Yeah, we had a bad night on prelims that we couldn’t afford, but throughout the season we proved people wrong. – Baely Rowe
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s gymnastics team is choosing not to define its 2016 campaign by its ending, but rather as a collective. It doesn’t mean there wasn’t disappointment with the struggles on beam at the NCAA semifinal that left Utah out of the Super Six championship and in ninth place overall. But rather the opinion that the season’s bad meet came at the most inopportune time.
“I don’t think our season was a failure just because of this (the NCAA semifinal) night,” said freshman Sabrina Schwab. “We had an amazing year, and nights like this are meant to happen with every team, and this was our night.”
The Red Rocks exceeded most people’s expectations in 2016, which included advancing to an unprecedented 41st national championship despite a young roster that included two-thirds underclassmen. They lost sophomore All-American Kari Lee early in the season to an Achilles tear, and it was the first season with a new duo piloting the squad for co-head coaches Megan Marsden and Tom Farden.
“A lot of people thought this year would be a rebuilding year for us,” said Baely Rowe. “We lost some really good seniors, and Greg Marsden, one of the top coaches of the century, retired. Yeah, we had a bad night on prelims that we couldn’t afford, but throughout the season we proved people wrong.”
Megan Marsden and Farden were not new to Utah. This season marked Marsden’s seventh as a co-head coach (32nd overall with the team), while Farden was with Utah five seasons as an assistant before the promotion. Rowe credited the coaching duo for not making radical changes, knowing it did have a young team.
Rowe, who will be Utah’s lone senior next season, finished her 2016 NCAA championships with All-American honors in the all-around and on beam. Schwab had an outstanding debut effort that included All-American honors and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award.
“Having gymnasts in our back pocket who are ready to step up like Sabrina and MaKenna (Merrell) is going to make us that much better next season,” said Rowe.
The return of a Lee to the lineup should also give Utah a boost next year.
“We’ve been told Kari’s rehab is going very well and that her Achilles is recovering faster than almost anyone the trainers have seen,” said Farden. “But we aren’t going to push her.”
Lee's classmates Samantha Partyka, Maddy Stover and Tiffani Lewis all stepped up in her absence. Partyka developed into a talented all-arounder, but unfortunately the only two falls of her career were costly as they came at the Pac-12 and NCAA championships in the beam leadoff. Lewis shined on vault, bars and floor, while Stover proved Utah’s best beam worker after injury limited her to the one event.
Looking to next season, Utah knows depth and difficulty will remain keys. This season, Utah had only one gymnast, a smaller number compared to most of the Super Six teams, completing a 10.0 valued vault. That gymnast was senior Breanna Hughes.
“We were trying to stay ahead of the curve with recruiting on vault, but sometimes adjustments with freshmen and unforeseen injuries don’t deliver what you want,” said Farden. “That’s just part of sport.”
Incoming gymnast MyKayla Skinner, who is currently competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team and one of the better vaulters around, will add to Utah's lineup next season. She will be joined by Junior Olympic standouts Kim Tessen from Orem, Utah, and Missy Reinstadtler from Brick, New Jersey.
The trio will look to fill the lineup spots held by this year’s seniors Hughes, Kassandra Lopez and Kailah Delaney. The seniors compiled an impressive resume, including two Pac-12 championships and an NCAA runner-up finish, but it was their senior season when they shined the most.
Hughes led Utah with 20 wins. She was the Pac-12 and NCAA Salt Lake regional all-around champion and the Pac-12 gymnastics scholar-athlete of the year. In 2016, Lopez earned All-American honors on bars and was the Pac-12 specialist of the year. Delaney leaves as an All-American and as the 2016 NCAA Salt Lake regional vault winner.