Completed Event: Gymnastics versus NCAA Championship Final on April 19, 2025 , , 4th of 4 (197.2375)
Final Score
Gymnastics
4th of 4 (197.2375)
vs NCAA Championship Final
Thursday, April 16
Lincoln, Neb.
7:00 PM
University of Utah
at
NCAA Championships-Prelims
Utah Gymnasts Advance to NCAA Super Six
4/16/2009 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
April 16, 2009
Final Stats
LINCOLN, Neb.--The Utah gymnastics team's golden dreams--and in fact any color medal dreams--appeared dashed after two falls on the balance beam. But a gritty comeback on floor and vault pulled the Utes into a tie with UCLA for the third and final spot, and Utah won the tiebreaker for a place in the Super Six, Friday night.
Officially, the standings from the second of two NCAA Championships preliminaries had Alabama (197.025) in first, Arkansas (196.950) in second, and UCLA and Utah tied for third with a 196.625. Rounding out the field were Oregon State (196.350) and Illinois (195.050).
Utah earned the coveted final spot in the Super Six via the first tiebreaker procedure, in which all 24 scores are tabulated. Using that count, Utah had a 234.650 to UCLA's 234.575. It marks the second time Utah has been involved in a tiebreaker at the NCAA Championships. The Utes lost on the first-ballot tiebreaker to Nebraska back in 1997--one of just two years (1999 was the other) that the Utes failed to advance to the Super Six.
Utah crashes a Southeastern Conference party with its invitation. The Utes will go head to head for the 2009 NCAA Championship with Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and LSU on Friday, starting at 6 p.m. CT.
Team totals for the afternoon session were: Georgia (197.450), Florida (196.375) and LSU (196.300), Stanford (196.225), Penn State (196.100) and Oklahoma (195.825).
Utah has finished second to Georgia at the last three NCAA Championships and the teams were ranked in the same order coming into this competition. But Utah encountered unexpected trouble staying on the beam, and also had a rare fall on the floor, to put another shot at the Bulldogs in jeopardy.
The rivals finished 1-2 in the only competition determined tonight. Georgia's Courtney Kupets won her third NCAA all-around title with a 39.80, followed by Utah's Kristina Baskett with a 39.600. It is the third time a Ute has finished second in the all-around to Kupets. Ashley Postell, a three-time NCAA all-around silver medalist (2006-08), placed second to Kupets in 2006 and 2007.
Baskett earned a place in individual event finals, which will be held on Saturday, in vault, bars and beam. Representing the Utes on the floor is Daria Bijak. Event finalists must place in the top four of their session. Baskett tied for first on bars and beam with 9.90 scores, and tied for second on vault with a 9.95. Bijak won the floor with a 9.90.
Utah will start Friday's competition on the balance beam, which was the source of its nail-biting finish in the team preliminaries.
Here's how the meet unfolded. While Utah was sitting out with a first-rotation bye, UCLA jumped out to a 49.425 on the vault, followed by Alabama (49.125), Illinois (48.875) and Oregon State (48.325).
Utah opened its championship competition by starting freshman Stephanie McAllister on the bars. McAllister, in her NCAA debut, seemed completely unfazed by the pressure and scored a 9.80. Nina Kim and Deetscreek followed with 9.85s, and Gael Mackie came next with a 9.825. Bijak received a 9.85 and Baskett finished the 49.275 set with a 9.90. After each team had one event out of the way, the Utes were sitting in second behind UCLA. Moving into third was Arkansas with a 49.150 on the floor.
There was no sign of trouble on Utah's first beam routine, when leadoff Kyndal Robarts dished up a 9.85. But Mackie fell from the second position. Then Deetscreek fell--just one routine after setting the school record for most consecutive routines without a fall. Deetscreek, who scored a 9.85 on the bars in Utah's opening event, hit 64 straight routines before her tumble off the beam. The timing of her first fall since Feb. 16, 2008 couldn't have come at a worst time, since it meant the Utes would have to count a fall. The remainder of the lineup proved gamers with Bijak stopping the bleeding with a 9.825, Baskett walking through a beautiful 9.90 set and Kim finishing with a 9.85. However, the damage was done. Utah's 48.775 brought its two-event total to a 98.050. After two complete rotations, the standings looked like this: Arkansas (98.60), Alabama (98.450), UCLA (98.125), Utah (98.050), Oregon State (97.500) and Illinois (98.450).
Back to the bye room went the Utes for their final break of the night. On the competition floor, Alabama had taken the lead with a three-event total of 147.650, followed by UCLA (147.325), OSU (146.725) and Illinois (146.350). Leader Arkansas, like Utah, was out with a bye.
Back in action, the first five Utes ran through their floor routines without issue before big-scoring Annie DiLuzio fell at the end of the lineup. While the Utes wouldn't count the fall, they had to settle for a 49.175, bringing their three-event total to 147.225. Still, the Utes were within reach of third place, sitting a tenth behind UCLA and its 147.325 score. Arkansas moved back into first (147.700).
Utah went to vault to try and catch the Bruins, who were finishing on the floor. Bijak started with a 9.80, followed by 9.85s by Deetscreek and Robarts. Kim uncorked a beauty, and stuck her landing, for a 9.90. DiLuzio went for a 9.85 and Baskett finished Utah's meet with a phenomenal 9.95 routine. The score of the final round: Utah 49.400 on vault and UCLA 49.300 on floor. Tie game.
The teams stood silently while officials tabulated the 24 scores for each team. When the chalk dust cleared, Utah edged the Bruins by .075.
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