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SALT LAKE CITY -Nicolle Ford and Ashley Postell lived up to their pre-meet promises and led Utah to a 196.725-193.850 win over Washington. The All-America duo vowed to improve on their uncharacteristically jittery performances in Utah's win over UCLA a week ago, and they did. Ford won the all-around with a 39.50 score, followed by Postell at 39.375. Also back in the spotlight was sophomore Nina Kim, who struggled against UCLA after a bout with the flu, but bounced back with three 9.85-or-better scores versus the Huskies.
Utah jumped to a one-point lead on the vault runway, in a large part thanks to last week's hero Kristina Baskett. Baskett, who entered the meet as the nation's top-ranked all-arounder, would falter on the balance beam, but her first routine was nearly perfect. Her season-best 9.95 vault score edged out Ford (9.90) and Kim (9.875) for first place.
The rout continued in round two, when Postell's 9.90 routine led Utah to a 49.275 bar score and a hefty 98.65-97.35 first half lead. Other impressive performances came from Ford (9.875) and Kim (9.85).
Though the outcome of the meet was virtually decided, one couldn't tell by how nervously the Utes performed on the balance beam. Jessica Duke looked shaky as the leadoff, and then Kristina Baskett--who scored a career-high 9.90 against UCLA--fell. Annie DiLuzio (9.75), Kim (9.80), Ford (9.825) and Postell (9.80) all covered a mistake with an otherwise aggressive routine. Still, Utah's 48.80 beam score would prove its worst event score of the night for the second straight meet.
Washington didn't take advantage of the opening - managing only a 48.625 on the floor - and Utah was off to a 2-0 start to the season. About the only thing that went wrong on the floor for the Utes was the arena sound system, which faltered all night and faded to murmur during their floor routines. Fortunately, the Ute floor team made enough noise to fill the quiet, especially Ford and Postell, who each scored 9.90s. Postell fully engaged the audience by opening her set with a beautiful, big tuck Arabian double front, which she landed on a dime.
For the second straight week, Utes captured every individual title and the all-around. Ford won the all-around, beam and tied for first on floor, Postell won the bars and tied for first on floor, and Baskett won vault.
