The U gymnastics team made a push for the top spot in the national rankings Sunday by posting its third straight score above 197.00. In the process, Utah notched another quality win by defeating No. 9 UCLA in Los Angeles.
The No. 2 Utes started out slowly but powered through with the help of Ashley Postell to improve to 9-0 on the season. Utah won by a final of 197.450-195.825.
“I thought we started out a little tight on bars,” head coach Greg Marsden said. “But then we relaxed and calmed down as the meet went on.”
Postell won the all-around competition with a score of 39.725. By scoring no less than 9.90 on any event, the senior claimed her eighth all-around win of the season in as many tries.
Coming off a Friday night meet against instate foes Utah State and Southern Utah, the Red Rocks quelled any fatigue and injury questions with their depth.
Kyndal Robarts did not compete due to soreness in her knee. Nina Kim was not expected to compete due to a foot injury but stepped in on beam to ease the burden of losing Robarts. Gael Mackie and Jessica Duke both competed in the vault for the first time this season.
All of the last minute changes to the lineup didn’t seem to faze Utah.
“It shows our team is very strong mentally,” Kristina Baskett said.
UCLA struggled with its beam performances, which in turn opened the door for the U on the floor. Marci Bernholtz and Anna Li both fell on their routines and UCLA was forced to count Li’s score. Utah responded advantageously by gaining more than a full point on the Bruins.
UCLA was not able to avert injury as easily. Li, the Bruins’ top all-around performer, ended up injured on the first pass of her floor routine. Marsden said that the star landed short on a double front, but he could not tell if the injury was significant or minor.
Utah used its two stars, Postell and Baskett, to lift them to victory. Baskett came in second behind Postell by earning a season-high 39.65.
Baskett was happy to post another score above 9.80 on the balance beam, where she has struggled at times this season. Her 9.875 was second only to Postell’s event-winning score.
Baskett used the one-and-a-half on the vault for the second consecutive meet. She hopes to stick with the upgrade the rest of the season.
Because she had not competed in enough all-around meets to form a qualifying score, Postell entered the weekend unranked despite owning the nation’s highest average. Now that she has at least six competitions completed, her name will likely top next week’s rankings.
“She just had another Ashley night,” Marsden said. “She is on fire this year.”
Utah moved closer to overtaking Georgia in the team rankings.
By posting two scores above 197.00 this weekend, Utah is now able to discard two scores below that mark from its Regional Qualifying Score (RQS). The RQS is made up of a team’s top six scores, at least two of which have to be earned on the road.
Utah’s RQS on Monday will be 197.150, unofficially. Georgia, however, posted its season-high score against Kentucky Sunday with a 197.675, boosting its RQS to 197.159, unofficially.
Wherever the Utes officially land Monday, they won’t pay too much attention.
“I don’t care if we’re second place as long as we do well in April,” Baskett said.
Utah has the week off from competition. Their next meet is on March 7 when the Red Rocks welcome Oregon State to the Huntsman Center.