Utah Utes gymnastics: Utes can't unseat Georgia dynasty

ATHENS, Ga. — Once upon a time, Utah gymnastics coach Greg Marsden remembered, his team was the one everyone wanted to beat.

"Hats off to Georgia. They are the dynasty, the juggernaut," Marsden said, standing in an equipment room behind the tunnel at Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum floor, where the Gym Dogs were celebrating their fourth-straight NCAA team championship Friday night and the ninth in their history.

That ties them with Utah for most NCAA career titles — nine — though Utah also won the AIAW championship in 1981, the year before the NCAA took over administration of women's sports.

"I'm aware of it," Marsden said about the Gym Dogs tying Utah's number of NCAA titles. But he wasn't overly unhappy about that, especially since the Utes really did a good job in finishing second for the third year in a row. In the early and mid-1980s, the Utes won six straight, including the AIAW title, something Georgia hasn't yet done, though more teams are strong now.

Georgia totaled 197.450 to Utah's 197.125, with Stanford third at 196.750 and Florida fourth at 196.700. Fifth and sixth went to LSU and Alabama.

In the early 1980s, the Utes won six straight, including the AIAW title.

It was the closest team race since a .325-point difference in 2002 when Alabama beat Georgia.

"I always say that winning the title is relative to how your competition competes," said Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan, whose team didn't have to sweat that much, though Utah was coming on strong.

The Utes were in a fourth-place tie after the first event, but the Utes began on beam, the hardest place to start and often the lowest-scoring event. For those reasons, Marsden wasn't worried about being fourth. After their second event — floor — the Utes had moved up to within .05 point of Stanford in second place, despite a fall from Daria Bijak, who touched down her hands and landed low on her double front-punch front for a .5 deduction.

After its third event, a 49.40 vault, Utah was in second by .15 point, and when it completed bars with 49.35, it was a very solid second.

Marsden was pleased that two teams from the West broke up the Southeast Conference's potential sweep. Stanford and Utah were the only teams in Friday night's Super Six not from the SEC.

Marsden was also pumped that his team, for the first time in his memory of 33 years coaching the Utes, finished the season never having to count a fall — meaning it never had two falls in one event all year.