No. 4 Utah Gymnastics Clinches Regular Season Championship With Win Over No. 13 Washington

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University of Utah women’s gymnastics junior Alexia Burch performs on the Vault in a dual meet vs. Oregon State University at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. (Photo by Abu Asib | The Daily Utah Chronicle)

By Sammy Mora, Sports Editor

 

It came down to the final rotation yet again for the No. 4 University of Utah Red Rocks gymnastics team as they finished their road meets this season undefeated. The Red Rocks took down No. 13 Washington 197.675-197.600, giving fans yet another preview of the upcoming Pac-12 Championship meet. 

With this victory, the Red Rocks were named the regular season champions and head coach Tom Farden also celebrated his 100th victory as the head coach of the team. 

Things started out rather slow for the Red Rocks on the bars. Missy Reinstadtler scored highest for the team with a 9.925, which ties a season-high for her on the event. She also won the event title with that score. Both Kim Tessen and Emilie LeBlanc scored 9.875s, while Maile O’Keefe scored a 9.825. 

Utah had a strong lead over Washington heading into the second rotation, 49.300-49.050. 

The vault showed a need for improvement, as Tessen scored yet another 9.925 on the event. Tessen won the event title with that score. Alexia Burch scored the second highest for the team with a 9.875. Cammy Hall scored a 9.850. 

The Huskies started to close the gap after the second rotation 98.525-98.475. The Red Rocks looked to separate themselves as they headed to the floor for the third rotation. 

While the rotation started out strong with Abby Paulson scoring a 9.850, things became harder as Jillian Hoffman fell on one of her passes and scored a 9.100. Adrienne Randall got things back on the right track with her 9.875, and from there the scores kept growing. O’Keefe scored a 9.900, while Sydney Soloski scored a 9.950. Reinstadtler continued her strong day with a career-high 9.975 on the floor. 

Reinstadtler won the event title with that score and despite the fall, the team scored a season-high 49.550 on the event. Soloski took second place in the event. 

It wasn’t enough, though, as Washington took their first lead of the meet after Evanni Robertson scored a 10 on the beam. The Huskies lead was slim, but it was still there 148.125-148.075. 

The lead wasn’t an issue for the Red Rocks as they headed onto the beam, and they showed everyone why they are the No. 3 team in the nation on the event. 

LeBlanc started things off with a 9.825 and the scores kept building from there. Burch scored a 9.850, while O’Keefe was the first Red Rock to cross the 9.90 mark on the event. After that routine, Cristal Isa, Randall and Paulson all scored 9.950s to secure the victory for the Red Rocks. 

The Red Rocks will be back at home on Friday, March 6 as they host Stanford for the Pac-12 regular-season finale for the Red Rocks. The team will finish their regular season at home on March 13 as they host Utah State for senior day. After that, the team will turn its focus to the Pac-12 Championship meet later in the month. 

 

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