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CEDAR CITY — In its second meet of the season, the seventh-ranked Utah gymnastics team overcame adversity to beat Southern Utah University 196.725-195.600, keeping its undefeated record.
"We are moving in the right direction," said Utah co-head coach Tom Farden. "And (we) handled the hostile environment like champions."
The Red Rocks competed in a rare road trip to the Centrum Arena in front of a near-capacity crowd of 4,873 fans. In addition to the hostile environment, the team faced other challenges. Three-event senior Kailah Delaney tweaked her knee during warm-ups.
But the show must go on.
Farden and Megan Marsden placed last-minute replacements in the lineups and the Utes started their night on the bars, where they ranked No. 1 in the nation entering the meet.
Seniors Kassandra Lopez and Breanna Hughes won the event with career-high back-to-back 9.925 routines. Also on top of the leaderboard were 9.875 showings from sophomore Tiffani Lewis, junior Baely Rowe and freshman Sabrina Schwab. The gymnasts' solid performances allowed an early Utah 49.475-48.925 lead after one rotation.
"We came out firing on bars and vault," said Farden.
The Utes' scores were lower on the next rotation, but their vault set included another event title. Hughes claimed a second victory, scoring another career-best 9.90. Lewis contributed a 9.85 while Rowe and sophomore Samantha Partyka earned 9.825s. The judges gave Utah 49.175 overall total on vault, extending its lead 98.650-97.300.
Hughes' lead off on the floor set was her third career-high (9.875) in as many routines and Schwab followed with a 9.85, but the Red Rocks began to experience a rocky road with half the meet left in sight.
"On floor, we're still not sticking some landings," said Farden.
For the second week in a row, Kari Lee fell on her finishing double back. Lewis also stumbled on the same element, resulting in a docked score (9.650) which counted toward the Red Rocks tally. The Utes went into the last rotation of the night with a 48.950 on floor and a 147.600-146.350 lead.
While Utah's frontrunner status was never truly in danger, hiccups continued on the beam. Partyka excelled on her beam routine, scoring a career-high 9.90 and tied for first with Lee.
"Samantha and Kari were poetry on the balance beam. They floated up there," said Farden.
Then Rowe fell on her mount and the pressure was on for the Utes. Sophomore Maddy Stover was the lone gymnast left to compete on beam while Southern Utah performed high-scoring floor routines. Stover scored a 9.85 to seal the win.
"Some of our beam routines were not as aggressive as we'd like, but overall it was a good step forward," said Farden.
Utah's next step is its Pac-12 opener against Oregon State, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. MT in the Huntsman Center. The meet will air on Pac-12 Network.
