For several seasons now Utah's gymnastics team has had what coach Greg Marsden calls a 'ceiling.' No matter what his team did, the Utes just didn't have enough big scores to compete with the top one or two teams unless those teams self-imploded.
The ceiling is off this year. The Utes easily beat Utah State 197.4-191.925 Friday, but more exciting than the meet itself was the potential the team showed. From the freshmen to the seniors, the Utes delivered one big score after another one.
Now, rather than saying his team needs help to win against the top teams, Marsden believes the Utes can control their own destiny, particularly after the way the freshmen performed.
"You don't know until they are out there what this group of freshmen is going to be like," he said. "But this group likes to be out there and it brings them to another level. They handled it well and used the energy to take it up to another level rather than making them nervous and tightening up, they seemed to loosen up."
Perhaps now the teams that should be nervous are the ones on Utah's schedule this year. It appears the Utes have one of their best teams in several years.
- Lya Wodraska