University of Utah Athletics

skinner_mykayla_ncaasemis_2017
Ute Gymnasts Picked No. 5 in Preseason Poll
Ute projected for another Super Six finish
Gymnastics
Posted: 12/11/2017 10:08 AM
SALT LAKE CITY—If the preseason coaches' poll proves correct, the Ute gymnastics team will be heading back to the NCAA Super Six in April. Utah, which placed fifth at the 2017 NCAA Championships, was picked to repeat that finish in the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches for Women (NACGC/W) poll released last night. The defending Pac-12 champion Utes received the most votes of any Pac-12 team in the poll.
 
Oklahoma was projected to win a third-straight national title, receiving 1,769 total points and 33 first-place votes. Florida was second with 1,728 points and 10 first-place votes and LSU (1,692 points, 7 first-place votes) was third. Rounding out the top six were Alabama (1,584), Utah (1,544) and UCLA (1,477).
 
Sophomore MyKayla Skinner, the 2017 NCAA floor exercise champion and all-around runner-up, headlines a Utah team that returns all but one member from last year's NCAA lineup. Skinner is one of five returning All-Americans for the Utes along with seniors Tiffani Lewis and Maddy Stover and juniors Kari Lee and MaKenna Merrell-Giles.
 
New to the team are freshmen Sydney Soloski and Alexia Burch. Solosky was a four-year Canadian National team member and Burch was a Junior Olympic all-around champion.
 
The Utes will face seven preseason top-20 teams before hosting an NCAA Regional on Apr. 21. A quad meet on podium in Reno, Nev., on Jan. 14 features four ranked teams: No. 5 Utah, No. 6 UCLA, No. 15 Washington and No. 18 Stanford. Other ranked teams on Utah's 2018 schedule are No. 7 Michigan, No. 11 California, No. 12 Oregon State and No. 16 Georgia.  
 
Utah has one undisputed preseason No. 1 ranking as the first gymnastics team in history to sell 9,000 season tickets. The Utes are currently at 9,096 season tickets—breaking last year's record of 8,763. Season tickets are still available at UtahTickets.com, with single-meet tickets going on sale to the general public on Dec. 27 following the Crimson Club presale, which starts on Dec. 18.
 
Rank Team (1st place votes) Points
1 Oklahoma (33) 1769
2 Florida (10) 1728
3 LSU (7) 1692
4 Alabama 1584
5 Utah 1544
6 UCLA 1477
7 Michigan 1443
8 Denver 1313
9 Nebraska 1214
10 Kentucky 1213
11 California 1201
12 Oregon State 1141
13 Boise State 1125
14 Auburn 1119
15 Washington 1114
16 Georgia 1011
17 Missouri 975
18 Stanford 903
19 Arkansas 872
20 Iowa 819
21 George Washington 701
22 Ohio State 690
23 Illinois 609
24 Southern Utah 605
25 Penn State 599
Copyright ©2024 University of Utah Athletics