Completed Event: Gymnastics versus NCAA Championship Final on April 19, 2025 , , 4th of 4 (197.2375)
Final Score
Gymnastics
4th of 4 (197.2375)
vs NCAA Championship Final
Gymnasts Face Toughest Test this Year
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
February 15, 1999
UTAH VS. LOUISIANA STATE
SIZZLER SUPERMEET
FRI., FEB. 19, 7 P.M.
SALT LAKE CITY, HUNTSMAN CENTER
UTAH VS. FLORIDA
ZCMI CENTER SHOOTOUT
MON., FEB. 22, 7 P.M.
SALT LAKE CITY, HUNTSMAN CENTER
QUICKLY
The Utes (5-0) face their toughest test so far this year, with three meets in a week ... Utah's 19-year, 147-meet win streak (see below section) is in jeopardy with the first two meets: In its marquee home stand of the season, No. 4 Utah will host No. 3 Louisiana State (4-1) on Fri., Feb. 19 in the Sizzler Supermeet, and 1998 NCAA runner-up Florida (ranked No. 17 and 2-4 prior to a Saturday meet at UCLA) on Mon., Feb. 22 in the ZCMI Center Shootout ... Both home meets start at 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center ... On Fri., Feb. 26, Utah wraps up a busy week at Utah State ... After its lowest score in three years (a 193.625-193.250 win at Arizona) last week, Utah dropped a place in the poll to No. 4 when the new rankings came out late Tuesday. They traded places with Friday's opponent-Louisiana State-which jumped from No. 4 to No. 3 after a season-best 196.275 last week ... Utah has been ranked in the top four since the preseason, with the exception of one week when it hadn't yet competed and was not eligible for the rankings ... The Utes are averaging an NCAA-best 10, 839 fans to their first two home competitions ... Utah is coming off a fourth-place NCAA finish in 1998 ... The Utes have won a record ten national championships, including four in the 1990s (1990, '92, '94, '95).
KEY MATCH-UPS
Two of the nation's top all-arounders will square off on Friday, when Utah's Theresa Kulikowski and LSU's Shanyn MacEachern take the floor. They are currently tied for third in the national all-around rankings, each averaging a 39.275. As a team, the featured match-up will come on beam, where LSU is ranked No. 1 in the latest poll (Feb. 16) and Utah is No. 4. Utah's best event ranking is on bars (3).
THE STREAK
Utah's national record regular season home win streak is now at 147. The
Utes are 2-0 at home this year, with wins against Stanford and Southern
Utah. Utah last lost a regular season home meet 19 years ago to Cal
State-Fullerton on Feb. 20, 1979. In the last 14 years, just two opponents
have come within a point and a half of Utah during a regular season meet in
the Huntsman Center: Utah defeated Oregon State by .75 in 1996 and Georgia
by 1.4 points in 1991. Among the teams to fall to Utah by larger margins
during that time span are national powers Alabama, UCLA, Michigan, Florida,
LSU, Arizona, Arizona State, Penn State, Nebraska, Brigham Young,
Washington and Stanford. Including postseason competition (regionals and
nationals), Utah's all-time home record is 287-12 (96%).
"WATCH" THE UTES ON THE WEB
All Utah home and away* gymnastics meets will be posted "live" on the
Internet this year. To follow the meet in progress, go to Utah's web page
at www.UtahUtes.com.*Real time stats for road meets are contingent upon the
logistics at the opposing school.
PRACTICE TIMES & INTERVIEW POLICY
Monday and Tuesday (1:30-5:00), Thursday (1:30-4:00) in the Women's
Gymnastics Training Center. All practices are open. Media interested in
interviews should plan to be in the practice facility by 1:00 p.m. All
athlete interviews must be completed by 1:30 p.m. Head Coach Greg Marsden
is available during practice, upon prior request. Call sports information
director Liz Abel at 801-581-3511 to arrange interviews either at or
outside practice.
THE RANKINGS
Utah slipped a spot to No. 4 in the latest rankings, released the evening of Jan. 16. Utah's highest ranking of the year was No. 2 (Jan. 19). The rankings are determined by season average through February 23, at which point they switch to regional qualifying score. The Feb. 16 poll is found on page 6 of this release. Each Wednesday, the rankings (and release) are updated on the internet under www.UtahUtes.com.
LAST WEEK
Minus star freshman Theresa Kulikowski (ill), Utah struggled to its worst
score in three years, but held on to beat Arizona, 193.625-193.250 in
Tucson. Sophomore Theresa Wolf was one of the few bright spots, winning the
all-around with a 38.925. Utah's other three all-arounders had at least one
fall in a meet that saw the Utes count a fall (3) for the first time all
year. Five of Utah's last 12 competitors fell, including its number five
and six competitors on floor and three of its first four beam workers.
Despite an overall lethargic performance, Utah won or tied three of the
four individual events (Angie Leonard on bars and floor, and Shannon Bowles
on beam). Leonard and Bowles had season best scores on floor (9.90) and
vault (9.80), respectively.
TRAINER'S TABLE
Everyone is healthy to start the week.
UTAH COACH GREG MARSDEN
Greg Marsden, the most successful coach in collegiate gymnastics history,
is in his 24th year at the U. He owns a 677-96-3 record (340-43-1 regular
season). His ten national championships is more than double that of any
other coach. Four of those titles have come in the '90s (1990, '92, '94,
'95). Fourteen of Marsden's teams have placed in the top-two nationally.
The only coach in Utah's gymnastics history, Marsden is a seven-time
national coach of the year selection.
SERIES SHORTS
Utah vs. LSU: Utah leads 19-0 ... teams have met just three times in the
regular season (Utah leads 3-0) ... Utah is 7-0 against LSU in Salt Lake
City ... last meeting was at the 1998 NCAA Championships (Utah 196.200-LSU
195.300) in Los Angeles ... last time they met in SLC was at the 1994 NCAA
Championships, which Utah won (LSU placed eighth) ... they have not
competed in a regular season competition in Salt Lake since 1986. Utah vs.
Florida: Utah leads 18-3, but Gators have won the last two (1997-98 NCAA
Championships) ... Florida placed second at 1998 NCAA's to Utah's
fourth-place finish ... teams have met just three times in the regular
season, with Utah leading 2-1 ... including national competition, Utes lead
10-0 in Salt Lake City ... Florida last visited in 1994, losing both nights
of NCAA team competition to Utah, which won the title (Florida placed
sixth) ... last regular season meeting in the Huntsman Center was on Jan.
1, 1994 (won by Utah).
UTE NOTES
The Utes are off to their first 5-0 start since 1995, when they won 16
straight before losing at Florida ... Utah's 193.625 score at Arizona last
week was its worst score since Jan. 19, 1996, when the Utes scored a
192.350 in a win over Utah State in Logan ... The Utes had not counted a
fall all year long before last Friday's meet, when they had six falls and
counted three ... There will likely be some lineup juggling this week.
Watch for freshman Theresa Kulikowski to rejoin the all-around lineup
(where she is ranked second in the nation in the most recent poll) for the
first time in four weeks ... Utah's best score of the year came in its
season-openera 196.050-192.575 win over Stanford ... Utah is 2-0 against
top 10 opponents this year (defeating No. 7 Stanford and No. 8 Minnesota)
... The Utes are 2-0 at home.
ALL-AMERICA ANGIE
Senior All-American Angie Leonard had her second straight double-win meet
of the year last week, taking bars (9.85) and tying for first on floor
(9.90). It was Leonard's second bar win this year and the 18th of her
career. She also won bars and tied for first on floor against Southern Utah
on Feb. 5. A fall on beam marred an otherwise good night for Leonard at
Arizona, where she placed third all-around with a 38.650. Her best
all-around score this year was in the season-opener, when she received a
39.00her 16th career 39.00. One of Utah's most consistent performers ever,
she has "hit" 143 of 158 (91%) of her competitive routines. She is 42 of 45
(93%) on bars in her four years. She has "hit" 14 of 16 routines this year.
A two-time first-team bar All-American, she went almost two full years
without a fall on bars. Her career all-around best is 39.625, set against
Stanford in 1997.
"BOWLES" THEM OVER
Sophomore Shannon Bowles, a 1997 U.S. National Team member and a 1998
first-team All-America all-arounder, did her first all-around of the year
last week at Arizona. Outside a fall on bars, Bowles performed well,
placing second with a 38.775 and winning beam with a 9.850. She also had
her high vault score of the year, a 9.80. She is slated to go all-around
again this week against LSU and Florida. Bowles has Utah's best score this
yeara 9.95 on beam at Minnesota. She has two wins this yearboth on beam
(Minnesota and Arizona). Her career best on beam is a 10.0. Bowles, a
first-team All-American in the all-around and on bars and beam as a
freshman last year, had a team-best eight 39.00 all-around scores in 1998.
Her career best is a 39.60, which is tied for the eighth best score in
school history. She has "hit" 58 of 63 routines in her career (92%).
WAY KULIO
Freshman standout Theresa Kulikowski, arguably the best freshman recruit in
the nation, is living up to her billing. The 1995-96 U.S. National Team
member and first alternate for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team has won both
all-around competitions she's attempted this year. In the latest poll (Feb.
16), she is tied for No. 23 in the nation in the all-around (39.275 average). She
ranks fourth nationally on beam with a 9.869 average. Kulikowski had the best freshman debut ever by a
Ute on January 15, winning the all-around against Stanford with a 39.40. A
week later she scored a 39.15 to win the all-around at Minnesota. She leads
the team in wins with 10: all-around, bars, beam and floor vs. Stanford;
all-around and bars vs. Minnesota; beam and floor vs. BYU; and beam and
floor vs. Southern Utah. "Kulio", who missed last week's meet at Arizona
due to illness, did not compete on vault in the previous two meets. Now
that she has a full twisting yurchenko vault ready for competition, she
will return to the all-around lineup this week. She has "hit" 12 of 14
routines, with both falls on bars.
MORE ON THE UTES
Deidra Graham- Freshman won her collegiate all-around debut on Feb. 5,
scoring a 39.10 against Southern Utah. She scored a 9.775 in her first
vault to count, which tied her for second vs. SUU ... her best event has
been bars, where she finished in the top two in the first four meets ...
she won bars with a personal best 9.875 at BYU ... has "hit" 12 of 15
routines (2 falls on floor, 1 on beam) ... 1995 U.S. National Team member
and senior international elite won bars at 1998 Junior Olympic Championships.
Denise Jones- Junior All-America all-arounder competed only on vault at Arizona while resting her mildly sprained ankles ... the previous week, she placed second all-around against SUU, scoring a season-best 39.00 ... she now has 12 career 39.00 all-around scores ... season-best 9.80 on beam tied for first against SUU ... has also won two vault competitions (9.75 at Minnesota and 9.775 at BYU) ... in season-opener against Stanford, tied career floor high with 9.85 ... has "hit" 101 of 112 (90%) of her career routines.
Ashley Kever- Junior is one of Utah's best on vault, beam and floor ... went four meets without a miss, before falling on floor at Arizona ... won first vault competition of her career on Feb. 5, scoring career-best 9.80 ... has scored 9.80 on floor twice this year ... has competed on vault in every meet after never vaulting her first two years ... 9.725 on vault against both Stanford and BYU ... has "hit" 14-15 routines this year.
Molly Northrop- Senior is training strictly on bars and beam this year, where she is an All-American ... has made bar lineup in last four meets ... three straight 9.70 scores on bars ... 9.65 on bars at Minnesota ... first-team bars All-American in 1998 (6th) and second-team beam All-American in 1997 (16th) ... 1998 GTE Academic All-American (second team) .
Sarah Northrop- Senior All-American (1996) has been training on vault, bars and beam ... 9.80 in exhibition on bars at BYU ... also competed exhibition on bars against Stanford, Minnesota and Southern Utah, but fell ... missed last week's meet at Arizona (ill).
Angelika Schatton- Junior is one of Utah's most consistent vaulters ... season-best 9.775 in last two meets ... tied for second on vault against Southern Utah (9.775) ... also placed second at Minnesota (9.725) and BYU (9.75).
Jenny Schmidt- Junior competed "to count" for the first time since Mar. 7, 1997 on Feb. 5 ... led off Utah's bar set with 9.775 ... 9.70 at Arizona last week as Utah's first competitor ... has undergone two knee surgeries since March 1997 ... competed exhibition on bars in first three meets ... 9.775 at BYU and 9.675 at Minnesota in exhibition.
Lindsay Tanner- Freshman walk-on is competing for position in floor lineup ... scored 9.90 in exhibition on floor at Arizona, which would have tied her for first had score been to count ... has "hit" two floor routines in five exhibition attempts (at BYU and Arizona) ... Level 10 gymnast competed at 1998 J.O. National Championships.
Kylee Wagner- Freshman has led off floor lineup in last four meets ... career-best 9.775 against SUU on Feb. 5 ... 9.625 at Minnesota included .10 deduction for "illegal" earring ... scored 9.65 at BYU and 9.675 at Arizona ... in exhibition against Stanford, scored 9.725 on vault and 9.75 on floor ... at 1998 J.O. Nationals, she placed 10th all-around, fourth on floor and eighth on vault.
Theresa Wolf- Sophomore all-arounder returned to all-around lineup with a bang, after taking previous week off to rest ... won all-around at Arizona, scoring 38.925 ... scheduled to go all-around again this week ... placed second all-around against Stanford (39.125) ... 38.650 at BYU included her only fall of 1999 (on beam) ... final vaulter in Ute lineup tied career best against Stanford and Arizona (9.775) ... did three events at Minnesota and all-around in other three meets ... has "hit" 14 of 15 routines this year.
UTE WINNERS
Theresa Kulikowski (10)All-Around (2) 39.40 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15 39.15 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23 Bars (2) 9.900 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15 9.875 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23 Beam (3) 9.850 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15 9.925 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29 9.800 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5 Floor (3) 9.925 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15 9.850 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29 9.825 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
Angie Leonard (4)
Bars (2) 9.900 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5 9.850 vs. Arizona, Feb. 12 Floor (2) 9.825 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5 9.900 vs. Arizona, Feb. 12
Denise Jones (3)
Vault (2) 9.750 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23 9.775 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29 Beam (1) 9.800 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
Deidra Graham (2)
All-Around (1) 39.10 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5 Bars (1) 9.875 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29
Shannon Bowles (2)
Beam (1) 9.950 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23 9.850 vs. Arizona, Feb. 12
LSU REVIEW
4-1 ... ranked No. 4 to start week, but will move ahead of Utah when new
rankings come out Tuesday ... 2-0 on the road ... high score of 196.275
last week in home win over Texas Woman's and Centernary ... top
all-arounders are Shanyn MacEachern (39.275) and Colleen Barger (39.15) ...
Head Coach Dee-Dee Breaux is 246-135-4 in 23 years ... finished ninth at
1998 NCAA Championships.
GATOR UPDATE
2-4 prior to Feb. 20 meet at UCLA ... start week ranked No. 13 ... coming
on strong after slow start ... season-best 195.225 in loss to No. 1 Alabama
(195.875) in last competition ... top all-arounder is Chrissy Van Fleet
(39.40) ... Head Coach Judi Markell is 70-39-1 in eight years at Florida
and 348-125-2 in 25 years as a head coach ... runner-up at 1998 NCAA
Championships.
GREG MARSDEN SAYS
"We have three tough meets in a week and we're facing probably the most
serious challenge to our win streak in a long time from both LSU and
Florida. LSU is a very hot team right now and should move ahead of us in
the polls this week. Florida, which struggled earlier in the season,
appears to be coming around with a score of 195-plus in its last meet
against Alabama. To add insult to injury, then we have to turn around and
travel to a much-improved Utah State team. This next week should tell us a
lot about what we're made of ... Last week at Arizona was disappointing to
say the least. We had really hoped to improve on some things, and instead,
we went the other way. I'm anxious, and I'm sure the team is, to get back
on the floor to compete again and hopefully put that behind us."
UTAH TO HOST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Utah will host the 1999 NCAA Gymnastics Championships,
April 22-24 in the Huntsman Center. Tickets are on sale in the Huntsman
Center ticket office, or can be ordered by calling 801-581-UTIX. Utah has
hosted seven national gymnastics championshipsmost recently in 1994 (won
by the Utes).
QUALIFYING TO NATIONALS
The qualification procedures into the NCAA Championships, April 22-24 in
Salt Lake City, have changed. There will be six regional competitions
preceding nationals, with six teams qualifying into each based on their
regional qualifying scores (RQS). The RQS is based on a team's six best
regular season scores, of which two must be home and two must be away. The
top 12 teams nationally, based on RQS, will be seeded into the six regions
(two per region). The remaining four regional slots will be filled from
within the region. The top two teams from each region, regardless of score,
will qualify into the NCAA Championships for a total of 12 teams. The
region configuration has also changed. Sites for the 1999 NCAA Regional
Championships, which will be held on April 10, are: Region 1Oregon State,
Region 2Utah State, Region 3Nebraska, Region 4Louisiana State, Region
5Penn State and Region 6West Virginia. The only way a seeded team is
guaranteed to stay in its own region is if it is hosting a region
championship.
NEW TRAINING CENTER OPEN
After 23 years training in HPER West 106, the Utah gymnastics program moved
into a new home on Dec. 28, 1998. The new $2 million Women's Gymnastics
Training Center is a stand alone facility located adjacent to HPER
Eastjust north of Ute volleyball's Crimson Court. The 18,000 square foot
training center was funded through private donations, with a $1 million
lead gift from the Zeke, Jr. and Katherine Dumke family. The facility
features the latest equipment and matting, as well as locker, training,
aerobics, strength and rehabilitation areas. Although the facility is open
for training, construction is still underway on the aerobics addition.
Fan Fest 2025 Coaches and Players Interviews: Gymnastics
Sunday, August 17
Seven New Inductees to Join Utah Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2025
Monday, July 28
Utah Gymnastic's Grace McCallum call out from University of Utah President Randall
Thursday, May 08
Utah Gymnastics Post-Meet Press Conference 4.5.25 | NCAA Regional Semifinal
Sunday, April 06