Utah’s gymnastics team is going into the final weeks of the regular season with some adjusted goals. Suffering an almost unimaginable loss will do that to a team.
The Utes, who gave Arizona its first win of the season Friday, have just a few weeks to figure out what they can fix for the post-season.
Obviously, the up and down performances on the balance beam need to be figured out, illustrated by the two falls that led to the upset by the Wildcats.
The Utes have other areas to clean up too, because a team like the Utes should be able to count a fall and still be able to beat Arizona most nights.
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If the Utes can’t beat Arizona, what will happen this Friday when they take on No. 8 Minnesota? Or compete at No. 6 LSU?
Is it conceivable to think the Utes could finish the season on a losing streak?
Utah fans might be panicking, wondering these things, but coach Tom Farden is not.
Farden acknowledges the Utes had a hard week, competing in three meets in the span of a week. Two of those meets were great for the Utes. The third, well, it is a wild year isn’t it? Utah’s loss came the same weekend Cal lost to Arizona State and No. 1 Michigan almost lost to Nebraska. There are unpredictable meets everywhere, not just with Utah.
“I don’t think we are panicking at this point,” Farden said. “It’s not something that we planned for, things like this past weekend, but it’s part of the deal.”
Farden pointed out the Utes are averaging 197.522 this season, compared to just 197.15 at this point in the season a year ago. But other teams have improved too, lessening the impact of Utah’s growth.
All of this is to say the Utes have grown, just not enough to cause the big separation many expected at the beginning of the year — a separation made smaller when the Utes make mistakes and have to count falls.
“We didn’t do our job at Arizona so I am not making excuses,” Farden said. “We just need to try to reconcile things and get them back on track.”
Freshman Kara Eaker, who hasn’t competed since the season opener when she sprained an ankle, competed in exhibition at Arizona on the balance beam and could get back into the lineup soon.
Outside of that addition, Farden doesn’t see many drastic changes, believing the team just needs to find its winning edge.
That is something senior Sydney Soloski believes too. Losing to the Wildcats wasn’t a fun experience and she doesn’t care for a repeat.
“That was a hard night, one of the worst in my career,” Soloski said. “But it won’t matter as long as our comeback is bigger. We might have lost the regular season Pac-12, but I still think this team is destined for greater things and we need to keep moving forward and not let one performance define us.”