Utah’s gymnastics team has long thrived with the proverbial chip on its shoulder. Give the Utes a lower than expected ranking, give them a difficult rotation in a meet or put them in a tough bracket and the Utes always seem to rise to the occasion.
This year looks a little different. With 21 of 24 routines returning and a strong rookie class, the Utes look very worthy of their No. 3 preseason ranking.
It’s the same spot they landed in at the 2022 NCAA Championships, behind Oklahoma and runner-up Florida, which also happen to be No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, this year.
The Utes, who also finished third in 2021, acknowledge they have a new outlook this year, noting their experience and recent history. “Confidence” is a word they use often.
“We are as prepared as we can be at this point,” Maile O’Keefe said. “We still have some tweaks here and there but we feel good.”
How to watch
No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 LSU
Friday, 7 p.m.
Huntsman Center
TV: ESPN2
The Utes should know right away what tweaks need to be done after their season opener against No. 6 LSU Friday in the Huntsman Center.
Like the Utes, the Tigers are a veteran team accustomed to being in the mix for the national title. But LSU suffered a shocking defeat last year, getting eliminated in the first round of regionals after a fall on the beam.
Utah coach Tom Farden expects the Tigers to look more like the usual tough LSU squad this week.
“They are a great team we know we probably have to see eventually,” Farden said. “It might as well be now than in the postseason.”
Farden doesn’t have any specific goals for the opener, although he admits he already is honing in on what he thinks the lineups will be.
He envisions the Utes will have eight or more ready to go on each event. Of course, the fun with Farden is he relishes making last-minute changes to the lineup.
He jokes that it is the only way he can feel like a football coach, but it also has proven to be one of his greatest assets, and most entertaining ones, too.
Fans are familiar with gymnasts such as Grace McCallum, Cristal Isa, O’Keefe and the other veterans, but they can also expect to see plenty of the freshmen, including Makenna Smith, who could compete in the all-around.
You can expect he won’t hesitate to put the rookies in some pressure situations, just to see how they handle things.
“You have a gut instinct but you still don’t know what you’ve got yet,” Farden said of season-opening meets. “That’s what we are looking for and to see if they can do what they do in practice. I told them they just need to have a good first meet, we don’t need a 199.”
With such a veteran team, it would be tempting to call this opener something of a “statement meet,” but the Utes seem content, perhaps a little patient even, to not worry about such things.
“You just don’t know until the bright lights are on how a team will perform,” Farden said. “But I’m excited and LSU is a great team, so there is a lot of buzz around this meet.”
