2015-2016 NCAA Incoming Freshmen: Utah

2015-2016 NCAA Incoming Freshmen: Utah

With preseason kicking off, it’s time to look forward to the 2016 season! We will be looking at the incoming freshmen classes and will start with the Utah

Sep 21, 2015 by Keri Monstrola
2015-2016 NCAA Incoming Freshmen: Utah
With preseason kicking off, it’s time to look forward to the 2016 season! We will be looking at the incoming freshmen classes and will start with the Utah Utes. The Utes finished 2nd in a close competition at last year’s NCAA Championships. Utah will be in its first year without Greg Marsden, and new co-head coaches Megan Marsden and Tom Farden. The Utes welcome in four talented freshmen in Shannon McNatt, MaKenna Merrell, Erika Muhaw and Sabrina Schwab. 



Do I spy our freshmen in the house? #Flip4U #GoUtes

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Shannon McNatt
Shannon McNatt is a freshman from Houston, Texas where she trained at Stars Gymnastics Training Center with coaches Dan and Ashly Baker. McNatt is former international elite who dropped down to level 10 following the 2012 season. At the 2015 J.O. National Championships McNatt finished 4th on vault. In 2014 she was the Level 10 national floor co-champion was also 6th all-around. McNatt comes into Utah with great success and is looking to be a great addition to the Utes in her freshman season. Watch Shannon on floor


Megan Marsden on Shannon McNatt- 
“We are thrilled to have another kid from the hot bed of Texas. She brings beautiful artistic qualities and her dance is beautiful. Her dance background shows on beam and floor. We are excited to have her unique vault in our lineup (RO ½ turn, front pike off).” 

MaKenna Merrell McKenna Merrell is a freshman from All-American Gymnastics where she was coached by Jimmy Pratt and Dawn Johnson. Merrell comes into Utah with great difficulty on all four events and is a very strong all-around performer. With the yurchecnko full being devalued, Merrell’s strong yurchenko 1 ½ could be key for the Utes. In 2015 Merrell was the J.O. runner-up in the all-around, vault and floor along with 4th on bars and beam. Watch her vault here

Megan Marsden on MaKenna Merrell-
“We are happy to have a local gymnast join our program! She is a very strong and competitive gymnast on all four events. She has a heart of gold and is very competitive. She could vie for a spot in the all-around this year or in the near future.” 

Erika Muhaw
Erika Muhaw is a freshman from New Jersey where she trained at North Stars Gymnastics Academy. Muhaw trained with coaches Tony Gehman, Ashley Miller and Anne Meed. Prior to Utah, Muhaw had success at J.O Nationals as a four-time qualifier and nine top-10 finishes. Muhaw was 3rd on vault and floor and 9th all-around at 2015 J.O. Championships. Muhaw was able to compete for Region 7 all-star team she gained international experience in France (2013) and England (2014). Look for Muhaw's experience to help her in her freshman season. Watch Erika on floor

Megan Marsden on Erika Muhaw-
“We are thrilled to have Erika from North Stars. She really shines on the power events (vault and floor). She is also a natural beam worker who seems to always find a way to stay on. I call her the blonde bombshell and can’t wait to see her personality shine through on floor.”  

Sabrina Schwab
Sabrina Schwab is a freshman from WOGA where she trained with Valeri Liukin, Megan Haught and Nataliya Marakova. Schwab was originally a verbal commit to UCLA and signed with the Utes last spring. Schwab comes to Utah having some injury trouble in her previous two seasons. She is now healthy and is training all four events, with hopes to be a big help the Utes this season. Schwab is a strong performer on bars and beam where she has great artistry and movement. In 2015 Schwab finished 2nd at the WOGA classic on floor. Watch Sabrina on bars

Megan Marsden on Sabrina Schwab-
“Sabrina came to us later due to MyKayla Skinner deferring a year. We took a risk picking her up from UCLA, but we are very excited about it. We are thrilled to be able to give Sabrina renewed confidence. Her strengths are on the technical events, bars and beam. She can make a splash as she really flew under the radar. The key will be to keep her healthy. I really think she can be a star as she is very motivated and works hard every day.” 


Who are you most excited to see compete? How will these freshmen fit into the Utah lineup? Tell us in the comments section below.

Stay tuned to hear more about the freshman from your favorite team!

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