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Fort Worth, Texas • Suffice it to say, Utah's gymnastics team is a different team than the one that celebrated its second Pac-12 title a few weeks ago.
Gone is the gusto and confidence the Utes had. Now their attitude is more of a humble one. Barely qualifying for the NCAAs will do that to a team.
But humble doesn't mean unnerved and the Utes remain confident they can attain their goal of reaching the Super Six this season after missing the cut in 2014.
To accomplish that task, the Utes have to finish in the top three of their session, which also includes Florida, Stanford, UCLA, Michigan and Georgia.
The Utes haven't faced Florida and have lost to Georgia twice, but have beaten the other teams. While their odds of advancing seem good, the Utes are wise not to assume anything, especially after a near-disaster at regionals.
"I have a sense they will come back with a vengeance," Utah co-coach Megan Marsden said. "But it is still a road meet and they have to get comfortable being in that arena and doing their routines confidently. Hopefully it is something they can address as a group."
It has been addressed, Utah senior Corrie Lothrop said.
The team was embarrassed by its performance at regionals. The last thing the Utes want is to fail to reach the Super Six for a second year in a row, she said.
"We've had such a great season, winning the Pac-12 back-to-back and then go and just score a 196, it was really frustrating, so we have worked hard on the mental side of things," she said. "We will be fine as long as we don't linger on things. We're still one of the best teams in the country, and I know we can show that."
The good news is that while the Utes might be humbled, they aren't totally shaken. They've had several strong practices in the last week and even the prospect of opening on the balance beam doesn't scare them.
"I'm pretty excited about that, actually," said freshman Maddie Stover, the leadoff gymnast on beam. "If we can get a great start on beam that is going to carry us through the rest of the meet."
Nevertheless, the Utes understand even one slip could knock them out of the running for the Super Six. Last year they couldn't recover from a slow start and finished fourth in their session. Just a few weeks ago, two major breaks on the uneven bars and two falls on the balance beam nearly ended their season.
The days of even the best teams counting on advancing are clearly over.
"I know that this team's goal was getting back to the Super Six, that has been the ultimate goal all year," Marsden said. "I hope for them they can achieve that. There is no question there is a lot of talented teams in the field. We could end up first in our session or we could end up fifth. There are a lot of things that could happen."
Actually, in senior Georgia Dabritz's estimation, only one thing should happen.
"If we are calm and confident, we should qualify," she said. "We can't let ourselves get into a slump, we just have to come out like we did at Pac-12s and everything should be OK."
Twitter: @lyawodraska
NCAA championships
P Friday-Sunday
At Fort Worth, Texas
Afternoon (noon MDT) • Utah (balance beam), Florida (bye/floor), Stanford (bye/bars), UCLA (floor), Michigan (bars), Georgia (vault)
Evening (6 p.m. MDT) • Oklahoma (bye/floor), Oregon State (bye/bars), Alabama (floor), Auburn (bars), LSU (vault), Nebraska (balance beam)
Note: Opening rotation listed with teams; top three teams from each session move on to the Super Six.