Ute Gymnasts To Close Regular Season At Home Vs. BYU

March 19, 2001

SALT LAKE CITY -

QUICKLY

The Utah gymnastics team concludes its regular season this Friday against Brigham Young in the Spartan Chrysler/Plymouth/Jeep Showdown ... Meet time is 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center ... Utah's lone senior, Theresa Wolf, will be honored in a pre-meet ceremony ... At stake for the No. 5 ranked Utes (12-1-1) is their national record regular season home court win streak, which now stands at 163 and dates back to 1979 (see The Streak) ... Utah slipped from No. 2 to No. 5 in the latest rankings, issued March 19. Brigham Young (10-4) is ranked 12th (see The Rankings) ... Utah and BYU met in Provo back on February 9, with Utah winning 197.225-196.025 ... Friday's meet will be aired live on KJZZ television ... Live stats will be also be available on Utah's web site at www.UtahUtes.com.

TV TALK

This Friday's Chrysler/Plymouth/Jeep Showdown will be televised live on KJZZ. Steve Brown will call the "play by play" and former Ute NCAA Champion and 1988 U.S. Olympian Missy Marlowe will provide the color commentary.

THE STREAK

Utah ran its national record regular season home win streak to 163 with its March 10 win over Oregon State. Not since February 20, 1979, when Utah lost to Cal State Fullerton and Clarion, has a Ute gymnastics team lost a regular season meet on its home floor. No other collegiate team of any kind, men's or women's, can make such a claim. Of the present Ute team, only senior Theresa Wolf was alive the last time Utah lost a regular season home meet. In the last 15 years, just three opponents have come within a point of Utah in a regular season meet in the Huntsman Center: Utah defeated BYU by 0.5 in 2000, Oregon State by 0.75 in 1996 and Michigan by 0.75 in 2001. Two others came within a point and a half: LSU (1.225 in 1999) and Georgia (1.4 points in 1991). Among the nationally ranked teams to fall to Utah since 1979: Georgia, Alabama, UCLA, Michigan, Florida, Arizona State, Penn State, LSU, Oregon State, Arizona, Nebraska, Brigham Young, Washington and Stanford. Including post-season competition, Utah's all-time home record is 313-15 (95%).

NATIONAL RANKED UTES

Theresa Kulikowski and Shannon Bowles are ranked 1-2 in the nation on the balance beam this week. For Kulikowski, it is her third straight week at No. 1. Bowles slipped to No. 2 after holding or sharing the top spot for the three previous weeks. Kulikowski's regional qualifying score is a 9.940, while Bowles' is a 9.935. Kulikowski is No. 3 on the uneven bars (9.955 RQS), Deidra Graham is No. 4 in the all-around (39.465) and No. 9 on the floor exercise (9.925), Veronique Leclerc is No. 8 on the vault (9.905) and Bowles is No. 13 on the floor exercise (9.915).

TEAM WORK

As a team, Utah is ranked No. 1 in the nation on the beam (49.370 RQS), No. 3 on both the uneven bars (49.440) and floor exercise (49.475), and No. 6 on the vault (49.115).

PRACTICE TIMES & INTERVIEW POLICY

Monday and Tuesday (1:30-5:30 p.m.) and Thursday (1:30-3:00 p.m.) in the Dumke Gymnastics Center. All practices are open to the public. Media interested in interviews should plan to be in the Dumke Gymnastics Center 30 minutes before practice begins. All athlete interviews must be completed by the start of practice. Call sports information director Liz Abel at 801-581-3511 to arrange interviews.

THE RANKINGS

The latest Top-25, released on Mar. 19 and based on regional qualifying score (RQS) follows: 1. UCLA 197.465, 2. Georgia 197.395, 3. Alabama 197.195, 4. Nebraska 197.175, 5. Utah 197.110, 6. Stanford 196.825, 7. Michigan 196.795, 8. Arizona State 196.490, 9. Iowa State 196.420, 10. Penn State 196.205, 11. Florida 196.160, 12. Brigham Young 195.975, 13. Oregon State 195.875, 14. Iowa 195.830, 15. Minnesota 195.780, 16. Washington 195.770, 17. Ohio State 195.735, 18 Kent State 195.705, 19. West Virginia 195.660, 20. Oklahoma 195.440, 21. Louisiana State 195.340, 22. Illinois State 195.270, 23. Denver 195.210, 24. Arizona 195.190, 25. California 195.130

LAST WEEK

Utah picked up three wins in Gainesville, Fla., last Saturday, despite losing its best all-arounder in the pre-meet warmups. The Utes fared well through three events and only a bad effort on vault kept them from winning with relative ease. As it was, they held on for a 196.750-196.525 win over runner-up and 10th-ranked Florida. George Washington (195.000) was third and North Carolina brought up the rear (192.275). Junior Deidra Graham injured her knee during the uneven bar warmups and was pulled from the lineup. It took four teammates to replace her. In her absence, Shannon Bowles won the all-around with a season-best 39.525 and also captured the floor (9.925). Theresa Kulikowski won both of her events, scoring a 9.90 on the bars and a 9.95 on the beam. The Utes were best in the middle section of the meet, scoring a fine 49.475 on the beam and a 49.400 on the floor.

SERIES SHORTS

Utah leads 65-2 and is 1-0 vs. the Cougars this year ... latest outcome was Utah 197.225, BYU 196.025 in Provo on Feb. 9 ... Utah is 29-0 all-time against BYU in Salt Lake City ... Utes lead regular season series 43-2 ... Last BYU win was in 1998 in Provo ... BYU has come closer than any team in 20-plus years in beating Utah on its home court in the regular season. Utah eked out a 0.5 win last year in Salt Lake City.

UTE NOTES

While Friday's meet is the last regular season competition for the Utes, they will hold one more meet in the Huntsman Center. Utah is one of six sites chosen to host an NCAA Regional on April 7 ... Utah's average attendance in its five home meets is 9,333 ... Utah's current No. 5 ranking is its lowest this year. The Utes were ranked in the top three the previous six weeks and were at No. 2 just last week ... Four of Utah's top 10 all-time best scores have come this year: 197.900 (ranks second) vs. Arizona State on Feb. 16, 197.425 (tied for seventh) vs. Michigan on Feb. 23 and Oregon State on Mar. 10, 197.225 (eighth) scored at Brigham Young on Feb. 9 ... Theresa Kulikowski is Utah's victory leader with 16. She has won or tied for first in all but one bar competition this year ... Deidra Graham is second in wins with 15.

TRAINER'S TABLE

Junior All-American Deidra Graham missed the Florida meet after hyperextending her knee in the pre-meet warmups. While she is listed as questionable for Friday's meet, it is more likely she will try to return for the NCAA Regional on April 7. Sophomore All-American Kim Allan was lost for the season after rupturing her left Achilles tendon in a practice accident on February 4. She underwent surgery on February 7 (for more information, see Allan Lost For Season).

UTAH COACH GREG MARSDEN

Greg Marsden, the most successful coach in collegiate gymnastics history, is in his 26th year at the U. He is college gymnastics' only 700 win coach (733-108-4). In regular season competition, Marsden is 370-49-2. Marsden, who has spent his entire career at Utah, has won 10 ten national championships, double that of any other coach. Four of those titles came in the '90s (1990, '92, '94, '95). Fifteen of his teams have placed in the top-three nationally, including last year's NCAA runner-up squad. Marsden is a seven-time national coach of the year selection.

GOLDEN GRAHAM

Junior four-time All-American Deidra Graham, the 2000 NCAA Region 2 Gymnast of the Year, is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in the all-around with a 39.465 RQS. She is No. 9 on the floor exercise (9.925 RQS). Graham missed the March 17 meet at Florida after hyperextending her knee in pre-meet warmups. Her status for this week is questionable at best. Graham had a career-best 39.725 against ASU on February 16, a score that ranks fifth (tie) in school history. She has won six all-around competitions this year: Minnesota (39.200), Arizona (39.325), Utah State (39.275), BYU (39.475), Arizona State (39.725) and Oregon State (39.625). She is second on the team in total victories. Her 15 wins include six all-arounds, three vaults, one bar and five floors. In addition to her all-around and floor rankings, Graham is ranked 20th on the bars (9.90 RQS). She has "hit" 39 of 40 routines this year and is 125-135 (93%) in career routines. The former U.S. National Team member finished 10th in the all-around at the 2000 NCAA Championships and made the All-America first team.

WAY KULIO

Theresa Kulikowski, the 1999 NCAA champion in the all-around and on the balance beam (NCAA runner-up on vault and floor), is competing only on bars and beam this year while recovering from ACL surgery. She is having a great year on those two events. For the third straight week, she is ranked first in the nation on the balance beam (9.940 RQS). She is No. 3 in the nation on the bars (9.950 RQS). Kulio has received a team-high three perfect 10.0s this season, bringing her career total to seven. Two of her 10.0s came on bars (BYU, Michigan) and one was on beam (Utah State). Despite her limited events, she leads Utah in wins with 16. She has won 20 of her last 21 regular season bar competitions, dating back to 1999, including 10 of 11 this year. She has "hit" 19-22 routines this year (three misses were on the beam, where she was the 1999 NCAA champ) and is 79-86 (92%) for her career. Kulio, who missed most of last season after injuring her knee, has won 62 events and/or all-around titles in her career, including a school record 37 victories in 1999. The former U.S. National team member was the first alternate to the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. She was awarded a medical hardship extension by the NCAA after last year's knee injury, making her a sophomore in eligibility.

BOWLES 'EM OVER

Four-time All-American and former U.S. National Team member Shannon Bowles is back to prime form in the all-around. Bowles returned to the all-around lineup after an almost two-year absence on February 16. Last week at Florida, she won her first all-around title of the year (and first since her freshman year in 1998), scoring a season-best 39.525. Bowles missed all of last season after fracturing a neck vertebrae on a practice vault. Her best event has been the beam, where she was been ranked No. 1 in the nation for three straight weeks before checking in at No. 2 this week (9.935 RQS). She scored a 10.0 on the beam at Arizona, the second 10.0 of her career. She entered the national rankings on floor this week at No. 13 (9.915 RQS). Of her 11 victories this year, six were on the beam (1 all-around, 3 floor and 1 bars). She showed little evidence of a year off when she returned to action in this year's season opener and won the beam and bars. She has set or tied career highs on bars (9.95), beam (10.0) and floor (9.95) this season. The junior has "hit" 34-38 routines this year and 118-131 (90%) in her career. A two-time NCAA balance beam All-American who finished fourth in the nation on that event as both a freshman and sophomore, Bowles is also an All-American on the bars and in the all-around (eighth at the 1998 NCAA Championships).

MORE ON THE UTES

Kim Allan, So.-All-American as a freshman in 2000 suffered season-ending injury on Feb. 4 ... underwent surgery to repair torn left Achilles on Feb. 7 ... three-event performer was scheduled to go all-around in Feb. 6 meet vs. USU before getting injured ... she had "hit" all 12 of her routines, four each on vault, bars and beam ... competed on three events at 2000 NCAA Championships, making second-team All-American on beam (9.85).

Shannon Bowles, Jr.-See previous section titled Bowles 'Em Over.

Deidra Graham, Jr.-See previous section titled Golden Graham.

Theresa Kulikowski, So.-See previous section titled Way Kulio.

Tacia LaBatte, Fr.-Freshman vaulted in season opener and scored 9.65 ... first bar routine to count was on March 17 (fell) ... has gone exhibition five times on bars, with a best score of 9.80 on Feb. 16 ... member of 1996 and 2000 Junior Olympic National teams ... four-time region all-around champ.

Veronique Leclerc, Fr.-Two-event performer is ranked eighth in the nation on vault (9.905 RQS) ... she was ranked No. 5 on vault the three previous weeks ... career-best 9.975 vault on Mar. 10 ... has 7 vault victories this year including 5 straight at one point ... vault wins were vs. Southern Utah (9.825), UCLA (9.90), Arizona (9.875), Utah State (9.85), BYU (9.90), ASU (9.95) and Oregon State (9.975) ... also competes on bars and has four 9.90 scores ... did floor at Florida and scored 9.825 ... won vault (9.825) and tied for second on bars (9.90) in first collegiate meet ... has "hit" 21-23 events ... five-year Canadian National Team member was ninth all-around at 2000 Canadian Olympic Trials.

Annie Medcalf, Fr.-Has been in bar lineup since Feb. 6 (replaced injured Kim Allan) ... since fall in first outing, has averaged 9.825 on bars in last six meets ... career-best 9.90 on bars vs. Oregon State on Mar. 10 ... has become reliable replacement on beam, where she has been last minute sub twice and scored 9.625 (Feb. 9) and career-best 9.875 at Florida on Mar. 17 ... has "hit" 7 of 8 routines ... 1997-99 U.S. National team member did not compete last year due to injury ... won floor exercise and fourth all-around at 1998 Junior Olympic Championships.

Leah Sabo, So.-Vaulted in first 6 meets before suffering foot injury ... career-best 9.75 on vault vs. Utah State ... also competed to count on floor twice, scoring career-best 9.825 both times (Southern Utah, Utah State) ... without a fall in 8 routines this year (9.40 vault vs. Arizona was due to steps on landing) and is 8-9 in career routines.

Lindsay Tanner, Jr.-One of nation's best lead-off performers on floor exercise scored career-best 9.90 in three straight meets (Feb. 9, Feb. 16, Feb. 23) ... made floor lineup in all but one meet (Feb. 6) ... has made vault lineup in past three meets, scoring career-best 9.775 at Washington on Mar. 4.

Melissa Vituj, Fr.-Freshman has performed on three events in all but two meets ... "hit" first 20 routines of her college career before a fall on vault, Feb. 23 ... has career-best 9.90 on all three events she competes: vault, beam and floor ... has received 9.90 on floor three times (Jan. 5, Feb. 9 and Mar. 17) ... career-best 9.90 on vault on Feb. 16 and Mar. 10 ... 9.90 on beam came on Mar. 17 ... tied for first on floor (9.85) against Minnesota ... has "hit" 26 of 28 routines this year ... 1999 Junior Olympic Level 10 balance beam champion.

Kylee Wagner, Jr.-Three-event specialist has been outstanding on vault, beam and floor ... one of Utah's best vaulters (career-best 9.90 on Feb. 16) ... in last five meets, has averaged 9.880 on vault ... career-high 9.925 on floor in back-to-back meets (Feb. 9 and 16) ... 9.90 on floor vs. Michigan on Feb. 23 and at Florida on Mar. 17 ... has led off beam set six times, scoring season-best 9.825 on Feb. 23 and again on Mar. 17 ... has "hit" 25-26 routines (miss was on vault) ... did not compete to count in season opener.

Theresa Wolf, Sr.-Team's lone senior and captain ... has gone all-around seven times, scoring career-best 39.450 on Feb. 9 ... had 39.425 on Feb. 16 ... personal bests this year have come in all-around (39.450) and on bars (9.925, twice) and floor (9.950) ... two floor victories (Feb. 6 and Feb. 9) ... has "hit" 35-40 routines this year and 123-142 (87%) for her career ... Utah's top all-arounder at last year's NCAA team finals scored 39.425.

UTE WINNERS IN 2001

Theresa Kulikowski (16) Bars (10) 9.950 vs. Southern Utah, Jan. 5 9.925 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 13 9.900 vs. Arizona, Jan. 26 9.925 vs. Utah State, Feb. 6 10.00 vs. Brigham Young, Feb. 9 9.975 vs. Arizona State, Feb. 16 10.00 vs. Michigan, Feb. 23 9.925 vs. Washington/WMU, Mar. 4 9.950 vs. Oregon State, Mar. 10 9.900 vs. Florida/GWU/UNC, Mar. 17 Beam (6) 9.900 vs. Southern Utah, Jan. 5 9.900 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 13 10.00 vs. Utah State, Feb. 6 9.950 vs. Arizona State, Feb. 16 9.950 vs. Michigan, Feb. 23 9.950 vs. Florida/GWU/UNC, Mar. 17

Deidra Graham (15) All-Around (6) 39.200 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 13 39.325 vs. Arizona, Jan. 26 39.275 vs. Utah State, Feb. 6 39.475 vs. Brigham Young, Feb. 9 39.725 vs. Arizona State, Feb. 16 39.625 vs. Oregon State, Mar. 10 Vault (3) 9.850 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 13 9.850 vs. Utah State, Feb. 6 9.950 vs. Arizona State, Feb. 16 Bars (1) 9.950 vs. Oregon State, Mar. 10 Floor (5) 9.850 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 13 9.900 vs. Arizona, Jan. 26 9.950 vs. Arizona State, Feb. 16 9.950 vs. Michigan, Feb. 23 9.950 vs. Oregon State, Mar. 10

Shannon Bowles (11) All-Around (1) 39.525 vs. Florida/GWU/UNC, Mar. 17 Bars (1) 9.950 vs. Oregon State, Mar. 10 Beam (6) 9.900 vs. Southern Utah, Jan. 5 9.925 vs. UCLA, Jan. 21 10.00 vs. Arizona, Jan. 26 9.900 vs. Brigham Young, Feb. 9 9.950 vs. Michigan, Feb. 23 9.950 vs. Washington/WMU, Mar. 4 Floor (3) 9.925 vs. Southern Utah, Jan. 5 9.950 vs. Brigham Young, Feb. 9 9.925 vs. Florida/GWU/UNC, Mar. 17

Veronique Leclerc (7) Vault (7) 9.825 vs. Southern Utah, Jan. 5 9.900 vs. UCLA, Jan. 21 9.875 vs. Arizona, Jan. 26 9.850 vs. Utah State, Feb. 6 9.900 vs. Brigham Young, Feb. 9 9.950 vs. Arizona State, Feb. 16 9.975 vs. Oregon State, Mar. 10

Theresa Wolf (3) Bars (1) 9.925 vs. Utah State, Feb. 6 Floor (2) 9.925 vs. Utah State, Feb. 6 9.950 vs. Brigham Young, Feb. 9

Melissa Vituj (1) Floor (1) 9.850 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 13

BYU PREVIEW

10-4 ... ranked No. 12 ... scored school-record 197.325 last Friday vs. Utah State ... top all-arounders are Kelly Parkinson (39.625 high) and Kim Little (39.000) ... head coach Brad Cattermole is 140-113-1 in his 13th year.

MARSDEN SAYS

"We just need to continue to get better with the little things. This will be an important tuneup for postseason competition. That our opponent is BYU always adds to the event. We'll know more about Deidra Graham's injury situation after our team doctors examine her, but we're hoping like crazy it's just a mild sprain. That would give us three weeks to get her ready for regionals. We are cautiously optimistic she'll be back by then."

ALLAN LOST FOR SEASON

Ute sophomore All-American Kim Allan, a three-event performer ticketed for the all-around lineup, ruptured her (left) Achilles tendon in practice on February 4. She underwent surgery to repair the tendon on February 7 and will miss the remainder of the season. The injury occurred on the takeoff for a double back on the floor exercise. Allan, an All-American on the balance beam as a freshman at last year's NCAA Championships, had "hit" all 12 of her routines this year. Her best scores this season were a 9.85 on the balance beam, a 9.80 on the uneven bars and a 9.675 on the vault. Prior to the injury, she was scheduled to do her first floor routine of the year on February 6 vs. Utah State, which would have put her in the all-around lineup. Allan was also planning to upgrade the start value of her vault to a 10.0 for the first time this year.

"WATCH" THE UTES ON THE WEB

Running scores for all Utah gymnastics meets will be posted live on the Internet. To follow the meet in progress, go to Utah's web page at .

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Now in its 26th year of varsity competition, Utah is the only school in the nation to qualify for the last 25 national championships, including all 19 NCAA Championships. The Utes have won a record 10 national championships (1981-86, 1990, 1992 and 1994-95). They have never finished lower than 10th in the nation and were second last year.

FAN FAVORITE

Utah, the highest drawing gymnastics team in NCAA history, has won 18 of the last 19 attendance titles. Over the last 10 years, Utah has averaged 10,639 fans to its home meets-more than any other gymnastics team has averaged in a single season. In five meets this year, the Utes are averaging crowds of 9,333 per meet. The largest crowd this year was 10,630 vs. Utah State on Feb. 6. The record single-season home attendance average, held by Utah, is 13,164 (in 1993). Utah, which holds the top five season attendance averages ever for a gymnastics program, also has nine of the top 12 single meet attendance marks. Utah hosted the largest crowd ever to watch a collegiate gymnastics meet in the United States-15,238 vs. Cal State Fullerton in 1991.

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