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Utah's gymnastics team is headed to the NCAA Championships all right, just not quite in the fashion the Utes had expected.
Whether it was the loss of leader Tory Wilson or perhaps a bit of overconfidence or letdown after the Pac-12 Championships, the Utes seem to be reeling some as they prepare for the NCAAs, April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Texas.
After big mistakes on the balance beam and uneven bars at regionals Saturday, the Utes slid into nationals when home team Cal failed to close out the upset on the balance beam.
Now the Utes are facing a field that looks extremely challenging.
The Utes will face Florida, Stanford, UCLA, Michigan and Georgia in their semifinals at noon MDT on April 17. The evening session consists of Oklahoma, Oregon State, Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Nebraska.
The top three teams from each session will advance to the Super Six.
Last year, the Utes had a bad start and failed to advance.
In light of what happened at Cal on Saturday, coach Greg Marsden hopes his team isn't headed for a repeat.
"I just need the team that competed at the Pac-12 Championships to show up, and not the one at regionals," he said. "The point is, we got through and we are going to nationals so we have a chance to compete, but we have to do a better job."
If there is any consolation, the gymnasts are as upset about their performance as their coach is.
"We were pretty mad," senior Georgia Dabritz said. "I was mad because we had some girls step up and others didn't. Others let certain things and the pressure get in their way. We know we have to do better to prepare for nationals."
Dabritz said the team has had several meetings to discuss their shortcomings.
"I told them we have to use Georgia as an example," she said. "They didn't do so well at SECs and they went and worked hard and came back and had a great meet at regionals. Now we have to do that to get ready for nationals."
At a glance, the Utes' regional looks a little easier. Florida finished the season ranked just ahead of the No. 3 Utes with a regional qualifying score of 197.79, while the Utes averaged 197.67.
Utah also has wins over No. 7 UCLA and No. 11 Stanford. Georgia finished the season ranked 10th, but is the only team to beat the Utes this season, having done so in the regular season and at regionals.
The evening session features No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Alabama, No. 9 Nebraska and No. 12 Oregon State.
Alabama recently won the SEC title, while LSU was second and Florida third.
Florida and Oklahoma tied for the NCAA title last year.
In the eyes of Marsden, it really won't matter what session the Utes are in if they have a repeat of last week.
"You can over-analyze everything about which session is the hardest, but the point is, we are capable of having a better meet than the one we had at regionals and we have to," he said. "It's an unbelievably tough field and you have to be at your best to get out of it."
The Utes will start on the balance beam, an event that often dooms teams but has been strong for Utah, until Saturday when Kailah Delaney and Kari Lee both fell.
Senior Corrie Lothrop said the team would be ready.
"It's a great event because if you hit it we can have a lot of confidence for the rest of the meet," she said.
Twitter: @lyawodraska —
NCAA Gymnastics Championships
P April 17-19
At Fort Worth, Texas
Afternoon (noon MDT) • Utah (balance beam), Florida (bye/floor), Stanford (bye/bars), UCLA (floor), Michigan (bars), Georgia (vault)
Evening (6 p.m. MDT) • Oklahoma (bye/floor), Oregon State (bye/bars), Alabama (floor), Auburn (bars), LSU (vault), Nebraska (balance beam)
Note: opening rotation is printed after the team. Top 3 teams from each session move on to the Super Six.