Completed Event: Gymnastics versus NCAA Championship Final on April 19, 2025 , , 4th of 4 (197.2375)

Gymnastics
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
March 1, 1999
UTAH VS. WASHINGTON
Red Robin Invitational
Sat., Mar. 6, 7:00 p.m.
Salt Lake City (Huntsman Center)
QUICKLY
The No. 3 ranked Utes (9-0) host No. 21 Washington (10-5) in the Red Robin
Invitational, Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center ... Utah is 4-0 at
home this year ... Utah is gunning for its 150th straight regular season
home win this Saturday (more on the streak below) ... Utah remained at No. 3 in the national rankings when the new poll was released March 2. Washington, ranked 21 to start the week, slipped out of the top 25 when the rankings' basis switched to regional qualifying score ... Utah has been ranked in the top four since the
preseason, with the exception of one week when it hadn't yet competed and
was not eligible for the rankings ... Ute coach Greg Marsden notched career
victory No. 680 and 681 in Logan last Friday. He is now 681-96-3 in 24
years ... Utah is coming off a fourth-place NCAA finish in 1998 ... The
Utes have won a record ten national championships, including four in the
1990s (1990, '92, '94, '95).
THE STREAK
Utah's national record regular season home win streak is now at 149. The
Utes are 4-0 at home this year, with wins against Stanford, Southern Utah,
Louisiana State and Florida. The streak turned 20 years old on Feb. 20,
between Utah's wins over (then) No. 3 LSU and 1998 NCAA runner-up Florida.
Utah last lost a regular season home meet 20 years ago to Cal
State-Fullerton on Feb. 20, 1979. In the last 14 years, just three
opponents have come within a point and a half of Utah during a regular
season meet in the Huntsman Center: Utah defeated Oregon State by .75 in
1996, LSU by 1.225 on Feb. 19, 1998 and Georgia by 1.4 points in 1991.
Among the teams to fall to Utah by larger margins during that time span are
national powers Alabama, UCLA, Michigan, Florida, LSU, Arizona, Arizona
State, Penn State, Nebraska, Brigham Young, Washington and Stanford.
Including postseason competition (regionals and nationals), Utah's all-time
home record is 289-12 (96%).
IN THE STANDS
Utah, the highest drawing gymnastics team in NCAA history, is again leading
the nation's attendance race. Through four home meets, Utah is averaging
10,478 spectators. Second is Alabama, averaging 9,503. Utah, which has
averaged nearly 11,000 spectators per meet for the last seven years (not
counting the current season), has led the NCAA in women's gymnastics
attendance in all but one of the last 17 years. Last year Utah averaged an
NCAA-best 10,211 fans to its home meets. Utah's best crowd of this
year-11,503 at the Southern Utah meet on Feb. 5-was remarkable in that the
Utes were going up against the Utah Jazz' home opener against the Chicago
Bulls in a rematch of last year's NBA finals. The Ute gymnasts also went
head to head with a Jazz game on Feb. 21, drawing 9,558 for their meet with
Florida.
"WATCH" THE UTES ON THE WEB
All Utah home and away* gymnastics meets will be posted "live" on the
Internet this year. To follow the meet in progress, go to Utah's web page
at www.UtahUtes.com.*Real time stats for road meets are contingent upon the
logistics at the opposing school.
PRACTICE TIMES & INTERVIEW POLICY
Monday and Tuesday (1:30-5:00) and Thursday (1:30-4:00) in the Women's
Gymnastics Training Center. All practices are open. Media interested in
interviews should plan to be in the practice facility by 1:00 p.m. All
athlete interviews must be completed by 1:30 p.m. Head Coach Greg Marsden
is available during practice, upon prior request. Call sports information
director Liz Abel at 801-581-3511 to arrange interviews either at or
outside practice.
THE RANKINGS
Utah remained at No. 3 in the new rankings, issued March 2. It is Utah's second straight week in the top three and its sixth week overall in the top three. The new rankings are based, for the first time this year, on regional qualifying score (RQS). The RQS is based on a team's six best regular season scores, of which two must be home and two must be away. The high score and low score are then dropped and the remaining four scores are averaged to reach the RQS. The Mar. 2 poll is found on page 7 of this release. Each Wednesday, the rankings (and release) are updated on the internet under www.UtahUtes.com.
LAST WEEK
Utah racked up its best score of the year and the third-best score in
school history in Logan, Utah, on Feb. 26 to defeat Utah State and Boise
State, 197.625-195.675 (USU)-194.200 (BSU). Freshman Theresa Kulikowski was
brilliant again for the Utes, winning the all-around with a 39.725-the best
score by a Ute this year and the fifth-best score ever at Utah. She
received the first perfect mark of the year by a Ute on the bars and then
matched that with a 10.0 on floor. Kulikowski also won the balance beam
competition with a 9.95. Sophomore Shannon Bowles, whose 39.375 was her
best all-around of the year, won vault with a season-best 9.875. A Utah
record four all-arounders scored above 39.00: Kulikowski (39.725), Angie
Leonard (39.500), Bowles (39.375) and Denise Jones (39.275). Utah "hit" 23
of 24 routines and six Utes set or tied 10 career personal bests.
TRAINER'S TABLE
Ashley Kever has missed the last three meets with a hyper-extended knee
suffered in vault warmups before the LSU meet on Feb. 19. Theresa Wolf
missed the Utah State meet last Friday with a sore back and injured her knee in practice on Tuesday. The extent of the latest injury is not known. Kever is still
questionable for this week, while Wolf is doubtful.
UTAH COACH GREG MARSDEN
Greg Marsden, the most successful coach in collegiate gymnastics history,
is in his 24th year at the U. He owns a 681-96-3 record (344-43-1 regular
season). His ten national championships is more than double that of any
other coach. Four of those titles have come in the '90s (1990, '92, '94,
'95). Fourteen of Marsden's teams have placed in the top-two nationally.
The only coach in Utah's gymnastics history, Marsden is a seven-time
national coach of the year selection.
SERIES SHORTS
Utah leads 24-0 ... Utes lead 10-0 in Salt Lake City and 18-0 in regular
season competition ... teams met twice last year, with Utah winning in
Seattle on Feb. 20 (196.225-195.225) and at the NCAA Championships in Los
Angeles (196.200-195.450), where Utah placed fourth and Washington was
seventh ... last time in Salt Lake City, Utah won 196.575-193.125 on Jan.
17, 1997.
UTE NOTES
The Utes are off to their first 9-0 start since 1995, when they won 15
straight before losing at Florida ... Utah has broken its season high in
each of the last two meets. Its 197.625 against Utah State is the third
highest score in school history and one of nine 197.00 scores ever by Utah
... Utah has scored a 49.00 or better on all four events in the last two
meets ... The Utes' best event is bars, where they average a 49.13 and their 49.225 bar RQS is No. 2 in the nation (as of March 2) ... Utah is 3-0 against top 10
opponents this year, defeating (then) No. 3 Louisiana State, No. 7 Stanford
and No. 8 Minnesota ... Freshman Theresa Kulikowski has posted two of the
top 10 all-around scores in school history: She scored a 39.725 on Feb. 26,
which is the fifth-best ever, and her 39.600 on Feb. 22 is tied for ninth
... Kulikowski is Utah's win leader with 20 ... Four Utes have won
all-around titles this year: Kulikowski (Stanford, Minnesota, Florida, Utah
State), Denise Jones (LSU), Deidra Graham (Southern Utah) and Theresa Wolf
(Arizona) ... A school-record five all-arounders competed up in Logan, with
a record four of them scoring a 39.00 or better (Kulikowski, Angie Leonard,
Shannon Bowles, Jones) ... Ashley Kever, who competes three events, has
missed the last three meets after hyper-extending her knee during vault
warmups of the LSU meet. She is back training on beam and floor, where she
is listed as questionable for Saturday.
ALL-AMERICA ANGIE
Senior All-American Angie Leonard turned in her best performance of the
year last week in Logan, placing third all-around with a season-best 39.50.
Her 9.95 on floor was a career-best and she had season highs on the other
three apparatus (vault 9.80, bars 9.925, beam 9.825). Leonard has three
wins on bars this year, bringing her career bar victory total to 19. Twice
this year she has been a double winner-capturing bars and floor against
both Southern Utah and Arizona. She has five total victories this year. She
has gone all-around four times, topping 39.00 twice. She has 17 career
39.00-or-better all-around scores. In her four years, Leonard has "hit" 151
of 168 (90%) of her competitive routines. She is 44 of 48 (92%) on bars.
She has "hit" 20 of 24 routines this year. A two-time first-team bar
All-American, she went almost two full years without a fall on bars. Her
career all-around best is 39.625, set against Stanford in 1997.
"BOWLES" THEM OVER
Sophomore Shannon Bowles, a 1997 U.S. National Team member and a 1998
first-team All-America all-arounder, has put together back-to-back 39.00
all-around scores. She placed second against Florida on Feb. 22 with a
39.275, then set a season best four days later at Utah State with a 39.375.
Bowles, who appears set in the all-around lineup for the remainder of the
year, also went all-around at Arizona on Feb. 12 (38.775). Her best event
has been beam, where she has won or tied for first four times. She is tied with teammate Theresa Kulikowski for third in the nation on beam in the latest rankings (Mar. 2) with a 9.8937 RQS. She has
three 9.90 or better scores on beam this year, with a season-best 9.95
against Louisiana State on Feb. 19. Her career best on beam is a 10.0. She
collected her first vault win of the year last Friday (9.875), raising her
season win total to five. Bowles, a first-team All-American in the
all-around and on bars and beam as a freshman last year, had a team-best
eight 39.00 all-around scores in 1998. Her career best is a 39.60, which is
tied for the ninth best score in school history. She has "hit" 69 of 75
routines in her career (92%).
WAY KULIO
Freshman standout Theresa Kulikowski, arguably the best freshman recruit in
the nation, is living up to her billing. The 1995-96 U.S. National Team
member and first alternate for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team has won four of
five all-around competitions she has attempted and has scored above a 39.00
in all five. She has two of the top 10 all-around scores in school history:
Her 39.725 at Utah State on Feb. 26 ranks fifth in the books, while her
39.60 against Florida on Feb. 22 is tied for ninth. She is averaging a 39.40 in the all-around, up from her 39.3187 average that ranked third in the Feb. 23 poll. She was not eligible for the all-around rankings in the March 2 poll because she does not have a regional qualifying score. She does have an RQS on bars, where she ranks fifth (9.9062); beam, where she is tied with teammate Shannon Bowles for third (9.8937); and floor, where she is fourth (9.9187). Kulikowski had the best freshman debut ever by a Ute on
January 15 in winning the all-around against Stanford with a 39.40. She set
another freshman mark last Friday when she scored two 10.0s in a single
meet (on bars and floor). Kulikowski, who became just the third Ute
freshman ever to score a 10.0 (Shannon Bowles and former Ute Traci Sommer
are the others), is the first U. rookie to score a 10.0 on the road. She
has the highest individual event score by a Ute this year on bars (10.0),
floor (10.0) and beam (9.95, tie). Kulikowski leads the team in wins with
20: all-around, bars, beam and floor vs. Stanford; all-around and bars vs.
Minnesota; beam and floor vs. BYU; beam and floor vs. Southern Utah; bars
and floor vs. LSU; all-around, bars, beam and floor vs. Florida; and
all-around, bars, beam and floor vs. Utah State/Boise State. "Kulio" missed
the February 12 meet at Arizona due to illness and did not compete on vault
in the previous two meets. She returned to the all-around lineup against
LSU and placed third all-around with a 39.125. She has "hit" 24 of 26
routines, with both falls on bars.
MORE ON THE UTES
Deidra Graham-Freshman won her collegiate all-around debut on Feb. 5,
scoring a 39.10 against Southern Utah ... her best event is bars, where she
has finished in the top two six times and scored a career-best 9.95 vs.
Utah State (Feb. 26) ... currently ranks 10th in the nation (Mar. 2) on bars with a 9.8875 RQS ... won bars at BYU with a 9.875 ... also one of
Utah's best on floor, where she has four 9.90 floor scores ... has "hit" 22
of 27 routines (2 falls on floor, 3 on beam) ... 1995 U.S. National Team
member and senior international elite won bars at 1998 Junior Olympic
Championships.
Denise Jones-Junior All-America all-arounder won her first all-around of the season against LSU on Feb. 19, scoring a career-best 39.45 ... also had career highs on bars (9.925) and floor vs. LSU ... set career beam high on Feb. 26 (9.90) ... season-best 9.875 on vault on Feb. 22 ... competed only on beam at Arizona (Feb. 12) due to sore ankles ... 39.275 all-around vs. Utah State/Boise State on Feb. 26 ... 39.00 all-around against Southern Utah on Feb. 5 ... has 14 career 39.00 all-around scores ... has won five events this year (2 vault, 1 all-around, 1 bars and 1 beam) ... has "hit" 112 of 123 (91%) of her career routines.
Ashley Kever-Junior is one of Utah's best on vault, beam and floor ... missed last three meets after hyper-extending knee during vault warmups on Feb. 19 and is questionable for Saturday ... went four meets without a miss before fall on floor at Arizona ... won first vault competition of her career on Feb. 5, scoring career-best 9.80 ... has scored 9.80 on floor twice this year ... in vault lineup every meet she's competed, after never vaulting her first two years ... 9.725 on vault against both Stanford and BYU ... has "hit" 14-15 routines this year.
Molly Northrop-Senior is training strictly on bars and beam this year, where she is an All-American ... has made bar lineup five meets and beam lineup twice ... scored 9.70 on bars in three straight meets and had season-best 9.775 on Feb. 26 ... career-best 9.925 on beam last week at Utah State ... in first beam to count on Feb. 22, scored 9.80 ... first-team bars All-American in 1998 (6th) and second-team beam All-American in 1997 (16th) ... 1998 GTE Academic All-American (second team).
Sarah Northrop-Senior All-American (1996) has been training on vault, bars and beam ... in first routine to count this year, she scored a 9.825 on bars on Feb. 19 vs. LSU ... 9.75 on bars against Florida (Feb. 22) ... 9.80 in exhibition on bars at BYU ... also competed exhibition on bars against Stanford, Minnesota, Southern Utah and Utah State/BSU ... missed Arizona meet with illness.
Angelika Schatton-Junior is one of Utah's most consistent vaulters .. averaging 9.763 on vault ... only Ute to vault in all 8 meets ... career-best 9.825 on Feb. 19 vs. LSU ... scored 9.775 four times ... has placed second four times: LSU (9.825), Southern Utah (9.775) , Minnesota (9.725) and BYU (9.75).
Jenny Schmidt-Junior competed "to count" on Feb. 5 for the first time since Mar. 7, 1997 ... led off Utah's bar set with 9.775 ... 9.70 at Arizona on Feb. 12 as Utah's first competitor ... competed exhibition on bars in five meets ... best exhibition scores include 9.825 vs. Florida, 9.775 at BYU and 9.675 at Minnesota ... has undergone two knee surgeries since March 1997.
Lindsay Tanner-Freshman walk-on scored a 9.90 in exhibition on floor at Arizona, which would have tied her for first had score been to count ... 9.775 in exhibition on Feb. 22 ... has "hit" five floor routines in seven exhibition attempts ... Level 10 gymnast competed at 1998 J.O. National Championships.
Kylee Wagner-Freshman has made floor lineup in six meets ... career-best 9.90 vs. Utah State/BSU on Feb. 26 ... 9.825 vs. Florida on Feb. 22 ... 9.775 against SUU on Feb. 5 ... 9.625 at Minnesota included .10 deduction for "illegal" earring ... scored 9.65 at BYU and 9.675 at Arizona ... at 1998 J.O. Nationals, she placed 10th all-around, fourth on floor and eighth on vault.
Theresa Wolf-Sophomore has one win in the all-around (Feb. 12) and two runner-up finishes (Jan. 15, Feb. 19) this year ... career-best 39.225 against LSU on Feb. 19 ... won all-around at Arizona on Feb. 12, scoring a 38.925 ... second all-around against Stanford (39.125) ... 38.650 at BYU included her only fall of 1999 (on beam) ... final vaulter in Ute lineup scored career best 9.925 to win vault on Feb. 22 ... won back-to-back vault competitions against LSU and Florida ... did three events against Minnesota and Florida and went all-around in three meets ... missed Feb. 5 and Feb. 26 meets to rest injuries ... has "hit" 21 of 22 routines this year.
UTE WINNERS
Theresa Kulikowski (20)
All-Around (4)
39.400 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15
39.150 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23
39.600 vs. Florida, Feb. 22
39.725 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Feb. 26
Bars (5)
9.900 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15
9.875 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23
9.925 vs. Louisiana State, Feb. 19
9.925 vs. Florida, Feb. 22
10.00 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Feb. 26
Beam (5)
9.850 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15
9.925 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29
9.800 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
9.900 vs. Florida, Feb. 22
10.00 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Feb. 26
Floor (6)
9.925 vs. Stanford, Jan. 15
9.850 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29
9.825 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
9.925 vs. Louisiana State, Feb. 19
9.975 vs. Florida, Feb. 22
10.00 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Feb. 26
Angie Leonard (5)
Bars (3)
9.900 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
9.850 vs. Arizona, Feb. 12
9.925 vs. Louisiana State, Feb. 19
Floor (2)
9.825 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
9.900 vs. Arizona, Feb. 12
Denise Jones (5)
All-Around (1)
39.450 vs. Louisiana State, Feb. 19
Vault (2)
9.750 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23
9.775 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29
Bars (1)
9.925 vs. Louisiana State, Feb. 19
Beam (1)
9.800 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
Shannon Bowles (5)
Vault (1)
9.875 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Feb. 26
Beam (5)
9.950 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 23
9.850 vs. Arizona, Feb. 12
9.950 vs. Louisiana State, Feb. 19
9.900 vs. Florida, Feb. 22
Theresa Wolf (3)
All-Around (1)
38.925 vs. Arizona, Feb. 12
Vault (2)
9.900 vs. Louisiana State, Feb. 19
9.925 vs. Florida, Feb. 22
Deidra Graham (2)
All-Around (1)
39.10 vs. Southern Utah, Feb. 5
Bars (1)
9.875 vs. Brigham Young, Jan. 29
UTE CAREER HIGHS
Almost every Ute has scored a career high this year. Including season highs
by freshmen, here are the career highs set in 1999: Denise Jones:
All-Around 39.45 vs. LSU, Bars 9.925 vs. LSU, Beam 9.90 vs. Utah
State/Boise State, Floor (tie) 9.850 vs. Stanford. Theresa Kulikowski:
All-Around 39.725 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Vault 9.80 vs. Florida, Bars
10.0 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Beam 9.95 vs. Utah State/Boise State,
Floor 10.0 vs. Utah State/Boise State. Ashley Kever: Vault 9.80 vs.
Southern Utah. Deidra Graham: All-Around 39.10 vs. Southern Utah, Vault
9.775 vs. Southern Utah, Bars 9.95 vs. Utah State/Boise State, Beam 9.775
vs. Florida, Floor 9.90 vs. Stanford, LSU, Florida, Utah State/Boise State.
Molly Northrop Beam 9.925 vs. Utah State/Boise State. Angelika Schatton:
Vault 9.825 vs. LSU. Kylee Wagner: Floor 9.90 vs. Utah State/Boise State.
Theresa Wolf: All-Around 39.225 vs. LSU, Vault 9.925 vs. Florida, Bars
9.825 vs. LSU.
HUSKY REPORT
10-5 ... ranked No. 21 to start the week ... placed seventh at the 1998
NCAA Championships ... season high 196.0 last week in win over Oregon State
(195.60) ... Huskies had 17 career highs in win over OSU ... sophomore
Lanna Apisukh has four all-around victories and four 39.00 scores (39.475
best) ... junior All-American Lauren Riesenman has two all-around wins this
year (39.175 best) ... six-time All-American Tiffany Simpson has been out
with a stress fracture in her leg ... head coach Bob Levesque is 97-71 in
nine years.
GREG MARSDEN SAYS
"I was extremely pleased with our effort at Utah State. I didn't know how
we'd handle three meets in a week. I was pleasantly surprised that we
actually got better in each meet. Plus, we probably had our strongest meet
of the season on the road, which was an important step for us to take. I've
said this all year-it's been tough at times to decide who's going to be in
the lineup to count. But the benefit has been that when people are banged
up-we were missing Theresa Wolf and Ashley Kever last Friday-we've been
able to hold them out and let them take care of the injuries before they
get chronic. I can tell that bodies are beginning to break down a bit,
which is typical in the last half of the season. Hopefully our depth will
continue to allow us to rest people at appropriate times. Washington was
really decimated early in the season by injuries. They're beginning to get
healthy again it appears and their scores are showing it. They upset
Stanford a couple of weeks ago and had a 196.0 against Oregon State last
week. After Washington, we start the Spring Break week by going to Oregon
State, which is always a difficult meet to win up there. Then we finish the
week in Shannon Bowle's hometown with a meet against New Hampshire."
UTAH TO HOST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Utah will host the 1999 NCAA Gymnastics Championships,
April 22-24 in the Huntsman Center. Tickets are on sale in the Huntsman
Center ticket office, or can be ordered by calling 801-581-UTIX. Utah has
hosted seven national gymnastics championships-most recently in 1994 (won
by the Utes).
QUALIFYING TO NATIONALS
The qualification procedures into the NCAA Championships, April 22-24 in
Salt Lake City, have changed. There will be six regional competitions
preceding nationals, with six teams qualifying into each based on their
regional qualifying scores (RQS). The RQS is based on a team's six best
regular season scores, of which two must be home and two must be away. To
obtain the RQS, the high score and the low score are eliminated and the
remaining scores are averaged. The top 12 teams nationally, based on RQS,
will be seeded into the six regions (two per region). The remaining four
regional slots will be filled from within the region. The top two teams
>from each region, regardless of score, will qualify into the NCAA
Championships for a total of 12 teams. The region configuration has also
changed. Sites for the 1999 NCAA Regional Championships, which will be held
on April 10, are: Region 1-Oregon State, Region 2-Utah State, Region
3-Nebraska, Region 4-Louisiana State, Region 5-Penn State and Region 6-West
Virginia. The only way a seeded team is guaranteed to stay in its own
region is if it is hosting a region championship.
NEW TRAINING CENTER OPEN
After 23 years training in HPER West 106, the Utah gymnastics program moved
into a new home on Dec. 28, 1998. The new $2 million Women's Gymnastics
Training Center is a stand alone facility located adjacent to HPER
East-just north of Ute volleyball's Crimson Court. The 18,000 square foot
training center was funded through private donations, with a $1 million
lead gift from the Zeke, Jr. and Katherine Dumke family. The facility
features the latest equipment and matting, as well as locker, training,
aerobics, strength and rehabilitation areas. The aerobics addition to the
facility is nearing completion.
NACGC COACHES POLL
(Feb. 23, 1999)
No. Team RQS 1. Georgia 196.9562 2. Alabama 196.7125 3. Utah 196.2312 4. Penn State 195.6625 5. LSU 195.4125 6. Michigan 195.2312 7. Arizona State 195.1125 8. Nebraska 194.9125 9. Maryland 194.3687 10. Ohio State 194.3125 11. Oklahoma 194.2812 12. West Virginia 194.2312 13. Oregon State 194.1937 14. Minnesota 194.1625 15. Stanford 194.1500 16. Utah State 194.0375 17. UCLA 194.0250 18. Florida 193.9562 19. Illinois 193.4625 20. Iowa State 193.3875 21. Denver 193.3750 22. Kentucky 193.3500 23. Central Michigan 193.2875 24. No. Carolina State 193.2375 25. Illinois 193.0750*Poll is now based on regional qualifying score from Mar. 2 on.
Utah's ranking by week Poll Place Preseason 4 Jan. 12 UR* Jan. 19 2 Jan. 26 3 Feb. 2 3 Feb. 12 3 Feb. 16 4 Feb. 23 3 Mar. 2 3
*The Jan. 12 poll was determined by high score and Utah had not yet competed.