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ATHENS, Georgia — In a meet to claim its second undefeated season in program history, fourth-ranked Utah gymnastics fell short to tenth-ranked Georgia 197.45-197.275.
“It’s hard to win a meet when you only show up for three events,” said co-head coach Greg Marsden.
The Utes (11-1, 6-0 Pac-12) started the day on bars with a 49.5-49.175 lead. Three gymnasts — Baely Rowe (9.9), Tory Wilson (9.9) and Georgia Dabritz (9.975) — scored 9.9 or higher. Dabritz, who has five 10.0s on the event, earned a 10.0 from one judge, the other a 9.95.
Deductions came on the gymnasts’ dismounts. Kassandra Lopez (9.875) took a small step on her landing and Corrie Lothrop (9.85) leaned a little.
Next the Utes took on vault. While the Red Rocks rank first in the nation on the event, they scored their third lowest score (49.375) of the season. Big air and great form gave Kari Lee (9.925) a win, followed by Wilson and Kailah Delaney, who both scored 9.9. Third-ranked Dabritz (9.225) uncharacteristically sat on the mat instead of sticking her landing, but due to her score being the lowest she didn’t count against the team.
“Georgia just wasn’t herself tonight,” said Marsden.
But it was the GymDogs' (5-6, 3-4 SEC) solid bar lineup (49.575) that shortened Utah’s lead 98.875-98.75 at the halfway point.
It's hard to win a meet when you only show up for three events.
–Greg Marsden
Knowing they had to execute the last two events to pull off a victory, the Red Rocks went to the floor with more pressure than they’re used to. Tiffani Lewis replaced Rowe (sore foot) in the floor lineup. Her performance was clean, but she stumbled out of her last pass and scored 9.725. Wilson (9.65) was on her way to a big score until she tripped toward the end of her routine, which caused her not to do her double back.
“I told her (Tory) afterwards that she’d given me another first,” Marsden said. “In 40 years, I’ve never seen that.”
Next, Lothrop (9.7) stepped out-of-bounds and Dabritz (9.825) struggled landing her first tumbling sequence. Becky Tutka (9.925) didn’t let her teammates’ troubles affect her performance. She tied with Georgia’s Gigi Marino for a victory.
“I have no idea what happened on floor. It’s been a great event for us all year, so I guess we’ll just write it off to a fluky night,” said Marsden.
Utah’s not-so-great floor exercise put it down less than two-tenths of a point heading into the last rotation. Wilson and Dabritz started the beam lineup with 9.825 and 9.8 respectively.
“I was proud of how Tory and Georgia came back on beam after their problems on floor,” Marsden said.
Two freshmen followed the seniors, outscoring them with season-bests 9.9 (Maddy Stover) and 9.875 (Lee). Rowe also scored 9.9, tying with Stover for first. The Utes finished the set scoring 49.35, tying their second-best beam score of the year.
Although the Utes put themselves in a place to win if the GymDogs missed any steps during the last rotation, Georgia took advantage of having a senior night home crowd behind them. They earned 49.5 on the event, having four of five Georgia gymnasts post a score of 9.9 or higher.
“I would have no complaints about this meet if it weren’t for the fluky night on floor. I was especially pleased with how we came back on beam,” said Marsden.
The Red Rocks, who hold the conference's first-seed, now shift their focus to seek back-to-back Pac-12 championship titles. Utah hosts the championship March 21 and will compete in the evening session.
