"Second place has never hurt so much or felt so good for Utah's gymnastics team."[/B]
At the start of the season most NCAA Gymnastics fans and observers would have told you that Utah was the about the 4th or 5th best team in the country and a cut below Oklahoma, Florida, and LSU... Just making the "Super Six" after missing out the last two seasons, seemed like a reasonable goal.
During the season the Utes out performed that measure by a bit finishing with the #3 RQS (Regional Qualifying Score) but, that was before losing a key performer, "Tory Wilson" to a set of injuries that are nasty as any you would expect to see in a football season.... Statistically Tory was Utah's highest ranked all-rounder on the season and Utah really couldn't replace her All-American scoring punch on Vault or Floor.
The near disaster at Regional meant the Red Rocks where technically ranked 12th of the 12 teams at Nationals. The "experts" were all writing off the Utes.
To tie Florida in the prelims and then lose by one-half of a tenth on the last Florida performer should generate pride in Ute fans... No team at Nationals was "more clutch," no team performed closer to it potential than Utah did...
On the other hand to be that close to a great Cinderella story win was painful, The Red Rocks have now finished 2nd five times and 3rd another three times since last winning a NCAA title... For us old gym fans it has become a bit like the pre-2004 Red Sox curse...
Most of all I feel for this Senor Class of Dabritz, Wilson Lothorp and Tutka how I would have loved for them to go down in history as the ones to bring a the title back to SLC...Alas it was not to be.
Red Rocks finish second in country
At the start of the season most NCAA Gymnastics fans and observers would have told you that Utah was the about the 4th or 5th best team in the country and a cut below Oklahoma, Florida, and LSU... Just making the "Super Six" after missing out the last two seasons, seemed like a reasonable goal.
During the season the Utes out performed that measure by a bit finishing with the #3 RQS (Regional Qualifying Score) but, that was before losing a key performer, "Tory Wilson" to a set of injuries that are nasty as any you would expect to see in a football season.... Statistically Tory was Utah's highest ranked all-rounder on the season and Utah really couldn't replace her All-American scoring punch on Vault or Floor.
The near disaster at Regional meant the Red Rocks where technically ranked 12th of the 12 teams at Nationals. The "experts" were all writing off the Utes.
To tie Florida in the prelims and then lose by one-half of a tenth on the last Florida performer should generate pride in Ute fans... No team at Nationals was "more clutch," no team performed closer to it potential than Utah did...
On the other hand to be that close to a great Cinderella story win was painful, The Red Rocks have now finished 2nd five times and 3rd another three times since last winning a NCAA title... For us old gym fans it has become a bit like the pre-2004 Red Sox curse...
Most of all I feel for this Senor Class of Dabritz, Wilson Lothorp and Tutka how I would have loved for them to go down in history as the ones to bring a the title back to SLC...Alas it was not to be.
Red Rocks finish second in country
