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
Thursday, April 15
Los Angeles, Calif.
1/7 p.m. PT
University of Utah
at
NCAA Championships
Ute Gymnasts Stay Alive At NCAA Championships
4/15/2004 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
April 15, 2004
LOS ANGELES -
The University of Utah is headed to the NCAA Super Six Championship after placing in the top three in the power packed evening preliminary session Thursday in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA won the session with a 197.675, followed by Alabama (197.325), Utah (196.925), Michigan (196.650), LSU (196.500) and Arizona State (196.325). Advancing from the afternoon session were Florida and Stanford, which tied for first with a 196.850, and Georgia, which finished third (196.775). Rounding out the afternoon session were Nebraska (196.150), Oklahoma (195.750) and Iowa (194.775).
The final margin and the fact that Utah stood in the top three the entire meet may make it appear as though the Utes' path to the Super Six was easy. In fact, both Michigan and LSU went wire-to-wire with the Utes. Not until a Michigan fall off beam midway through its final event forced the Wolverines to count a 9.75 score did Utah pull away from the Big Ten champs. The Utes finished the meet on a bye, then sat and watched LSU try and catch them. Needing to average a 9.90, LSU fell short.
Senior Melissa Vituj, who tied for first on the floor exercise to mark her fourth-straight year as a finalist on that event, reveled in a "total team effort" that was certainly reflected in the box score. A member of every class took a turn filling in for freshman all-around star Rachel Tidd, who will miss the entire championships with mono. Vituj, freshman Nicolle Ford and junior Annabeth Eberle finished in the top 10 in the all-around. Vituj's 39.55 and Ford's 39.525 placed them seventh and eighth in the first session, which earned them second-team All-America honors. Eberle, who tied for first on the vault across both sessions, tied for 10th in the all-around in the evening competition with a 39.400.
Relieved to make the Super Six cut for the 10th time since the format went into effect in 1993, Vituj and head coach Greg Marsden both said after the meet that the Utes have plenty of room for improvement.
"We had some silly mistakes," said Vituj, "And now that we have the opportunity to compete tomorrow night, we can work to eliminate them. Said Ute head coach Greg Marsden, who is now 801-131-5 in 29 years at the U., "The athletes did a nice job but we're certainly capable of much more and we're happy we'll have the chance to demonstrate that tomorrow."
One who doesn't have much room to improve is Ford, Utah's only two-time first-team All-American of the meet who will compete for the NCAA uneven bar and balance beam championships on Saturday.
"I didn't have any expectations because I've never been here," said the high-scoring freshman after her big meet. "It's so fun to compete as a team. I've always competed by myself before. On the other hand, knowing I'm competing for a team is that much more pressure."
Sophomore Dominique D'Oliveira was Utah's first competitor of the night and got Utah off to a nice start with a 9.80 score. Not so successful was Kristen Riffanacht, who had numerous mistakes in her first bar routine of the season as Tidd's replacement and received a 9.025. There was a long delay while the judges conferred on Riffanacht's routine before giving Utah's third competitor, Veronique Leclerc, the green flag to start. The delay didn't distract the senior All-American, who was flawless up on the apparatus before taking a hop on her dismount for a 9.85 score. Better yet was Eberle, who soared on her Tkatchev release and nailed her dismount in a 9.875 routine. Vituj also swung the bars effortlessly and landed her triple twist dismount without a hitch to score a 9.90. Ford then erupted for one of the best bar routines ever competed by a Ute at nationals-impressing one judge for a perfect 10.0 and averaging a 9.925. Utah's 49.35 total placed it in a tie for first with UCLA after one round.
Sophomore Natalie Nicoloff went first for Utah on its second event and, like D'Oliveira on bars, got Utah off on the right foot. A small balance check and a lean out of her landing were the deductions in a 9.725 routine. Gabriella Onodi, competing for the first time in over a month, excelled as Tidd's replacement on the beam. She cleanly hit every element and was rewarded with a 9.800. Riffanacht atoned for her problems on the bars by confidently flipping through her beam routine and scoring a 9.85. Next up, Ford was simply unflappable, this time scoring a 9.875. Eberle had a few little wrinkles in an otherwise high leaping routine and her 9.725 score, while low for her, took pressure off anchor Vituj. The senior All-American smiled her way through a 9.85 routine that received a 9.90 from two judges and Utah escaped the dreaded beam with a 49.100. Heading into their first bye of the night, Utah owned a 98.450 two-event total. By the time their bye rotation was complete, Utah trailed only UCLA (99.00) and Alabama (98.85).
The bouncy floor on the podium hurt the Utes on their first event out of the bye. Both Riffanacht (9.725) and Gritt Hofmann (9.65) saw otherwise potentially big scores dinged a tenth of a point for stepping out of bounds. After Riffanacht led off, Stephanie Lim made her freshman debut at the NCAA Championships and showed off some big tumbling in a 9.80 routine. Classmate Ford stayed on fire and performed a marvelous routine that received a 9.875. Next came Hofmann and her uncharacteristic 9.65. Eberle contained herself to the boundaries despite her powerful passes and recorded a 9.85. Vituj did her best to make up ground lost out of bounds by smoothly twisting and leaping to the refrain from James Bond and posting a 9.95. Vituj's score boosted Utah to a decent 49.25 and kept them a couple ticks ahead of Michigan and LSU after three scoring rotations. Utah had a 147.650 to Michigan's 147.400 and LSU's 147.350.
Lim led off vault for the Utes as the fill-in for Tidd, the NCAA regional vault champion. While she couldn't match Tidd's 9.95 at regionals, she hit a pretty 9.825 vault. Leclerc followed with a 9.80 and then Ford then capped an amazing first NCAA Championship with a 9.85. Riffanacht put up a 9.80 and Vituj contributed a 9.85. Eberle looked absolutely perfect in a huge vault with a great stick on the landing and her 9.95 helped the Utes to a 49.275 event score.
Utes who earned All-America honors include three who will compete for individual titles: Eberle on vault, Vituj on floor and Ford on bars and beam. Second-team All-Americans were Vituj and Ford in the all-around, and Riffanacht and Vituj on beam.
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