Melissa Vituj began her gymnastics career nearly 20 years ago — an impressive feat considering she just turned 22 on May 2.
Her competitive gymnastics career ended on a bittersweet note last month in Los Angeles at the NCAA Championships. Vituj capped an impressive senior season at the University of Utah by placing third in the nation in the floor exercise. In addition to that first-team All-American showing on the floor, she also earned second-team All-American honors in both the all-around and the beam.
In addition, Vituj won both the beam and the all-around competition at the NCAA regional in early April that sent the Utes to the national championship meet.
For her numerous accomplishments, Vituj has been selected as the Deseret Morning News' April athlete of the month for the state of Utah. She edged out others who had fine showings last month, including U. gymnastics teammate Annabeth Eberle, the Salt Lake Stingers' Adam Riggs and Alex Pelaez and BYU volleyball star Carlos Moreno. Vituj also became the first female, first Ute and first non-basketball player to be given the monthly honor in 2004.
The native of Michigan started her gymnastics training when she was just 2. She spent countless hours trying to excel at the the demanding, sometimes frustrating, yet often rewarding sport in the past two decades.
But now it's over — at least from the competition standpoint.
And that will take a little getting used to.
"I went into the gym (one day last week) to see some of the girls and to just talk and hang out," Vituj said recently. "I just really wanted to get out there and do something. It's hard to just watch."
Vituj will remain in Salt Lake City next year to complete internships and her U. degree in health promotion and education, but the three-time team MVP will no longer be one of the leaders of Utah's "Red Rocks."
"There is a time when every great thing has to come to an end," she said. "Sadly, my career as a gymnast is over, but I'm looking to bigger and better things to move on to and to look forward to."
Her gymnastics training, however, figures to come in handy in her chosen field. She says she may get into gymnastics coaching at the recreation level and wants to find a job as a corporate wellness coordinator after graduation.
"That will keep me active," Vituj says.
But, as her coach Greg Marsden has said, Vituj embodies "the pure joy of performing." It's the reason she may look for a job that would give her a chance to perform and use her gymnastics skills in front of people — perhaps even as a mascot. It actually wouldn't be the first time. Vituj, who stands just 5 feet tall, once was "Baby Swoop" at a Ute men's basketball game where she dunked a basketball off a mini trampoline.
Meanwhile, entertaining the masses at the Huntsman Center without a large bird mask was a Vituj specialty the past four years. That's why the crowd favorite didn't hesitate when asked what was her best memory from the recently completed season.
It was "senior night" when the Utes faced BYU in the final regular season meet of the year. Vituj, with her parents by her side, had been honored prior to the start of the meet with the crowd of 13,000-plus making her feel appreciated. Vituj had been practicing two floor exercise routines to different music all season — one she did in meets and the other, one that she'd done as a freshman, that had, to that point, only been seen this season in practice.
But it was the last meet of the season, and she decided to go with the alternate routine — and was rewarded for it by the judges.
"Scoring a perfect 10 on my final floor routine at the Hunstman Center will be something I'll always remember," she said. "I couldn't ask for any better way to end my final home meet."
It was Vituj's third 10 of the season — she had a previous one on the floor and another on the beam. She also recorded a 39.875 in the all-around against Utah State on Feb. 27 — the third best score in the storied history of Utah gymnastics.
"It was an amazing season for me personally," she said.
One regret is that the nine-time NCAA champion Utes never put it together enough as a team while Vituj was around to win a national title. It was especially frustrating this year when the Utes got off to a rocky start on the first rotation during the "Super Six" — with two falls before Vituj even had a chance to perform. Utah's hopes for a national team title were over just minutes after the meet began.
"The season as a whole was awesome," said Vituj. "We could have done better in the Super Six, but we tightened up and made some silly mistakes. It was an extremely talented team, and it is sad because that team will never be together again and we didn't reach our goal at nationals. But overall, it was an excellent season."
Especially for April's athlete of the month.
Melissa Vituj
5 feet 0
all-around gymnast
Home town: Ada, Mich.
Current residence: Salt Lake City
April highlights:Won NCAA regional all-around title with a score of 39.675
Won NCAA regional beam title with a score of 9.95
Scored a 39.55 in the all-around to lead the Utes into the Super Six at the NCAA championships
Earned 1st team all-America in the floor exercise at the NCAA championships
Earned 2nd team all-America in both the all-around and the beam
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com