SALT LAKE CITY — If there was one thing lacking from Utah gymnastics’ season-opening win over No. 10 Kentucky, it was momentum.
The building upon scores that is so vital to a successful collegiate meet just wasn’t present for large portions of the competition held in the Huntsman Center over the weekend.
There were multiple reasons for that, including rules changes which forced adjustments — often slow — by the judges, as well as a television broadcast that weighed down the speed of the meet.
“We (the NCAA) changed the rules on three events this year, so the judges were getting acclimated to the changes, to those new rules,” Utah head coach Tom Farden said. “With that, consequently TV got a little slow too. That combination of things was intrinsic to our (lack of) internal momentum.”
Also important to momentum, or the lack thereof, were the Red Rocks’ lineups and those are something to keep an eye on. Per Farden, Utah is eight deep on every event this season. With only six lineup spots available on each event per meet, changing lineups are inevitable.
“We are definitely trying to put the lineups in there that we know we can build upon scores (with),” he said. “I think our goal is that after the Feb. 15 meet (against No. 5 Cal) that we would have a good idea, a good barometer of where we want to go with the lineups. And it might take another meet after that. All of our meets are big meets, but as we prepare for March and start ramping up for postseason we want to make sure we are pretty dialed in.”
Stated goals aside, lineups won’t be finalized — and nothing is truly ever set in stone — until the return of Jillian Hoffman. Hoffman wore a boot on her right foot during the season opener, a precautionary measure after she suffered a sprained foot.
“We still have Jillian coming back and she will be an impact player,” said Farden. “She is someone who can go deep in the lineup.”
WCGA RANKINGS: After the first week of competition, the Red Rocks have validated their preseason ranking. No. 5 entering the year, the Utes, powered by the 196.425 score against No. 10 Kentucky, are now ranked No. 4 in the country, trailing only No. 1 Oklahoma (197.350), No. 2 Denver (196.700) and No. 3 UCLA (196.575).
As a reminder, rankings are based solely off the average of team scores from meets, until the RQS (Regional Qualifying Score) can be calculated. RQS is determined by taking a team’s top six scores from the season, three of which are required to come on the road, and then removing the highest meet score before averaging the remaining five.
WEEK 1 STANDOUTS: Multiple Red Rocks find themselves ranked in the top 10 nationally on individual events (rankings are based on season average). Senior Kim Tessen is tied for No. 2 on vault, No. 5 on bars, and No. 6 on floor after the best all-around performance of her career.
Sophomore Cristal Isa, meanwhile, is tied for No. 4 on beam, while junior Sydney Soloski is tied for No. 6 on floor. Additionally, freshman Abby Paulson’s first college beam routine was good enough to earn her the No. 7 ranking.
As a team, Utah is ranked No. 4 on vault, No. 5 on beam and No. 6 on both bars and floor.
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Best of Utah
No. 4 Utah vs. No. 7 BYU, SUU and Utah State
Maverik Center, West Valley City
Saturday, 7 p.m. MST
TV: None
Radio: ESPN 700 AM
Live scores: Sidearm Stats