There will be a mix of old and new when Utah’s fifth-ranked gymnastics team takes the floor against Michigan Saturday.
For Utah’s seniors, it will be the last time they compete in the Huntsman Center since Utah’s last regular season meet is on the road at Georgia.
For the whole team, the Michigan meet marks the first time the Utes have had to compete since suffering a loss at home since 2012, a string of 34 straight home wins.
While still bitterly disappointed to have lost to the Bruins, the Utes are determined to make their last outing in Huntsman a success in both areas, for the seniors and for their immediate future.
“I know they still have a sour taste in their mouth, and that is going to motivate them” Utah coach Megan Marsden said. “We still have a lot of goals we want to accomplish and they are determined.”
Much of that team determination comes from the senior class, who have contributed more than Marsden expected them to do so.
The Utes knew MaKenna Merrell-Giles would be a major contributor, and she has lived up to those expectations, but Kari Lee has been able to compete in the all-around as well and Macey Roberts has excelled as the leadoff on floor. Shannon McNatt has filled in mainly on the balance beam.
“They’ve all done all they can in their last year with us to help us be successful,” Marsden said. “They all have different styles but they’ve all found ways to contribute.”
NO. 5 UTAH VS. NO. 9 MICHIGAN
At the Huntsman Center
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Records: Utah (9-2), Michigan (13-2)
Series: Utah leads 28-14
Last regular season meeting: Michigan won 196.95-196.8 (March 10)
Of note: Some of the best all-around gymnasts in the country will be competing in this meet with Utah’s MyKayla Skinner ranked fourth, MaKenna Merrell-Giles ranked seventh and Michigan’s Natalie Wojick ranked fifth…Skinner is also ranked No. 1 on the vault, Wojcik is second and Merrell-Giles is fifth…As a team the Utes have hit 208-of-215 routines this year. Seniors Lee (32-of-32) and Roberts (18-of-18) have yet to fall along with Skinner (33-of-33).
Lee has been a vocal leader in addition to serving as the leadoff gymnast on all events except floor. Not surprisingly, she was outspoken when asked if the Utes would let the loss to UCLA affect them negatively going forward.
Her answer was a solid, ‘no.’
“We have a fire under our butt,” she said. “I think we have beam figured out and we are only going to go up from here.”
Of the seniors, perhaps none have shown the growth that Merrell-Giles has. A product out of Pleasant Grove, Merrell-Giles competed mainly on the floor with some showings on vault and beam as a freshman. Since then she has grown into one of Utah’s best gymnasts and for the last two years has thrived competing alongside MyKayla Skinner.
Merrell-Giles said trying to compete to Skinner’s level has been motivating and she relishes her role as the set-up gymnast for Skinner as the two compete back-to-back on every event except bars.
That kind of response is typical for the gymnast, Marsden said.
“She is a humble soul,” Marsden said. “But if you look at her career on paper, the accolades and things she has earned has put her career off the charts.”
Rather than spending too much time reminiscing, the Utes would prefer to focus on the future, mainly getting back to winning.
Michigan beat them last year and always push the Utes, so there is no chance of overlooking the Wolverines.
The Utes don’t sound like a team down on themselves after losing to UCLA, preferring to focus on the positives that came out of the defeat, namely the way they competed on the balance beam.
“It’s a good step in the right direction,” Lee said. “It gave us a lot of confidence. We put in a lot of hard work and it paid off.”