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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Gymnastics Opens Friday Against Stanford
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
January 11, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY -
UTAH VS. STANFORD
Fri., Jan. 15, 7:00 p.m.Salt Lake City
Huntsman Center
MEET AT A GLANCE
Utah: 0-0Rank: No. 4
Stanford: 1-0
Rank: No. 10
Series: Utah leads 6-1
QUICKLY
Two preseason top 10 teams square off Friday at 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center, when No. 4 Utah hosts No. 10 Stanford in the Smith's Challenge Cup ... A crowd of 10,000-12,000 is expected ... Free general admission coupons are available at all Smith's Food & Drug Center customer service counters ... It's the season opener for Utah ... Stanford (1-0) opened its 1999 campaign at UC Davis on January 10, winning 192.450-183.975 ... Utah is coming off a fourth-place NCAA finish ... The Utes have won a record ten national championships, including four in the 1990s (1990, '92, '94, '95).
THE STREAK
Utah puts the longest regular season home win streak in the nation on the line this Friday against Stanford. The Utes have won 145 consecutive regular season meets since losing 19 years ago to Cal State-Fullerton on Feb. 20, 1979. In the last 14 years, just two 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 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, Arizona, Arizona State, Penn State, Nebraska, Brigham Young and Washington. Including postseason competition (regionals and nationals), Utah's all-time home record is 285-12 (96%).
NEW TRAINING CENTER OPENS
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 Womens 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. Although the facility is open for training, finishing work remains and construction is still underway on the aerobics addition.
PRESEASON POLL
Utah is ranked fourth in the preseason coaches poll, right where it finished last year. Georgia was picked to repeat as NCAA champion, followed by Florida, UCLA, Utah and Alabama. Rounding out the top 10 were Arizona State, Michigan, Washington, Louisiana State and Stanford. The complete poll can be found on page 5 of this release. Utah's 1999 schedule features four preseason top 10 teams and nine top 25 teams: No. 2 Florida, No. 8 Washington, No. 9 LSU, No. 10 Stanford, No. 12 Brigham Young, No. 15 Oregon State, No. 16 Arizona, No. 18 Minnesota and No. 25 Utah State. Utah's other two opponents-Southern Utah and New Hampshire-both received votes.
UTAH LAST YEAR
Utah finished fourth at the 1998 NCAA Championships, just .325 out of second place. It was the 18th top-four finish for the Utah gymnastics program and the eighth time (in nine tries) that Utah placed in the top four in the 1990s. The Utes logged a 7-3 regular season record that included five home wins and extended their nations best regular season home win streak to 145 (19 years). Utah won the NCAA Midwest Region championship in Tempe, Ariz., ahead of fellow NCAA Championships qualifiers BYU and Arizona State. Five Utes made the All-America team: Shannon Bowles (all-around 8th, bars 4th, beam 4th), Molly Northrop (bars 6th), Traci Sommer (beam 7th), Angie Leonard (bars 12th) and Denise Jones (all-around 12th). For the 15th time in the last 16 years, Utah led the nation's gymnastics teams in home attendance, averaging 10,211.
WHO'S BACK
Utah returns six All-Americans and nine letterwinners. Sophomore Shannon Bowles, Utah's top finisher as a freshman at last years NCAA Championships, is a three-time first-team All-American. Bowles finished eighth all-around and fourth on bars and beam. Senior Angie Leonard has three first-team All-America awards in her career (fourth on vault and sixth on bars in 1997, 12th on bars in 1998). Senior Molly Northrop made the first team on bars last year, placing sixth, and was second-team on beam in 1997 (16th). Junior Denise Jones (12th all-around in 1998) and senior Sarah Northrop (12th all-around, 11th on bars in 1996) are both second-team All-Americans. Also returning for the Utes: senior Angelika Schatton, juniors Ashley Kever and Jenny Schmidt, and sophomore Theresa Wolf. Schmidt is attempting to come back from two knee surgeries that have kept her from performing since March of 1997.
WHO'S NEW
A four-member freshman class is highlighted by former U.S. National Team member (1995-96) and 1996 U.S. Olympic Team alternate Theresa Kulikowski of Colorado Springs, Colo., and last year's Junior Olympic uneven bars champion Deidra Graham of Tooele, Utah. Joining them are Kylee Wagner of Salem, Ore., and Lindsay Tanner of Denver, Colo. Wagner was a vault and floor finalist at the 1998 J.O. Nationals and Tanner, a walk-on, also competed at the 1998 J.O. Nationals.
TRAINER'S TABLE
While several gymnasts have been held back by injuries in the preseason, everyone is healthy to start this week.
UTAH COACH GREG MARSDEN
Greg Marsden, the most successful coach in collegiate gymnastics history, is beginning his 24th year at the U. He owns a 672-96-3 record (335-43-1 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 the series with Stanford 6-1 ... Utah won five straight before losing 196.550-194.275 last March in its first ever trip to Palo Alto ...Utah has a 4-1 regular season edge and leads the series 2-0 in Salt Lake City ... The two teams previously met in Salt Lake in 1989 (Utah won 191.00-181.90) and 1997 (Utah won 197.925-196.800) ... Utah's 197.925 winning score in 1997 is the school record ... The two teams have competed four times on neutral floors (including two NCAA Championships), with Utah winning all four.
UTE NOTES
Utah has won its last 19 season-openers ... Its last season opening loss was in 1979 (to Utah State) ... Utah's loss to Stanford last year was its only loss of the season to a team that did not make the NCAA Championships ... Utah lost two athletes from last year's fourth-place NCAA team: senior All-American Traci Sommer and freshman Marilyn Ekdahl ... With the graduation of Sommer, who competed for Utah's NCAA Championship team as a freshman in 1995, Utah is without a gymnast who has competed for a national championship team for the first time since 1980 ... Freshman Deidra Graham (Tooele) is Utah's first instate recruit since Monica Shaw competed in 1995. Graham is tentatively scheduled to go all-around in her first meet, along with senior Denise Jones and sophomore Shannon Bowles (tentative lineup on this page) ... Freshman Theresa Kulikowski, who joins Bowles as Utah's most recent U.S. National Team members, was first alternate for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. She finished eighth at the 1996 Olympic Trials.
ALL-AMERICA ANGIE
Senior Angie Leonard has been held back in the preseason while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. She is expected to compete on just two events-vault and bars-this Friday, with a return to the all-around likely as the season progresses. A three-time first-team All-American, Leonard is one of the nation's best on bars where she has 16 career bar victories. She is a fine four-event competitor, with 15 career 39.00 all-around scores. One of the most consistent performers ever at Utah, Leonard has hit 91 percent (129 of 142)of her career routines. On bars, she is 37 of 40 (93%) in her career. The two-time first-team bar All-American went almost two full years without a fall on bars. Her career all-around best is 39.625, set against Stanford in 1997.
SHANNON SHINES
Sophomore Shannon Bowles, a 1997 U.S. National Team member, was sensational as a freshman, leading the Utes in victories with 14 and earning first-team All-America honors in the all-around (8th, 39.35) and on bars (4th, 9.85) and beam (4th, 9.85). She scored a 9.90 on bars and beam the first two nights of the NCAA Championships. Bowles was the NCAA Midwest Region all-around runner-up with a 39.15. Among her team-best eight 39.00 all-around scores was a personal best 39.60, which is tied for the eighth best score in school history. Bowles won at least one event in seven meets and won her collegiate all-around debut on January 23 at Michigan (39.25). She hit 92 percent (46 of 50) of her routines as a freshman. Bowles expects to compete all-around this week against Stanford.
MORE ON THE UTES
Deidra Graham-Freshman is expected to jump right into the all-around lineup against Stanford and is slated to be the last competitor on floor ... 1995 U.S. National Team member and senior international elite placed third all-around and first on bars at 1998 Junior Olympic Championships ... second on bars and 10th all-around at 1994 Coca Cola National Championships ... seventh all-around for winning U.S. team at 1995 Junior Pan American Games in Mexico.
Denise Jones-Junior is scheduled to go all-around for a third year ... 1998 second-team All-America all-arounder placed 12th (39.25) at the NCAA Championships ... missed making second team All-American on bars and beam by one place at 1998 NCAAs ...11 career 39.00 all-around scores ... has hit 91 percent (87 of 96) of her career routines.
Ashley Kever-Junior is in beam and floor lineups this week ... limited to those two events due to injuries her first two years, she might vault this year ... has been training a 10.0 vault in the preseason ... competed on beam and floor at both the 1997 and 1998 NCAA Championships ... critical 9.825 floor score in last years Super Six competition.
Theresa Kulikowski-Freshman has no weaknesses and is one of Utah's top recruits ever ... scheduled to do three events this week (bars, beam and floor) ... will be Utah's last competitor on bars ... 1995-96 U.S. National Team member was senior international elite ... first alternate for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team was eighth at the Olympic Trials ... has both power and exceptional dance abilities.
Molly Northrop-Senior is training strictly on bars and beam this year, where she is an All-American ... first-team bars All-American in 1998 (6th) and second-team beam All-American in 1997 (16th) ... was also a 1998 GTE Academic All-American (second team) ... had best meets of her career at 1998 NCAA Championships, hitting all five events and scoring career-best 9.90 on bars ... hit 25 of 26 routines as a junior.
Sarah Northrop-Senior has been training on vault, bars and beam ... excellent preseason ... slated to perform No. 5 on bars vs. Stanford ... hopes to avoid injury problems that have plagued her since she was a second-team All-American as a freshman in 1996 (all-around and bars).
Angelika Schatton-Junior has new routines in every event and this could be her year to do multiple events ... regular on last years vault team has looked good in preseason on all four events, especially vault, beam and floor ... will likely lead off Utah's vault lineup this week.
Jenny Schmidt-Junior is attempting a second comeback from a knee injury first suffered as a freshman against Stanford on Mach 7, 1997 ... re-injured knee prior to 1998 season and underwent second surgery in less than two years ... is training only on bars.
Lindsay Tanner-Freshman walk-on will contribute on both vault and floor this year ... Level 10 gymnast competed at 1998 J.O. National Championships.
Kylee Wagner-Freshman has lots of untapped potential ... impressed at 1998 J.O. Nationals, where she placed 10th all-around, fourth on floor and eighth on vault.
Theresa Wolf-After showing flashes of brilliance as a freshman, she appears ready for a breakthrough season this year ... one of Utahs more powerful athletes has added a 10.0 vault and upgraded her bar routine ... will probably compete three events (vault, beam and floor) this week-and go last up on vault.
CARDINAL REPORT
Ranked No. 10 in the preseason ... 1-0 ... defeated UC Davis 192.450-183.975 on the road last Saturday ... head coach Mark Cook is 9-4 in his second year ... freshman Katy Herbert won the all-around with a 37.925 and junior Larissa Fontaine won both vault (9.75) and bars (9.775).
MARSDEN SAYS
"I can see going into the first meet that we're going to have to rely a lot on our freshmen, who will be competing for the first time. I won't know what to expect until they've gotten a meet or two under their belt. I think I'll have a much better feel for where we really are after Friday's meet. Stanford has already had a competition and it's always an advantage to have gotten some of the first meet jitters behind you. They're a very talented team and we'll have to start strong if we expect to win. We had a mock meet just before finals in December and at that point I was extremely enthusiastic about where we were as a group. But, since our return from Christmas break, we just haven't gotten back to that same level as of yet. Our new training facility has been a big advantage, although we just haven't been in it long enough to fully appreciate its potential. This team should be much deeper in general (than last year's) with the biggest improvement coming on floor exercise. Vault, too, should be a much improved event, but I'm concerned about consistency early in the season since everyone has tried to upgrade their difficulty. It's always a long preseason for the team and I know everyone is anxious to finally get on the competitive floor."
TENTATIVE UTAH LINEUP
(Jan. 11)
Vault
Angelika Schatton
Deidra Graham
Denise Jones
Angie Leonard
Shannon Bowles
Theresa Wolf
Uneven Bars
Shannon Bowles
Denise Jones
Deidra Graham
Angie Leonard
Sarah Northrop
Theresa Kulikowski
Balance Beam
Deidra Graham
Ashley Kever
Denise Jones
Theresa Wolf
Theresa Kulikowski
Shannon Bowles
Floor Exercise
Denise Jones
Shannon Bowles
Theresa Kulikowski
Theresa Wolf
Ashley Kever
Deidra Graham
All-Around
Shannon Bowles
Deidra Graham
Denise Jones
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