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SALT LAKE CITY — It was another successful season opener for No. 5 Utah gymnastics, beating Penn State 197.175-194.45 in front of 13,193 fans on Saturday. The Red Rocks’ score was the nation’s third-best in the opening week.
“Hitting a 197 in the first meet is a great start to the season,” Utah co-head coach Tom Farden said.
MyKayla Skinner led the way for Utah as she won the all-around (39.70) and three events. MaKenna Merrell-Giles helped complete the sweep by taking the beam title; she placed second in the all-around with a 39.575 score.
The Red Rocks got off to a solid start with stick after stick on vault. Kari Lee led off with a 9.875, and Merrell-Giles and Skinner rounded up the lineup with a 9.90 and 9.95, respectively.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Skinner said of sticking the landing of her double-twisting Yurchenko. “I have tried so hard to stick my vaults, and it was super cool to come out in the first meet and have a stick.”
“She basically picked up where she left off as the reigning NCAA champion,” Farden added.
Utah’s opening 49.40 effort gave it a lead over Penn State (48.95) that it would never give up.
Skinner continued to shine as she led the Red Rocks with another 9.95 on bars. Freshman Cristal Isa, a two-time Junior Olympic bar champion, performed a stunning 9.925 routine in her collegiate debut.
“It was surprising to me,” Isa said of her performance. Merrell-Giles quickly added that Isa’s set wasn’t surprising. “She does that every day in practice.”
“To place a freshman in the No. 5 spot (of the lineup) shows that we trust her and know that she can deliver big scores,” Farden said.
Overall, Utah’s scores built off each other in the second rotation and resulted in a 49.425 event score. At the meet’s midway point, the Red Rocks were up 98.825-97.575.
Both teams struggled in the third rotation.
Penn State had falls on its first three floor routines. Utah started out well on beam (48.975) with Merrell-Giles’ winning 9.90 performance coming in the lineup’s third spot. But unusual mistakes from Missy Reinstadtler and Lee in the fourth and fifth spots caused the Red Rocks to score below 49.0 on the event.
“We need to continue to develop on beam where people got a little cautious,” Farden said.
Heading into the last rotation, Utah led 147.80-145.45.
On floor, Skinner (9.95) and Merrell-Giles (9.925) shined, and Macey Roberts’ 9.875 also contributed to the team’s 49.375 event score.
“We did a lot of good things, but we had a few mess ups, which is typical of the first meet,” Skinner said.
The Red Rocks will go back to training to fix their mistakes before taking a trip south to visit in-state rival BYU on Friday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. MST.
