Ute gymnastics: Red Rocks hope to meet own expectations

SALT LAKE CITY — Throughout the 2009-2010 season, the enormous expectations of being a gymnast at the University of Utah have weighed heavily on the minds of this year's Red Rocks.

And in the weeks leading up to last weekend's NCAA Regional meet, the weight of those expectations grew heavier and heavier.

After all, Utah had endured an up-and-down season by its lofty standards, and many inside and outside the program wondered if the Utes would fail to qualify for the national championships for the first time in its 35 years of existence.

So four days before last weekend's huge meet, in which the Utes would need to finish at least second to qualify for Nationals, longtime coach Greg Marsden sat down with his gymnasts and spoke at length about the enormous expectations that were weighing them down.

"I just said, 'Let's get the elephant in the room out,'" said Marsden. "We had a conversation about expectations and I told them, 'I've been doing this for a long time — and there's pros and cons to that — but the one thing I hope I can give you is some perspective on some things. It's hard for you because you're living it — it's your first time through it. But I've been here before, and I'm just telling you that no matter what happens, life is gonna go on and we'll all be fine and the program is gonna be fine."

It was a badly needed message.

As a result, Utah loosened up considerably during its NCAA Regional meet at the Huntsman Center last Saturday — laughing and singing and dancing in between their performances — and the results were what the Utes would've hoped for.

Following an OK rotation on the floor, Utah was solid on the vault and on the uneven bars before finishing with a stellar performance on the balance beam that propelled the Red Rocks to a second-place finish behind Florida and a spot in next week's NCAA Championships.

"He just kind of told us to worry about ourselves rather than worrying about the legacy of Utah gymnastics and just go out there and be our own team, rather than to try to live up to expectations," said junior Kyndal Robarts, who gutted it out despite an ankle injury at Regionals to help lead the way for the Utes.

"He told us if we didn't make it, it wouldn't be the end of the world — I guess it wouldn't have — but in our minds, it was (going to be) at the time. But I think that helped everybody to relax."

Relax they did.