Utah Utes gymnastics: Peaking at the right time?

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Since 1998, the Utah gymnastics team has not entered the NCAA Championships without having scored at least one total above a 197 during the season.

Considering the last time the winning score in the national championship meet was below 197 came back in 1999, the Utes are going to have to bring their best in order to contend for their 10th NCAA title when they open competition in the 11 a.m. (MDT) preliminary session today.

Utah has the fourth-best average total score this season of the teams in its session but the third-highest score at regionals out of the six teams, which include UCLA, Oklahoma, Oregon State, LSU and Nebraska. Utah's regional score of 196.9 earned it the fifth seed in today's meet.

But it's not just Utah that has to worry about missing the Super Six.

Because of the parity this season and only three teams getting to advance from each session, not even top-seeded UCLA's coach Valoris Kondos Field feels comfortable with her team's chances of moving on.

"There's no favorites coming out of either session," Kondos Field said.

Without a clear favorite heading into the meet, there is a strong possibility that a unique champion will be crowned for the first time since 1997 when UCLA won its first title.

In the 28 years gymnastics has been an NCAA sport, only four teams have won the championship — Utah, Georgia, UCLA and Alabama.

The five-time defending champion Bulldogs failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1984.

And the other traditional powers are feeling the heat of teams like Florida and Oklahoma, which have been close in previous years but haven't managed to finish better than second at the NCAA Championships.

Not only is there the group that has been nipping at the championship's heels, but more teams are emerging as title contenders. Michigan is looking to qualify for its first Super Six appearance, while Missouri will be competing in the national meet for the first time.

"There is definitely a group of many teams that have come up tight against the teams that are used to being here on a regular basis," Utah co-head coach Megan Marsden said.

The wide-open field could bode well for a Utah team that hasn't seen the scores it was accustomed to getting in previous years and is starting to hit its stride entering nationals.

Even though the Utes have yet to score above a 197 this year, they have gotten close three times, all of which came within the last four meets, including the regional qualifier in Salt Lake City on April 10.

Marsden believes her team is peaking at the right time and is primed to make a push for the title.

"We feel like we are coming together at the right time and have saved our best for the last, but we aren't worrying too much for scores," Marsden said. "We are worrying about what we can determine."