Last Chance To Dance

With the championship on the line, Utah's lone senior delivers first pressure-free performance

April 27, 2007

By Lindsay Schnell

Special to CSTV.com

SALT LAKE CITY -- To say it's been a rough year for Utah senior Nicolle Ford might be an understatement.

The Utes' lone senior has struggled all season with injuries and has had to deal with the pressure of expectations to lead her team. But Thursday night on her home floor, Ford forgot about everything this season hasn't been, and instead focused on the present.

Ford's performance on vault -- a 9.950 score after a nailed landing -- helped the Utes put together a great all-around night and score a 197.325, the highest of the second session, qualifying them for the Super Six finals tonight at 7 p.m.

The best part? The Utes will be in front of their home crowd, which took every chance it had to yell "Utah!" and erupt into cheers before, during and after a routine. They're also hungry for a title: Utah has participated in all but one NCAA gymnastics championship, but hasn't brought home hardware since 1995.

"We've had some serious downs as a team, so this feels good," Ford said. "Regionals were a big boost for us. All season we kept saying, `We just need one breakthrough meet, one breakthrough meet.' Well, it took all season, but it finally came."

Ford only scored a 9.825 on floor and beam, but her joy on the floor couldn't be matched. For one of the first times this season, she said, she felt pressure-free.

"It's been hard this season being the only senior and the only captain," Ford admitted. "Sometimes when it got really hard it was kind of overwhelming, but I don't feel that anymore -- I'm just one of the girls."

Despite an often-frustrating season, Utah coach Greg Marsden said he wasn't surprised with Ford's performance after watching her mature for four years.

"She's really gained that mental toughness," Marsden said. "I've watched her grow and I'm proud of her."

Marsden spoke specifically about Ford's mentality after the bars rotations, where she stumbled on the landing, scoring a 9.350.

"She was rocking that bar and just wanted to stick that dismount so bad she misjudged the landing a little bit," Marsden said. "But she came back on beam and had a great beam routine and helped the team win."

Ford's botched landing on bars didn't hurt much. The Utes, who got 9.925s from Kristina Baskett, Daria Bijak and Ashley Postell, were brilliant on the apparatus, turning in their second 9.500 score of the night (the first was on vault).

"We're making progress," Ford said. "At first we just wanted to get here, but the focus has changed: now we want to win. If you don't come out and put it all out on the floor, you don't have a shot."

The Utes will have to get past the other Super Six qualifiers from their session, Stanford and UCLA, as well as two-time defending champion Georgia, which recorded the high score of the first day with a 197.700. There's also No. 1 Florida and Nebraska, both of which qualified in the afternoon session as well. But if this season has taught Ford and her teammates anything, it's to not sell themselves short. After an up-and-down year, the Utes are right where they want to be: at home with a stadium screaming for them, in the hunt for a national title.

For Marsden, it will be bittersweet. The coach has said he's more than ready to win another championship, but also knows tonight will be his last watching Ford in red and white.

"We're going to miss her," Marsden said. "You just can't replace someone like Nicolle. She's a fiery competitor, and she just hates to lose. She's been tremendous for us all four years."