Sophomore Makenna Merrell during her floor routine vs California at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday, Feb 4, 2017. Chris Ayers Daily Utah Chronicle.

Although the University of Utah Red Rocks walked away with another win against California to remain undefeated in the Pac-12, they struggled on bars in the second rotation. Sophomore Kari Lee had a mishap on the first skill, and she then slipped off the bar on the dismount.

However, following a solid routine by junior Tiffani Lewis, senior Baely Rowe had a mishap of her own that she said was uncharacteristic of her. Moving forward, Rowe and the Red Rocks aren’t thinking about those mistakes, they’re focusing on making sure mistakes like that don’t become consistent.

“We just have to come in with a clear mind, fix our mistakes, and make things better,” Rowe said. “I think this week we just need to go in and forget about what happened last week. It was just weird mistakes that happened, so this week if we focus on the little things, I think it will work out.”

Co-head coach Megan Marsden explained that during their coaches meeting, co-head coach Tom Farden felt that the girls seemed distracted at times, and that things weren’t organized or efficient enough. Marsden added that Farden feels like bar warmups in general are not as fluid as he would like them.

“The girls didn’t hit some of their stuff, so it was reflected in their performances,” Marsden said. “We are going to focus on that in training and to try to remedy that.”

Fans breaking records

In the three home meets this season, the Red Rocks have averaged a total of 15,035 fans. But during their meet against California, Utah featured its largest crowd yet — 15,326 — marking it the 11th largest in the history of Utah gymnastics.

In the past, the Red Rocks have averaged more than 14,000 fans per meet, so they are well on their way to setting a new record. For freshman MyKyla Skinner, she loves having the large audience because all of the noise. And the louder it is in the arena, the more pumped her and her team gets.

“We wouldn’t be who we are without the fans,” Skinner said. “Having the crowd, I think it makes it that much more fun. It makes us want to go out there, show them what we can do and what we have worked so hard for. They are amazing, and I’m glad they come and support us.”

Skinner Stays Strong

After a shaky meet against California, MyKayla Skinner won the all-around title for the fifth time this season with a score of 39.5, however, she was not too happy with her performance.

In her first four meets of the season, Skinner was awarded Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week, and she won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in those first three weeks too. However, following her meet against Cal, she was not awarded either despite being nominated for both.

“I had a little bit of issues this time,” Skinner said. “So I want to come back into the gym and work on those and fix them and work on my execution a bit more.”

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