SALT LAKE CITY-Tuesday, Utah Gymnastics announced its 2019 schedule along with the weekends the Red Rocks will compete on.
The schedule will give the Red Rocks plenty of chances to test their mettle as they will face off against three SEC and two Big Ten powers in addition to competing against an always-strong Pac 12 slate.
Utah co-head coach Tom Farden minced no words, confirming “the best way to prepare for the postseason is to go against nationally-competitive week-in and week-out, which is what this schedule is all about.”
The schedule starts January 4 and 5 as the Red Rocks host perennial power Penn State. They then travel to Provo to face bitter rival BYU January 11.
The conference opener is at Corvallis, Ore. against the Oregon State Beavers January 18-20.
The Red Rocks will also host Big Ten powerhouse Michigan March 1-2 and then will travel to Athens, Ga. to square off against the Georgia Bulldogs March 15.
The Mardi Gras Invitational February 15 at St. Charles, Mo., will also be a solid test for the Red Rocks as the meet features LSU, Missouri and Stanford in addition to Utah. These squads all have a long history of going on deep runs at the national championship meet.
The format for how the championship is to be determined has changed as the NCAA Division I gymnastics title will be decided by a four-team final as opposed to the Super Six.
Additionally, the regional meet (slated for April 4), will expand from a single meet to a span of four meets in three days with a first-round “play in” featuring two teams. On April 5, this will become a second round comprised of two four-team semifinals.
On April 6, this becomes a four-team final.
After this, the top 16 teams will automatically qualify into the second round.
Then, the top two finishers from each region will advance to the NCAA championships, hosted by Texas Christian University at Fort Worth, Texas, April 19-20.
