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Most gymnasts who have won numerous postseason awards and titles have a reputation that gets them noticed right away on the competition floor.
But not Utah's Tory Wilson. The reigning Pac-12 all-around champion and two-time team MVP keeps plugging away in the background of teammates such as Georgia Dabritz and Corrie Lothrop, who garner more of the spotlight.
Gradually, however, it is getting harder and harder to overlook the senior.
Wilson, ranked 15th nationally in the all-around and 11th on the vault, has put together some of her best meets of the season in the past three weeks.
She set season highs of 39.5 then 39.55 in the all-around against Arizona and Arizona State, respectively, and scored a 10 on the vault against the Sun Devils.
On Saturday, she was Utah's highest-scoring gymnast in the all-around, earning a 39.375 in the Utes' win over Washington.
Surprised you might have overlooked her a bit? Don't be. It seems to have happened to Wilson throughout her career.
The Albuquerque, N.M., native wasn't highly recruited in high school, even though she was a member of the Junior Olympic National Team.
Utah, the school she wanted to attend all along, took a chance on her, thinking she could primarily help them on the vault and floor.
"Sometimes I know I can be underestimated," she said. "I like to prove myself, and I know everyone loves the 'come up' story, but I wanted to show that I wasn't that bad; they just didn't see what I could do."
Prove herself she did. Wilson has grown into one of the team's most consistent gymnasts and best all-around competitors.
"She has overachieved in what we thought she could contribute," Utah coach Greg Marsden said. "But she does fly under the radar. A lot of people love Tory and her smile and demeanor because she is such a happy and upbeat person, but she is always surprising you with her gymnastics."
Last season produced the biggest surprise of all when Wilson won the Pac-12 all-around title, finishing ahead of some of the nation's most well-known and highly decorated gymnasts to lead the Utes to the team championship.
"It took a while to realize the immensity of that," Wilson said. "I think it was all part of proving to myself that I could make an impact and do something for the team."
While the award boosted Wilson's confidence, it may have added a bit of pressure, too, she acknowledges.
Wilson earned a 39.45 in the season opener against BYU, but then went 39.3 in the second meet and 38.925 against UCLA.
"Every year it takes me a few meets to get into the swing of thing, but it might have taken a few extra this year," she said. "I finally feel I am working up to where I want to be."
Wilson, who leads the team — she's hit 24 of 24 routines this season — is feeling better and better, about her vaults in particular.
As a sophomore, she won the vault in all 10 regular-season meets and spent five weeks ranked No. 1 on the vault last season, earning All-American honors on the event.
The perfect score against ASU hints she could be a force to reckon with once more in the postseason vault competitions.
"I haven't felt in my normal groove until now," she said. "I'm settling in, not thinking so much about it."
In the process, she finally has people thinking about her. —
Tory Wilson file
From • Albuquerque, N.M.
Vitals • 5-feet-2, senior
Of note • Five-time All-American. … 2014 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year. … 2014 Pac-12 all-around champion. … 2013 North Central Region Gymnast of the Year. … First Ute to go undefeated in an event during the regular season, winning 10 vault titles in 2013. … Her career high of 39.65 in the all-around is tied for 10th in Utah history. … Has hit 24 of 24 routines this season and 112 of 117 routines in the past three seasons. … Health, society and policy major. —
No. 16 Stanford at No. 4 Utah
Saturday, 7 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Network