This year's Ute team returns a squad filled with All-American talent looking to dominate once again.

Salt Lake City might experience an influx of world-class athletes this year, but national caliber teams are something of a habit for the Utah town. After all, it is the home of the ten-time NCAA gymnastics championship team, the University of Utah Utes.

So while lots of gold and plenty of silver shine throughout their trophy collection, the Utes' head coach, Greg Marsden, said it never comes easy. With the more teams in the competitive mix and new rules changes, the Utes, presently ten strong, will be working overtime to expand its tradition.

"Every year, it just gets more and more competitive, especially with the rules changes," Marsden said. "Fortunately, I think this is one of the most talented teams I've coached."

The Utah squad hasn't changed much from last year. Losing only one gymnast to graduation in 2001, the Utes gained one freshman this fall and will be welcoming another in January. "This is an experienced team, and we have lots of talent on all four events," Marsden explained. "I am very optimistic about our opportunity to be in the finals at the end and to compete for a championship."

As nearly every member of the team an All-American competitor, it's difficult for Marsden to determine his top returners. He explained the four seniors, Shannon Bowles (who was a club teammate of mine), Deidra Graham, Lindsay Tanner and Kylee Wagner will be providing the team with the leadership needed to excel.

Junior Theresa Kulikowski will be returning to the all-around this year after competing on only bars and beam in the 2001 season. While she has won three national championship titles, two on the balance beam and one in the all around, Kulikowski will vie for top spots on the other three events as well. After all, she was the vault runner-up her freshman season. Classmate Kim Allan will also reappear in the line-up this year after an Achilles' injury cut her sophomore season short. "This is really big for us," Marsden said.

Marsden is also looking for freshman Annabeth Eberle to make a big impact for the Utah team. A former national team member, Eberle is strong on all four events. She is, however, behind on bars, due to wrist surgery right before coming to school. Marsden will greet his international athlete, Gritt Hoffman, just prior to the Utes' first competition. The German gymnast's competitive presence is questionable at the moment, though, as she returned from this year's World Championships with a few nagging injuries.

With a healthy team right now, Marsden said there is good depth on all four events. They have made strides on vault, an event that nearly prevented them from traveling to the national championships last year. Several of the gymnasts debuted new vaults last year during the season and now have the experience competing them and extra time training them.

While the balance beam might have cost them a few places in the 2001 Super Six finals, Marsden believes this is their strongest event. All six competitors were either first or second-team All-Americans on the apparatus, and they only lost one gymnast from last year's beam team. Marsden said the team is typically strong on bars. Perhaps its deepest event now is the floor exercise, where he said nine Utes could step into the floor line-up at any point right now. "Floor will be one of the more difficult events to fill in the six spots," Marsden explained.

The all-star cast made it difficult for Marsden to pick out top routines or skills for which fans should be on the lookout. However, he was quick to point out individual attributes fans will enjoy. "Theresa and Shannon don't always have the big difficulty, but they do gymnastics that, from an artistic standpoint, is unique. They perform in a way few gymnasts can," Marsden said. "Veronique LeClerc and Annabeth provide a lot in the way of athleticism to this team."

The team's schedule will take a few tricky turns this year, especially with the Olympics in town half way through the season. Because of the event, Marsden was forced to schedule five meets in a row on the road. The team will open at home with three meets and close out the season with three home meets. "We knew this was coming, so we had to make a few compromises," Marsden said.

Utah will be traveling to Baton Rouge to compete against the LSU Tigers once again. "This is always a difficult meet, especially at their place," Marsden said. They will also be making the trek to Michigan, while Florida will be visiting them at home.

Though the Olympics may cramp their style for a short period of time, the changes made in preparation for the games will prove to be long-term benefits for the gymnastics team. For one thing, a light-rail line will facilitate fan transportation, making it easier for them to get to university sporting events. The campus also now has new housing.

As the 2002 season approaches, Marsden et al are looking to return from the Big Show with yet another shiny piece of championship hardware, preferably gold.