This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Whether it is in the meet presentations or the competitions, Utah's gymnastics team has always had a flair for the dramatic. But for once, the Utes are trying to keep things a little subdued.

Utah, which opens the season on Friday against BYU, is under the guide of a new/old coaching regime after Greg Marsden retired after 40 seasons.

Taking over the coaching duties are Marsden's wife and previous co-coach, Megan, and former assistant Tom Farden.

The duo hopes the change will be virtually unnoticeable, though, as they prefer to keep the focus on making sure the fourth-ranked Utes stay competitive. There will be no hoopla or ceremony to welcome the coaching staff. The focus is soley on the team, Marsden said.

"Greg was so low key when he was coaching, other than vault, that I don't even know if fans are going to notice a difference," she added. "Marketing might be doing something to recognize the Pac-12 championship from last year, but that is about it."

Therein lies the true challenge for this 2016 team: continuing the success of last year when the Utes won the Pac-12 title and finished second to Florida by a mere 0.05 at the NCAA Championships.

Other programs, such as Georgia and Arizona State, have struggled recently to keep the same quality of gymnastics after coaching changes. The Utes believe they can be different, not only because of the familiar coaching staff but the winning legacy the senior class of Georgia Dabritz, Corrie Lothrop, Becky Tutka and Tory Wilson established.

"We know they are a young team and it's a long season, but we are doing everything we can to make sure there isn't a dip," Marsden said. "Our goals are to win another Pac-12 championship and to be at the Super Six and we feel like those are realistic goals. We also feel like there isn't any clear standout this year. There are several strong teams again but no top dog and that is kind of exciting."

Even though there are several new faces on the roster, Marsden said the newcomers got a feel for what winning is like at Utah when the returners were presented with their Pac-12 rings during a halftime ceremony at a football game.

"That did nothing but get them even more hungry," she said. "They want to make darn sure they have a chance to get their rings during a halftime ceremony too."

Senior Kassandra Lopez echoed her coach's feelings.

"The expectations haven't changed," she said. "To get that close last year, that has carried a lot of momentum into this year. We are all pushing just as hard as last year because we want to win."

Unlike last year's team, which relied heavily on the talent of the seniors, this year's team will have contributions more spread out, Marsden said.

Seniors Kailah Delaney and Lopez both are pushing for lineups in the all-around, having healed from past injuries, while sophomore Kari Lee has a solid uneven bars routine and could compete in the all-around as well.

Sophomores Samantha Partyka, Maddy Stover and Tiffany Lewis should have bigger roles this season and junior Baely Rowe is recovering from an Achilles' injury well enough to compete on several events.

The freshmen class of Shannon McNatt, MaKenna Merrell, Erika Muhaw and Sabrina Schwab will also contribute, although the plan is to ease them into the season.

"We want to see how they handle things and let them prove themselves in front of 15,000 people," Marsden said. "We saw some nerves at the Red Rocks Preview and then they settled down but I think they are ready to get out there."

As for Megan's husband and the Utes' former coach, Greg, he hasn't made many appearances in the practice gym, Megan said.

"He is doing a few projects for us, but he has made it a point of not being around," she said. "I think he was ready to move on."

Time to see if the Utes are ready too. —

Utah gymnastics primer

Coaches • Megan Marsden (7th year as co-coach) and Tom Farden (1st year as co-coach, 6th year overall)

Season opener • Friday vs. BYU, 6 p.m.

Schedule highlights • Two of its key Pac-12 meets are on the road, against UCLA on Feb. 6 and against Stanford on Feb. 20

Notable returners • All-Americans Kari Lee (vault, floor, beam), Kailah Delaney (vault), Breanna Hughes (beam), Kassandra Lopez (bars), Samantha Partyka (vault)

2015 in review • Went 11-1 in the regular season with the only loss being to Georgia. ... Won the Pac-12 Championship and finished second at the NCAA Championships. ... Georgia Dabritz won the national uneven bars title and swept all five individual titles at the NCAA regionals and won two Pac-12 titles. —

Utah State Aggies

Coach • Nadalie Walsh (third year)

Season opener • Friday vs. Centenary, 7 p.m.

Schedule highlight • Hosts Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference rivals SUU (Jan. 29) and Boise State (Feb. 26) and travels to 2014 co-national champion Oklahoma on Feb. 12

Notable returners • McKinzey Martinez (all-around) and Miranda Kerr (vault) earned second-team Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference honors

2015 in review •Placed fifth at the NCAA Regional in Berkeley with a score of 195.15, marking the second straight regional appearance for the Aggies…Recorded the top vault season average in school history with a 48.938 in 2015, as well as the fourth0best beam average (48.671) and fourth best floor average (48.909)…Finished 11-15 overall and 2-7 in league action.

Season synopsis • Shortly after the Aggies finished the 2015 season, coach Nadalie Walsh was given a contract extension through the 2018-19 year. Obviously she wasn't the only one who believed the Aggies are on an upturn. Walsh has led the Aggies to back-to-back regional appearances. This year the Aggies will be in the hunt again with Miranda Kerr, Jillian Chappel, Bailey McIntire, McKinzey Martinez and JoAnna Cuba all returning.

Having so many key returners bodes well for the Aggies, who need consistency to contend for the MRGC title. They showed off some of that consistency in the Blue White intrasquad meet, hitting 30 of 36 routines.

"When we comb through and select our top six on every event, we're going to have a lot of strength," she said.

Two of the up-and-coming gymnasts to watch are sophomore Melanie Oster and freshman Emily Briones. Oster performed on three events at the intrasquad meet, hitting all of them while Briones also has a calm demeanor under pressure.

While there is a lot of optimism in Logan, the Aggies have a tough schedule, highlighted by meets against Oklahoma, Nebraska and Arkansas, all of which finished in the Top 15 nationally in 2015. The first MRGC meet comes at home against SUU on Jan. 29.

—

Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Coach • Scott Bauman (24th year)

Season opener • Saturday at Denver, 6 p.m.

Schedule highlight • Hosts Utah on Jan. 15, the Utes' first visit to Cedar City since 1997, and has a Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference showdown against Boise State on Feb. 5

Notable returners • Danielle Ramirez and Stacie Webb return to lead a strong vaulting crew.

2015 in review • The Thunderbirds finished second to Boise State in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference then fell just short of qualifying for the NCAA Championships when they finished third in the Norman Regional behind Oregon State and top-ranked Oklahoma. Seniors Jamie Armijo and Ana Jaworski qualified for the NCAAs as individuals, finishing 14th and 30th, respectively, in their sessions.

Season synopsis • The good news for the Thunderbirds is they reached a new level in 2015 when two gymnasts, Jamie Armijo and Ana Jaworski, qualified for the NCAA Championships, marking the first time the team has sent more than one competitor to the NCAAs. The bad news? Those two gymnasts were seniors, leaving gaping holes for the returners to fill in 2016.

But even though the Thunderbirds might be in a bit of a rebuilding year, optimism still remains high in Cedar City for a team ranked No. 24 in the Top 25 coaches preseason poll. Leading the group are top vaulters Danielle Ramirez and Stacie Webb, who both averaged 9.8 during 2015.

Armijo's absence will be missed the most on the bars where she averaged 9.9, but the Thunderbirds do return Tyly Bozzuto, who averaged 9.8 and competed on the event in every meet, while Webb and Ramirez are also strong on the event.

Floor will be a work in progress since Brittney Jensen and Ana Jaworski both graduated after leading the way on floor. However, Memory Shettles and Amber Heltemes are both back after being sidelined by injury in 2015, adding some much needed depth.

—

BYU Cougars

Coach • Guard Young (1st year)

Season opener • Friday at Utah, 6 p.m.

Schedule highlights • The Cougars are competing all over the country this season with meets at Central Michigan (Jan. 15), Alaska (Feb. 6) and Arizona (March 11).

Notable returners • Senior Makenzie Johnson Halliday could compete in the all-around while fellow seniors Mikaela Jones and Emily Vidmar could compete on three events

2015 in review • The 2015 season saw the Cougars produce some decent results at the beginning of the season, but unfortunately they couldn't produce at the end when it mattered. The Cougars finished fifth in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Championships then sixth at the NCAA Regionals in Berkeley to miss the cut for the NCAA Championships for the 10th season in a row.

Season synopsis • Like Utah, BYU is undergoing a coaching change after Brad Cattermole retired from 28 years of coaching. Taking over the program is Guard Young, a former BYU gymnast (1996-2000) who was an assistant for Oklahoma's men's program for nine seasons.

His task is to get the Cougars back into the national picture like they were in the 90s when they made the cut for nationals six times.

Luckily for Young, he has a solid roster to start 2016 strong.

Seniors Makenzie Johnson Halliday, Mikaela Jones and Emily Vidmar can compete on three or more events to provide veteran leadership on and off the floor while sophomore Mackenzie Douglas, a transfer from San Jose State, showed in the team's Blue-White meet she can be a regular contributor too after scoring a 9.85 on the floor.

Sophomores Sin To and Britain Wilde also had solid performances in the preseason event while freshman Natasha Trejo, from Tucson, Ariz., is penciled in as an all-around competitor.

The Cougars might be a work in progress under the new coaching staff, but they will know where they stand quickly thanks to a tough schedule that starts with the road meet at Utah on Friday. After a trip to Central Michigan, the Cougars host UC Davis and Boise State Jan. 22 in the season opener. Boise State won the MRGC title last year.