would be a repeat of the accomplishments of that 1994 Utah team, which won the NCAA title. Both tasks are daunting, especially given the virtual boom in nationally competitive collegiate gymnastics programs.
Ute Head Coach Greg Marsden, the only coach in the programs storied history, says the key to success may lie in staying current. In that case, his team should be in good shape.
"I think we have a good feel for what it will take on each event to be competitive with the top teams," says Marsden. "Were determined to do the type of routines necessary to compete at the highest level and we recruited with that in mind. As for the returnees, I sense a determination to build on last years (fourth-place) finish and a realization that if theyre not improving, theyre falling behind.
"The parity in collegiate gymnastics hit home last April, when the difference between second and sixth place was less than one point," notes Marsden.
The 10-time national champion Ute program lost two members off its 1998 team, Traci Sommer to graduation, and Marilyn Ekdahl to early retirement, but Marsden and his staff think a talented freshman class will pick up the slack.
"Traci, especially, was a huge loss, both in terms of her skill and her reliability.You knew you could count on Traci to come through in the decisive moment every time," says Marsden. "The good news is we brought in four very talented freshmen, who in theory, should make us deeper."
Marsden, with a little help from his friends, improved his program on more fronts than personnel in the off-season. Bolstered by a $1 million donation from Katherine and Zeke Dumke Jr., a new, state-of-the-art gymnastics training facility has put Utah back at the head of the class in that area. The Utes were scheduled to move into the 18,000 square foot Womens Gymnastics Training Center in December and Marsden anticipates big dividends.
"The new facility has three main advantages: One, it will allow us to train some things in a way weve never been able to before and more conveniently than weve been able to train before. It will make our training more efficient, and because of the new in-ground pits, we should see a reduction in overuse injury problems. Two, it allows us to do all of our training in one facility, rather than go all over campus depending on what we want to accomplish, be it technical gymnastics training, strength training, aerobics, treatment of injuries or rehabilitation. Three, it is a statement to our athletes in the program now, and just as importantly to future recruits, as to the importance of the gymnastics program on our campus. It reflects the commitment that the University and our community have made to our program," he explains.
Marsden is convinced that the new training center will reap instant benefits on the competitive floor. "It will help us in every area, but particularly on vault and floor, in that the athletes will finally train in a similar setting to that in which they compete. Weve been training vault, for instance, on a raised surface, which looks and feels different from the competition vault setting. On floor, well be able to train more difficult tumbling passes within the routines, which will allow the gymnasts to get a better feel for what they can do in competition and give them more confidence in their skills.We have, at times in the past, taken a more conservative approach on floor than wed like because of our inability to develop skills without spotting," he maintains.
The timing of the new training center couldnt be better, given the cast of gymnasts Marsden has assembled: in particular, two recent U.S. National team members, sophomore Shannon Bowles (1997) and freshman Theresa Kulikowski (1995-96). The pair, while the most prominent names on Utahs 13-member roster, have plenty of high powered company in the gym. Bowles is one of five returning All-Americans, along with seniors Angie Leonard and Molly and Sarah Northrop, and junior Denise Jones. Kulikowski is one of four credentialed freshmen, among them Deidra Graham, who placed third in the all-around at last years Junior Olympic (J.O.) Championships and was the national uneven bars champion, and Kylee Wagner, who was a finalist on both vault and floor at the 1998 J.O. Championships. Heres how Marsden evaluates his team.
The Senior Class-Angie Leonard: "Angie has been slowed in the preseason because of some off-season surgery on her shoulder, but that might not be entirely bad. First, it looks like that shoulder will be better and it limited her last year. Second, a lot of times she tends to break down in the middle of the season and this will force her and us to hold back a little. Hopefully that will allow her to be strong at the end and peak at the right time. Angie is someone who has blossomed in college. Shes done her best gymnastics while competing for the University of Utah and, each year, has improved. Shes developed into an athlete who is beautiful to watch and extremely dependable."
Molly Northrop: "Mollys drive to stay competitive amongst a group of top level athletes will keep her in the running on beam and bars. Her experience cant be replaced. Shes led us off on beam for years, with great consistency, and was a finalist on uneven bars at last years NCAA Championships. Shes upgraded both her bar and beam routines this year. Due to her chronic shin splints, were not even going to train Molly on vault and floor this season, in order to assure she is at her best on the two events where she can really contribute to this team." Sarah Northrop: "Sarah gets better each year in terms of improving her skills and, just as importantly, her technique. She is a powerful athlete, and should have a good chance to make the vault lineup. She has also upgraded both her bars and beam routines in terms of difficulty. Sarah seems determined to make her senior year her best.
The Junior Class-Denise Jones: "Denise made great strides her sophomore year, as many of our athletes do. Her attitude and determined approach to the season made her a strong all-around competitor for us. Now I think she is ready to build on her accomplishments from last season and take her gymnastics to the next level. Her leadership qualities have been there from the start, but I think shell step into that role even more this year. Her work ethic is one of the best on our team. She makes few excuses and gives 100 percent in every practice session." Ashley Kever: "Ashley in one of the most sincere and dedicated athletes I have ever had. She is a fighter and is never satisfied with giving anything less than her best. She has a new floor exercise routine this season and has upgraded her beam routine as well. Ashley is working on a 10.0 vault that would give her a shot at the vault lineup as well." Angelika Schatton: "Angelika will continue to make an impact in our vault lineup, but she should also contribute on beam and floor. She came back stronger and in better shape this fall, which has allowed her to add new skills more quickly and get her routines ready much earlier than in previous years. I think this is going to give her a greater degree of confidence as the season progresses." Jenny Schmidt: "Jenny is still recovering from last seasons knee injury, but is making good progress. She should be able to start the season competing bars. If the knee continues to improve, she may be able to get back in the lineup on other events later in the season. Its good to have Jenny back in the lineup. We have missed her spirit and enthusiasm."
The Sophomore Class-Shannon Bowles: "Shannon has the complete package: flexibility, strength, execution and presentation. She has no weak event, which is reflective of the fact that Shannon came to us straight off the U.S. National team. She had a superb freshman year, placing in the all-around, bars and beam at the NCAA Championships. If she can juggle the demanding collegiate schedule and stay healthy, there is no question that Shannon will vie for the NCAA all-around championship." Theresa Wolf: "We expect this to be a breakthrough season for Theresa. I think well see more of what she is capable of than we did last year. She came back much more determined and the progress she has made in the preseason has reflected that. She has a new 10.0 vault and a new uneven bars routine, which added to her already strong balance beam and floor exercise. That should make her one of our best all-around competitors. She has also accepted her role as one of our team leaders. She seems to take pride in being an example and showing the new kids the Utah way."
The Freshman Class-Deidra Graham: "Deidra was a strong Elite gymnast who did some of her best gymnastics last May when she was third in the all-around at the Junior Olympic Championships and was the national uneven bars champion. At 411", she is petite but very powerful. Shes an excellent vaulter and should make our beam and floor exercise lineups as well. But her real forte is uneven bars. She has one of the most unusual bar routines in the country and could be a contender at the NCAA Championships this spring. Not only is Deidra one of the top recruits entering college this season, shes from Utah, which makes it even that much more fun for our fans to follow and watch her progress." Theresa Kulikowski: "The fact that Theresa was the alternate to the 1996 U.S. Olympic team says a lot about her gymnastics. At 54", she would usually be considered slightly tall for this sport, but its what makes her gymnastics spellbinding to watch. She has the dancing capabilities of a prima ballerina, and the strength and power of an Olympic-caliber athlete. Theresa should made a significant impact on every event and has the potential to become one in a long line of great all-arounders at Utah." Lindsay Tanner: "Lindsay expressed an interest in walking on to our team, and after we watched her at last years J.O. Championships, we felt she could contribute to our program-especially on vault and floor exercise-where to put it bluntly, we could use the help. She has great skills on both events, but her level of contribution will depend on her ability to improve her execution." Kylee Wagner: "Kylee has known about Utah for years as a result of being coached at summer camps by (Ute assistant coach) Aki (Hummel). She always felt that Utah was the best place for her and were glad she did. Kylee is a very talented and, as yet, untapped talent. She began to show her ability to compete among the best last season when she made finals in both vault and floor exercise at J.O. Championships. She needs experience, but with that, she will emerge as possibly our best on vault and floor. This is someone who will improve dramatically each of her four years here."
The huge Utah fan base will get plenty of opportunity to evaluate the 1998 Utes on their own. Utah has a rare six-meet regular season home schedule, and if things go as planned, will be on the floor when the NCAA Championships come to town in April. Those fans may experience some tense moments in their unofficial judging capacity, given the opposition the Utes will face. Certainly, Utahs 145-meet, 19-year regular season win streak is in danger, what with NCAA runner-up Florida, seventh-place LSU, eighth-place Washington and 12th-place Brigham Young coming to town.
"Our fans should be thrilled with this season, because its our strongest home schedule in years," says Marsden. "We have some of the best teams in the country coming into the Huntsman Center during the regular season and well have all the best teams come April, when we host the national championships."
Marsden, whose teams have thrived on pressure over the years, downplays the pressure of hosting the big show. "The pressure, especially in recent years, is to get to nationals and make it through to the Super Six team finals. Hosting nationals is a lot of work, but we feel its important for our fans and our athletes. Its a very special experience to compete for a national championship in front of your own fans and ours are the best."
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