Order has been restored
A week after Utah and Georgia held a rare Monday meet, dropping Utah and Georgia’s scoring average to third and fourth in the country respectively, the two teams8212;which started the season No. 1 and No. 28212;returned to their respective positions.
Georgia came up with an impressive home performance against then No. 9 Alabama, scoring a season-high 197.175 to regain the top spot in the country. Utah came in at No. 2 with a season-high 196.850 to bump its average up to 196.583. Rounding out the top five was UCLA at No. 3, followed by fellow Pac-10 rival Stanford at No. 4 and Florida, who came in at No. 5.
The Red Rocks didn’t have to count a fall in a single event Friday and are now ranked No. 1 in the country on the uneven bars with a 49.275 average. Utah is also in the top five on floor and vault, with a No. 5 and No. 3 ranking respectively. Utah is ranked No. 7 on beam.
Kristina Baskett is Utah’s top all-arounder and is ranked No. 8 in the country with an average of 39.367 spread out over the four events. Jamie Deetscreek is ranked No. 20. Former Utah gymnast Sarah Shire, currently a member of the Missouri gymnastics team, is now ranked No. 25 with a 39.167 average in the all-around.
With Kristina Baskett opening the season with a fall on floor, Annie DiLuzio is Utah’s only gymnast ranked in the top 25 on floor. She holds the No. 7 spot with a 9.883 average. Nina Kim and Baskett are ranked No. 13 and 25 on balance beam, but the uneven bars are where Utah has really shined this season.
Baskett ranks No. 2 in the country on the event she won a national championship in as a freshman. Daria Bijak has a 9.883 average, good enough for No. 6 in the country.
Baskett and Kim are also ranked in the top 25 on vault as the senior leadership combine to rank No. 3 and No. 12, respectively.
Nationals pride
Utah will be on the road this weekend in Corvallis, Ore., to take on Oregon State. Corvallis was the site of the 2006 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics national championships, meaning that all four of Kristina Baskett and Nina Kim’s 2009 meets will have taken place in an arena in which they’ve also competed in nationals. Utah will travel to Lincoln, Neb., home of the 2009 national championships, on Feb. 13 to play host Nebraska.
Early look at Oregon State
Although Utah is 53-6 against the Beavers and average 1.2 points better than Oregon State in a sport that is decided by .01 of a point, the Red Rocks can’t rest on those laurels. Of Oregon State’s six wins in the series, all have come in Corvallis, the most recent being convincing 196.900 to 196.325 win on Feb. 21, 2003. The Beavers also pulled off a win against former No. 5 Arkansas that came on the final event of the night.
Lucas IsleyUtah head coach Greg Marsden lead the Red Rocks back to their winning ways against Washington on Friday. Utah won the meet 196.850 – 193.450.
Thien SokU gymnast Annie DiLuzio performs on vault during the Red Rocks? home win versus Washington. The team looks ahead to their upcoming meet Friday at Oregon State.