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BATON ROUGE, La. — “Top two gets us through,” is the saying that sixth-ranked Utah gymnastics had in its head entering the postseason.
Co-head coaches Tom Farden and Megan Marsden didn’t want to pressure their team that it needed to win when finishing in the top two of their regional semifinal. The Red Rocks cruised to a semifinal win Friday afternoon despite their 196.80 score ending the school record of 197-plus scores at 12.
The Red Rocks stuck with the slogan and cruised to a semifinal win Friday afternoon. Their 196.80 score ended the school record of 197-plus scores at 12.
No. 11 Minnesota (196.30) advanced with Utah to tomorrow’s final, where the two teams will compete against the top two finishers of Saturday night’s semifinal competition between No. 3 LSU, No. 14 Auburn, Arizona State and George Washington. Arkansas (196.175) and BYU (195.55) are eliminated.
“We are excited to move on to tomorrow’s final,” Farden said. “Using today as our baseline, our performance and scores will improve tomorrow if we work with more confidence and trust.”
MyKayla Skinner won the all-around (39.525), floor (9.925) and bars (9.90) session titles. Missy Reinstadtler also won honors on bars, tying with Skinner.
Utah's day didn’t start out the way it wanted, failing to stick a landing on vault for a season-low 49.20. Skinner had the smallest of hops on her landing and led the team with 9.90. Despite the unimpressive rotation, the Red Rocks took a lead they would never give up. After the first rotation, the standings were Utah (49.20), BYU (49.075), Minnesota (49.05) and Arkansas (48.90).
MyKayla Skinner has another stunning 9.925 floor routine closing out competition for the Red Rocks! #GoUtespic.twitter.com/1boJcje4EN
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 5, 2019
“I thought we had things dialed in after a really good warmup, but we started out timid and trying too hard on vault,” Farden said.
Next for Utah was bars where scores improved. The team rallied with a 49.325, led by Reinstadtler and Skinner closing the lineup with a pair of 9.90s. After two events, Utah (98.525) increased its lead over Arkansas (97.95), BYU (97.825) and Minnesota (97.825).
“I gathered the team before bars and we got back on track with what turned out to be our highest scoring event today,” Farden said.
The beam team hit all its routines with minor deductions for a 49.075 event score. Kari Lee’s 9.85 from the leadoff position was the team’s high beam score. With one rotation left, Utah (147.60) almost had a half-tenth advantage over Arkansas (147.125). Minnesota (147.05) moved up to third place, as BYU (146.825) moved into fourth.
Utah earned yet another season-low score, but this time on floor. The 49.20 effort was highlighted by Skinner’s wowing 9.925 and enough to secure first place.
The Baton Rogue regional final starts at 6 p.m. MDT on Saturday and will broadcast on SEC+ and ESPN700 radio.
