FORT WORTH, Texas — Sixteen Utah gymnasts have received particular person NCAA titles through the years, stars like Missy Marlowe, Megan McCunniff (Marsden), Theresa Kulikowski, Ashley Postell, Georgia Dabritz and MyKayla Skinner, to call a number of.
Two Crimson Rocks on the present 2023 squad — Maile O’Keefe and Jaedyn Rucker — have received particular person NCAA titles too, O’Keefe on bars and ground (2021) and Rucker on vault (2022).
Particular person NCAA champions are decided by the scores earned throughout the semifinals of the NCAA ladies’s gymnastics championships, that means whichever gymnasts rating the best over the course of Thursday’s two semifinal meets will probably be NCAA champs.
Utah is slated to compete within the night semifinal in Fort Price, Texas (7 p.m. MDT on ESPN2) and the Crimson Rocks now know precisely what scores they should beat to have at the least an opportunity of profitable nationwide titles, after the conclusion of the primary semifinal between Cal, Denver, Florida and LSU.
Scores to beat
- All-around — 39.6875 (recorded by LSU’s Haleigh Bryant).
- Steadiness beam — 9.9500 (recorded by Stanford’s Chloe Widner).
- Ground train — 9.9625 (recorded by Florida’s Leanne Wong and LSU’s Aleah Finnegan).
- Uneven bars — 9.9500 (recorded by Florida’s Trinity Thomas).
- Vault — 9.9250 (recorded by Denver’s Lynnzee Brown and Boise State’s Courtney Blackson).
Rucker has an opportunity to turn into the primary Utah gymnast since Elaine Alfano in 1983 to win the nationwide title on vault in consecutive seasons.
The final Crimson Rock to repeat as a person NCAA champion on the identical occasion was Summer season Reid on steadiness beam in 1996 and 1997.
O’Keefe has an opportunity to turn into solely the fifth Utah gymnast ever to win at the least three particular person nationwide titles of their profession.
With regards to the crew competitors, the ends in the primary semifinal don’t have an effect on Utah.
LSU and Florida completed first and second within the afternoon semifinal, securing their spots in Saturday’s nationwide championship meet, the 4 on the Ground.
The Tigers completed with a rating of 197.4750, adopted by the Gators with a 197.4000. Cal completed third total with a 196.9125, whereas Denver got here in fourth with a 196.5000.
For Utah to hitch LSU and Florida within the nationwide championship meet, the Crimson Rocks should end first or second within the night semifinal, which incudes Oklahoma, UCLA and Kentucky.
The Crimson Rocks haven’t received a nationwide title since 1995, however there's optimism that this system is trending in that path.
“We're nonetheless making an attempt to determine that out,” Utah head coach Tom Farden advised the Deseret Information. “Tremendous happy in 2021, stepping into as No. 6 and coming in third. Final yr, coming in No. 4 and popping out third. The grasping coach in you needs just a little extra and we did depart some issues on the market. It's a course of and I'll absolutely admit that we're working diligently on determining the fitting components to peak.
“We're figuring it out. Final yr was the primary time Utah scored a 198 within the postseason. We're figuring it out. We're getting nearer. You'll be able to see us being intentional. Inching issues alongside. I'm just a little little bit of a mad scientist with that. I don’t have any nationwide championships so I'm making an attempt to determine it out. We're engaged on it.”