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Show 2 GYMNASTICS THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE March 4, 2011 Utah to face off against No. 1 Florida Kelsey Price STAFF WRITER Although the NCAA gymnastics National Championships are more than a month away, tonight's meet is going to feel much more like a highstakes, end-of-season matchup than a regular home meet as No. 5 Utah faces No. i Florida in the Huntsman Center. More so than any other opponents the Red Rocks have faced this year— such as defending national champions UCLA or No. 2 Stanford—Florida will be the best measuring stick for the Utes' development and growth this season, as well as a strong indicator for how Utah will fare in the postseason, which begins in three weeks. TANER PASAMEHMETOGLU/The Daily Utah Chronicle Gael Mackie is one of three seniors performing for the last time at the Huntsman Center tomorrow night. The Red Rocks will look to dethrone No. 1 Florida. DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Advertising 801-581-7041 News 801-581-NEWS Fax 801-581-FAXX OPINION EDITOR: Brandon Beifuss b.beifuss@chronicle.utah.edu SPORTS EDITOR: Bryan Chouinard b.chouinard@ chronicle.utah.edu ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: Jake Hibbard ARTS EDITOR: Mohammad Allam m.allam@chronicle.utah.edu PHOTO EDITOR: Richard Payson EDITOR IN CHIEF: Sara Copeland s.copeland@chronicle.utah.edu MANAGING EDITOR: Blair Johnson r.payson@chronicle.utah.edu ASST. PHOTO EDITOR: Taner ONLINE EDITOR: Richard Payson PRODUCTION MANAGER: Tyler Pratt r.payson@chronicle.utah.edu t.pratt@chronicle.utah.edu COPY EDITORS: Ian Anderson, Alex ASST. PRODUCTION MANAGER: Megan Lewis, Abby Thurman McFarland PROOFREADER: Rebecca Saley NEWS EDITOR: Katie Pratt GENERAL MANAGER: Jake Sorensen ASST. NEWS EDITOR:Josh Bennett Correction Clarifications an The policy of The Daily Utah Chronicle is to correct any error made as soon as possible. If you find something you would like clarified or find unfair, please contact the editor at 801-581-8317. Pasamehmetoglu b.johnson@chronicle.utah.edu k.pratt@chronicle.utah.edu However, the Utes are focusing on their own performance as a team and improving, rather than getting lost in the idea of facing the potential national champions. "Florida is having a great year and is a very talented team," said co-head coach Greg Marsden. "We have tried not to focus on the opponent in any meet this season, and it would be a mistake for us to do that now. We have to figure out who is in our lineup and try to keep getting a little better each week. There are only three regularseason meets left now, and we need to continue to get the little things fixed so that we are at our greatest potential going into the postseason." Tonight's meet will also SEASON STATS be bittersweet for the Utes. As Vault they face their Bars toughest opBeam ponent of the season, the Red Floor Rocks will also All-Around be preparing to say goodbye to three seniors as they celebrate Senior Night, recognizing the contributions of Jacquelyn Johnson, Gael Mackie and Kyndal Robarts during their four years as Red Rocks. The trio has helped Utah go with a 32-6 regular-season record since their freshman year in 2008. Although Robarts is still out with a knee injury that has kept her out for five meets, Johnson and Mackie could potentially both be competing in the all-around for the second meet in j.sorensen@chronicle.utah.edu The Daily Utah Chronicle is an independent student newspaper published daily Monday through Friday during Fall and Spring Semesters (excluding test weeks and holidays). Chronicle editors and staff are solely responsible for the newspaper's content. Funding comes from advertising revenues and a dedicated student fee administered by the Publications Council. To respond with questions, comments or complaints, call 801-581-7041 or visit www.dailyutahchronicle.com. The Chronicle is distributed free of charge, limit one copy per reader. Additional copies of the paper may be made available upon request. No person, without expressed permission of The Chronicle, may take more than one copy of any Chronicle issue. as many weeks. Last Friday against Utah State, Mackie scored a 39.025 in her first all-around appearance since 2009 and Johnson earned a 39.225 in her all-around debut. Robarts—who hopes to return to the lineup in time for the West Regionals and the NCAA Championships—is a two-time first-team AllAmerican and was ranked No. i in the nation on vault before her knee injury. During her time at the U, Robarts has accumulated a career-high 39.6o in the all-around and has hit no of 115 routines. "I'm really excited—it's our last time in the Huntsman and against Florida so it will be a good celebration," Mackie said. "But at the same time, it's not the UTAH: FLORIDA: last meet of the 49.197 49.358 season, so we 49.119 49.256 have to down49.038 49.086 play it and stay focused while 48.994 49.269 having fun." 196.347 196.969 The Utes lead the all-time series 30 -11, but have the edge over the Gators by just one regular-season meet (7-6) with the rest of Utah's wins coming in the postseason. Wins for Florida in Salt Lake City are rare, capturing just two in the 18 times the teams have met at the Huntsman Center. Florida is led by sophomore Ashanee Dickerson, who earned firstteam All-American honors twice as a freshman and was also named the SEC Freshman of the Year. Dickerson is ranked No. 3 in the all-around—one spot ahead of Utah's Stephanie McAllister—averaging a 39.365 with a season high of 39.575. She is also ranked No. i in floor and No. 4 in vault. Despite the Gators' dominance in the national rankings all season—sitting at the top since the first meet— they are not unbeatable, as No. 15 Arkansas proved last week, upsetting the Gators 196.70-196.10. At the meet, Florida was forced to count a miss in their team score for the first time this season, dropping their first regularseason meet of the year. "Florida's done really good this year—they've gotten a lot of a high scores," Mackie said. "They have a really strong team." The road doesn't get any easier for Utah after Florida as the team will travel to Corvallis, Ore., next week to face No. 8 Oregon State. k.price@ chronicle.utah.edu |