Greg Marsden puts Annabeth Eberle in the same class as Missy Marlowe, Kristen Kenoyer, Theresa Kulikowski and Shannon Bowles, all revered names in Ute gymnastics.
The Utah coach also calls her the No. 1 recruit in the nation this year because she was atop the wish lists of the country's best programs: Georgia, Michigan, Alabama and Utah. Defending NCAA champion UCLA had interest but no scholarships available.
Marsden turned 50 on the day Eberle presented him with a signed NCAA letter of intent to attend Utah starting next fall, so maybe those backflips he was doing over landing the Reno native were really all just in his mind. But his joy is obvious.
"We were thrilled," says Marsden, whose teams have produced five national all-around champions, won 10 national team championships and placed second last year with Kulikowski and Bowles both out with injuries.
"(She) probably was leaning toward Georgia before she came here (on a recruiting visit)," said Marsden. "And then they came here, and it just all clicked. It was just one of those things that occasionally happens. We really fell in love with her, and vice versa. And that's exciting."
He emphasizes that this year's recruiting class did not include the Sydney Olympians and some other top talent. But Eberle is a seven-year member of the U.S. national team who has competed in the Netherlands (11th all-around), Puerto Rico (fourth) and Canada (vault gold medalist). She was eighth in the 1999 World Championship Team Trials, 19th in the 2000 USA Championships and was a member in six of the past seven years of the Olympic training squad. She's on the national team that will train for next October's world championships. She was the 1995 elite junior national all-around champion.
Eberle's club coach, Derick Moellenbeck, echoes Marsden's assessment of why she picked Utah. "She fell in love with Megan, Greg and Aki," said Moellenbeck, who runs Starz in Reno. Megan Marsden is associate head coach; Aki Hummel is assistant coach. "She loved the seriousness and intensity of Theresa and Shannon," Moellenbeck added.
He confirmed that Eberle was at first sold on Georgia but completely changed after seeing Utah. She returned to Reno and announced at the airport to her mother, Bindee, that she would not take her two other recruiting visits to Alabama and Washington. Her coach and her mother, a sports nutritionist, both wanted her to pick Utah but tried to get her to take the other trips to be certain. Eberle was adamant. "Her reasons were sound," Moellenbeck said.
"It's somewhat unusual that someone recruited that heavily makes a decision like that," Marsden said.
"(Utah) was different than what I expected," Eberle said by phone from Starz. "I don't know what I expected. But it was kind of like here (Reno) because of the mountains. I heard nothing but good things (about Utah)." She liked the new (December 1998) gymnastics gym, the Huntsman Center and its large, enthusiastic crowds and the helpful academic advisers.
"The team, for sure, is awesome," she said, adding that she was impressed by its work ethic and level of fitness. That gave her the idea that, "If I ever wanted to get back into elite (international competition), I could do that."
Eberle is dynamic and powerful with great natural ability and focus to improve. Strong in all events, she likes beam best but is best known on vault, where she can do a Yurchenko (roundoff-entry) 1 1/2- or double-full twist. Marsden says only a "few dozen" athletes in the world can do those skills.
He says she will fit in nicely with a team that led the nation in grade-point average (3.72) last year, another reason she chose Utah. Marsden calls her "self-motivated, very self-disciplined. She's going to be a great student."
Two years ago, Eberle broke an ankle, and the rehab for that helped her choose a projected major. "Therapy opened my eyes," said Eberle, who plans to be a physical therapist, a field in which Utah is strong.
E-MAIL: lham@desnews.com