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Berkeley, Calif. • Utah's gymnastics team has always taken the approach that as long as they do their job at the NCAA regional championships, they should be good enough to advance to the NCAA Championships.
However, Saturday's competition in Berkeley is a little more meaningful for the Utes, who are still reeling from the loss of senior Tory Wilson.
Wilson, the Utes' charismatic leader, ruptured her right Achilles' tendon and fractured her left foot during the Utes' Pac-12 Championship win.
Now the Utes want to show the rest of the collegiate gymnastics world they can still be a threat for the NCAA title without Wilson. They also want to win for Wilson, too.
"Our team has so much depth, when someone goes down it shouldn't make a huge difference," junior Kailah Delaney said. "It will be tough since Tory won't be out there because she is such a strong competitor, but at the same time, we have the depth that we should be able to fill those spots."
Delaney should replace Wilson in the beam lineup, while freshman Tiffani Lewis should go in the floor and vault lineups.
"Losing Tory was a big hit for our team," senior Corrie Lothrop said. "We maybe won't pull the big scores like she did, but I don't have any doubt we can do well."
The Utes have never failed to advance to the NCAA Championships, making an NCAA-record 39 appearances.
Even without Wilson it would be hard to imagine the Utes failing to qualify, although Utah coach Greg Marsden cautions the region is tougher than it may appear.
Utah's only loss this season came to No. 10 Georgia, the second seed in the regional, while No. 20 Cal will have the home-floor advantage.
The regional also features No. 15 Boise State, which won the Mountain Rim Conference title, as well as BYU and Utah State. Utah beat the Cougars in the season opener. USU finished fourth in the Mountain Rim Championships, just ahead of the Cougars.
"There are some good teams there," Marsden said. "We've seen what Georgia is capable of doing when they are at their best. We weren't quite at our best, but that is what we can do. We know we have to go in and do our job."
The presence of the Gym Dogs adds a little extra spice to the meet, senior Becky Tutka admitted. Utah let the win in Athens slip away with several uncharacteristic mistakes on the floor. In doing so, the Utes missed a chance to become the program's second team to go undefeated in the regular season.
"We're excited because it could be redemption," Tutka said. "All I have to say is we are excited to get out there and show them what we are capable of doing."
Utah will start on the uneven bars, a good rotation to have since that is where they begin in the regular season away meets.
Georgia will start on a bye then bars, Utah State starts on vault, Boise State on the beam, Cal on a bye then floor and BYU on the floor.
The Utes have plenty of confidence after winning the Pac-12 title, now they just need to win, for themselves and Wilson, Lothrop said.
"Being the Pac-12 champion does add some pressure," she said. "But we have done a great job of being focused all year no matter what, so we just need to keep doing that."
Twitter: @lyawodraska —
NCAA gymnastics regionals
Norman, Okla., 3 p.m. MDT • Oklahoma, Oregon State, Penn State, SUU, Missouri, North Carolina St.
Auburn, Ala., 5 p.m. MDT • Alabama, Auburn, Minnesota, Iowa, Maryland, George Washington
Ames, Iowa, 3 p.m. MDT • LSU, Nebraska, Denver, Washington, Michigan State, Iowa State
Morgantown, W.Va., 2 p.m. MDT • Florida, Stanford, Illinois, Arkansas, New Hampshire, West Virginia
Columbus, Ohio, 4 p.m. MDT • Michigan, UCLA, Arizona, Central Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio State
Berkeley, Calif., 7 p.m. MDT • Utah, Georgia, Boise State, Cal, Utah St., BYU —
Regional at a glance
The top two teams from each region advance to the NCAA Championships, April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Texas. … Top all-around competitor for Utah is Georgia Dabritz (39.775), while USU is led by McKinzey Martinez (39.3) and BYU is led by Makenzie Johnson (39.45). … The Aggies are making their second straight appearance in the regionals, having placed sixth last season.