Additional testing is scheduled, but "in all likelihood," outstanding Utah freshman Rachel Tidd will miss next week's 2004 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships at UCLA with what appears to be mononucleosis, said coach Greg Marsden.
Tidd, the South Central Regional vault champion who has a career all-around high of 39.675, competed in three events at the regional last Saturday and scored 9.9s on vault and bars but had a fall on beam and excused herself from the floor lineup because she was ill.
Tests Monday indicated it was not mono, but Marsden said he received a call late Wednesday from medical personnel saying that it is.
"This hurts us really bad," he said.
The Utes finished the season ranked fifth nationally, but they set a school record (198.60) in their final home meet March 19 vs. BYU, had the highest score of any team in the six NCAA regionals last weekend (197.625) and beat No. 1-ranked UCLA in Pauley Pavilion to open this season.
They're poised for a good showing at the NCAAs April 15-17 in Pauley. "We were really on a roll," Marsden said of a team that has become special, even in the Utes' spectacular history.
But losing Tidd leaves them scrambling, especially on vault and bars. "On those two events, we can't replace her with the same kind of performance," Marsden said. And even though Tidd will have three more years to perform, "We won't have this team ever again."
Marsden said there's little chance doctors will allow Tidd to practice or compete again this season. "I'm guessing they would not let her," he said.
Freshman Stephanie Lim will vault in Tidd's place and vie with sophomore Kristen Riffanacht to make the bars lineup. Sophomore Gabi Onodi will do beam in Tidd's absence, and, assuming freshman Nicolle Ford's sore back holds up, she'll do floor exercise. Lim's best scores are 9.875 vaulting and 9.85 on bars. Riffanacht scored 9.85 on bars last season but hasn't competed on them in 2004. Onodi's best on beam is 9.85, and Ford's best floor is 9.925. Tidd's highs are 10.0 on vault, 9.95 bars, 9.90 beam and 10.0 floor.
In the 2000 NCAA championships at Boise State, Utah missed another freshman who had mono, Kylee Wagner, though her illness came on two weeks earlier in the season. She was the fourth Ute to go down that year. Utah competed at that nationals without top all-arounders Theresa Kulikowski and Shannon Bowles plus another freshman, all injured. Stunningly, it finished second to No. 1 UCLA. It was the school's highest finish since winning it all in 1995.
E-mail: lham@desnews.com