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SALT LAKE CITY -Both the roaring crowd of 13,809 and Gritt Hofmann herself thought her meet-ending floor routine was going to be enough to push No. 6 Utah past No. 1 Georgia in a wire-to-the-wire meet. They were wrong, barely, as the Utes lost for the first time this season by the slenderest of margins--197.100-197.075. Hofmann, a 2005 first-team All-American on the floor, needed a 9.925 for Utah to tie the defending national champs, but came up just shy with a 9.90.
The meet had the feel of postseason competition, something the Ute gymnasts confirmed after the meet. "We didn't hold anything back. We never want to lose, but we had a good meet," said Ashley Postell, whose season-best 39.65 all-around score--like Utah's--was not quite good enough for first place. Georgia's Courtney Kupets edged Postell for the all-around title with a 39.70.
Nicolle Ford, who scored a 9.60 on the floor after botching her final tumbling pass, concurred with Postell. "That's the first time I've ever done that floor routine. I was terrified," she said. When asked why she chose a meet this big to try a new routine, she said, "I have to try it sometime."
Hofmann said head coach Greg Marsden wanted her to play it safe on her final tumbling pass, but she overruled him. "I hadn't warmed up (and easier pass) and I thought if I hit my routine we could win. I thought it was enough, but I guess it wasn't."
Postell and Kupets, both 2002 World Champions, put together an individual competition that lived up to its pre-meet hype. They tied for first on vault (9.95) and second on bars (9.90). They finished 1-2 on beam: Kupets with a 9.925 and Postell at 9.90.
In another sign of postseason preparation, Postell, Ford, Kristina Baskett and Nina Kim all went all-around for the Utes. Baskett's personal-best 39.40 placed her third behind Postell and Georgia's Kupets, while Ford was sixth (39.275) and Kim tied for seventh (39.225).
Ford won the bars with a 9.95 for the Utes, who are now 9-1 and face Oregon State at home in four days. Georgia improved to 14-0.
