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SALT LAKE CITY — The third-ranked Utah gymnastics team, fueled by a sellout crowd of 15,558, exploded to a 197.70-196.25 win over No. 15 Washington.
“They amp up our energy,” MaKenna Merrell-Giles said of the team’s fans.
Fans were treated to a stellar performance on a rare Saturday matinee. Merrell-Giles earned the team’s first perfect score of the season. She and MyKayla Skinner shined throughout the meet with Merrell-Giles winning her third all-around title of the season and her career. Her 39.675 score is a career-best, inching Skinner’s 39.625 performance. Kari Lee scored 39.375 in her first all-around of the season as she replaced Missy Reinstadtler, who is resting a sore foot, on floor.
“We have four exceptional all-around choices, which makes other teams envious,” Utah co-head coach Tom Farden said.
Merrell-Giles got the crowd roaring early, locking a perfect 10.0 vault to lead Utah (6-1, 3-0 Pac-12) to a 49.625 — the team’s best score of the year on any apparatus. It was the Red Rocks’ first 10.0 since 2015.
“In the air, right before I hit my last half, I could tell it was right there,” Merrell-Giles said.
Kim Tessen’s 9.95 and Skinner’s 9.925 also assisted the team in taking a dominating 49.625-49.15 lead over Washington (3-6, 1-1) after the first rotation.
Utah stayed strong on bars (49.25) despite facing some adversity. Both Merrell-Giles and Reinstadtler posted 9.875s, the Red Rocks’ highest scores on the event. Tessen fell for the first time in her career in the lineup’s fifth position, but Skinner (9.85) hit her routine to allow Utah to drop the low score. The Red Rocks continued to lead 98.875-98.10 at the meet’s midway point.
In the third rotation, Skinner shined on beam, performing what appeared to be a near-perfect routine. The crowd celebrated as it expected another 10.0 for the Red Rocks. Instead, she earned a 9.90, which included a 9.85 from one judge — cuing the fans’ vocal and unmistakable dislike.
“Our fans are very educated. They know what’s going on,” Lee said.
“The way we feel about scores is it ebb and flows. Sometimes you’re going to go to a judge where you’re going to get (a score) you feel is a little tighter,” Farden added. “You bite your tongue because by the end of the day, a lot of times what happens is things work out in a wash.”
Maddy Stover and Alexia Burch scored 9.85s of their own to help Utah to a 49.225 set. The Red Rocks held a comfortable 148.10 -147.25 lead with one rotation left.
The first-ranked floor team in the country proved its ranking with a season-high 49.60 effort on its last event. In her first floor routine of the season, Lee scored 9.90. She was followed by Sydney Soloski’s 9.90 and Merrell-Giles’ 9.975, which created an uproar of excitement. Skinner closed the meet with an ecstatic 9.95.
“To end this meet on the floor with that kind of performance is unbelievable,” Farden said. “They love to perform. You could see that. They love the fans here. You could see that. They lit it up. It was incredible.”
Utah hosts No. 12 Arizona State on Friday at 7 p.m. MST before enduring a three-week road trip.
