Two weeks into the season, two teams have each lost one of their top scoring athletes due to sudden injuries
Utah’s Sabrina Schwab tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during practice Tuesday and will most likely be out for the season. The loss of Schwab for Utah, means the loss of crucial scores on bars and floor, where Schwab consistently hit all of her routines in the 2016 season and hit her routines in the first two weeks of the 2017 season. Schwab also broke into the all-around for her sophomore year, so the Utes will have four scores to replace of Schwab’s.
Per the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah has dealt with this exact situation, having lost Kari Lee early in 2016 for a torn Achilles, and replacing Corrie Lothrop and Kassandra Lopez in 2013 & 2014, and losing Tori Wilson after she tore both Achilles tendons’ at the 2015 Pac-12 Championship. Wilson’s injury turned out to be a heroic sacrifice, since Utah won the Pac-12 championship that year and then went on to place 2nd behind Florida in the Super Six final.
Utah will not be scrambling for a solution, as they have enough depth to cover the line-up holes Schwab leaves behind. Co-head coach Megan Marsden told the Tribune she was planning on putting freshman Missy Reinstadtler in the beam line-up to see how she would perform in the line-ups (Reinstadtler did perform an exhibition beam routine at Brigham Young University last weekend). Marsden also told the Tribune Reindstadtler will also be replacing Baely Rowe in the floor line up.
Arkansas was also faced with a sudden injury. During Arkansas’ first home meet against Missouri, actually, not even during the meet, but during warm-ups, Senior Amanda Wellick tore her Achillies tendon. This put her out for the rest of the meet and likely for the rest of the season. Without Wellick, Arkansas had to scramble to put together alternative line-ups and only scored a 193.950. The absence of her presence was acutely felt on uneven bars where Arkansas scored a paltry 47.350, counting two falls from Hailey Garner and Michaela Burton. They haven’t released any details regarding Wellick’s injury beyond saying it was a “lower leg” injury on the broadcast of the meet
Arkansas will travel to Georgia this weekend and Utah is at home hosting Denver, University of Illinois-Chicago and Boise State in a quad meet.
Article: Maria Layton
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