No. 3 Utah pulls off come-from-behind win to beat No. 2 UCLA, 197.55-197.425


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LOS ANGELES — In arguably the most important meet of Utah gymnastics’ regular season, the No. 3 Red Rocks finished with clutch performances to pull off a come-from-behind win against No. 2 UCLA. Sunday's 197.55-197.425 victory was Utah’s first win in Pauley Pavilion in 10 years.

“You could feel the pressure on both teams in this great environment,” Utah co-head coach Tom Farden said.

Utah (8-1, 5-0 Pac-12) finished 1-2-3 in the all-around with MyKayla Skinner (39.625) leading the way, followed by MaKenna Merrell-Giles (39.525) and Kari Lee (39.50). Skinner also picked up event wins on vault (9.95) and floor (9.975) and tied with Merrell-Giles on beam (9.925).

As if the rivalry between the teams didn’t create enough tension, the meet came down to the wire. Utah trailed by 0.015 after both the first and second rotations, but tied with UCLA heading into the fourth rotation.

The Red Rocks’ meet started on bars with two scores of 9.90, courtesy of Merrell-Giles and Kim Tessen. The rest of the lineup included Tiffani Lewis’ 9.85, and 9.825s from both Missy Reinstadtler and Lee. Skinner almost tipped over on her mount, but her core strength showed as she saved it from happening. The rest of her routine was clean with a stuck dismount, but the uncharacteristic mishap earned her a low-score of 9.775, which was dropped. After the first rotation, Utah trailed UCLA (9-2, 3-1) 49.45-49.30.

The nation’s No. 2 vault team struggled to stick dismounts on the second rotation. Along with some hops, Tessen fell and Merrell-Giles nearly did the same. Skinner’s 9.95 was the team’s highlight on the event, and Lee put up a nice 9.90. Utah scored another 49.30 event score and lagged UCLA 98.75-98.60.

Utah started its comeback with a great effort on its best event: floor. Four of five routines to count were 9.90 or higher. Both Reinstadtler and Merrell-Giles posted 9.925 while Skinner (9.975) performed a near perfect routine. With one event to go, the Red Rocks’ big 49.55 event score put them in a tie with the Bruins at 148.15.

As UCLA took to floor, Utah was left with beam — its weakest event. Through four gymnasts, three Bruins stepped out-of-bounds, putting the Red Rocks in a great place if they could stay on the beam. Utah did just that and tied its season-best score (49.40) on the event. Utah’s six gymnasts performed walk-through routines, including Maddy Stover’s 9.775, Merrell-Giles’ 9.925, Alexia Burch’s 9.85, Lee’s 9.875, Reinstadtler’s 9.825 and Skinner’s 9.925.

"We settled down (in the second half)," Farden said. "That beam was maybe the best we have done all year. Our beam workers stayed in their element under intense pressure and we continue to show just a ton of tenacity."

Utah continues competing on the road next week against No. 21 California on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 12 p.m. MST.

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