Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Season-high scores sent No. 2 Utah (4-1, 1-0 Pac-12) soaring over No. 25 Oregon State (1-1, 0-1), 197.450-196.30 on Friday night.
MyKayla Skinner won four individual titles, posting season bests in the all-around (39.725), vault (9.95), bars (9.975) and beam (9.925). Skinner’s all-around score ties the seventh highest in program history.
The superstar sophomore wasn’t the only Utah gymnast to win event titles. MaKenna Merrell-Giles tied Skinner for the vault title. She also placed first on floor with teammates Tiffani Lewis and Sydney Soloski, each scoring 9.925.
While the score looks good on paper, it’s even more impressive knowing the Red Rocks put up their season-best total with mishaps.
“Tonight was a little bit of a bookend,” Utah co-head coach Tom Farden said.
The team started the night hot, earning a season-high 49.475 on vault. Missy Reinstadtler posted 9.825 to start Utah’s night. From there, the scores continued to build with Kari Lee’s 9.85, Kim Tessen’s 9.90, and Merrell-Giles and Skinner’s 9.95s.
Utah owned the early lead after the rotation, 49.475-49.075.
The second and third rotations weren’t ideal for the Red Rocks.
“Bars and beam didn’t have the confidence I was look for,” Farden said. “We had some uncharacteristic things happen in warmups. I’m not sure what was going on. They weren’t being as aggressive as I wanted them to be. They were a little tentative, not trusting themselves.”
Bars (49.225) started promising for Utah, but mistakes by Reinstadtler (9.70) and Lee (9.35) in the middle of the lineup caused a stir.
Tessen helped get the team back on its feet with a much-needed 9.85. The performance was clutch for the sophomore, who missed her release during warmups and “splatted” to the mat on her stomach.
“For her come back after that, settle down, get into a rhythm and go 9.85 is incredible,” Farden said of Tessen.
Skinner built from Tessen’s momentum and reeled in a 10.0 from one judge.
The Red Rocks’ mistakes allowed the Beavers to cut their lead at the meet’s midway point, 98.70-98.20.
Utah’s shakiness continued on beam. Three routines resulted in scores between 9.70-9.80. Coaches expected the rhythm to be off as they implemented a new lineup, debuting freshman Alexia Burch and shuffling who was the leadoff and anchor. Even Skinner was a tad nervous about the new order.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking, but at the same time everyone went up and hit,” Skinner said.
Skinner added that seeing her teammates not count a fall made her feel relaxed before anchoring the event.
“I’ve never been last on beam before, so I wanted to go out there and do the best I could for the team,” Skinner said.
Lee redeemed herself with a 9.875 performance, which she described as “rewarding,” to help give Utah its season-high beam score (49.20) and a comfortable 147.90-147.275 lead heading into the last rotation.
Because both bars and beam are rhythm based and intricate, Utah trains under different circumstances in practice to prepare for times when the team struggles on an event.
The strategy paid off. With only one rotation left to compete, the nation’s best floor team lived up to its ranking and earned a season-high 49.55. Lewis got things moving with a career-tying 9.925 performance, and Reinstadtler (9.90), Soloski (9.925), and Merrell-Giles (9.925) followed. Skinner had an uncharacteristic deduction on her middle floor pass, resulting in a lower-than-normal score of 9.875.
“We had a couple of mistakes on the intricate events, but we pulled through on the power events,” Lee said. “We still have work to do.”
“We had some misfires tonight,” Farden said. “As disappointing as those are, as a coach, you have to look forward and be ecstatic about how good this team can be. Where can we take this team this year? We’re excited about that. We feel like we left tenths on the table that would have put us in the 198 range.”
Next for Utah is a road meet at No. 17 Arizona (0-2) on Friday, Jan. 26.
