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
Saturday, April 18
Lincoln, Neb.
6:00 PM
University of Utah
at
NCAA Championships-Event Finals
Baskett Caps Career with Three Bronze Medals
4/18/2009 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
April 18, 2009
LINCOLN, Neb. - Kristina Baskett topped off a glorious Ute career with three bronze medals in the NCAA Gymnastics Individual Event Championships, while junior Daria Bijak placed fifth on the floor exercise.
 Kristina Baskett won bronze medals on vault, bars and beam.  | |
Baskett leaves with seven top-three NCAA finishes, including a gold medal on bars in 2006), silver medals on vault (2008) and in the all-around (2009), and bronze medals in the all-around (2008) and on vault, bars and beam in 2009.
Baskett led off Utah's competition by tying for third place with a 9.90 bar routine. It was her 13th 9.90 or better score this season out of 14 routines. The only meet she failed to crack 9.90 was also the only time she fell--at Oregon State on Jan. 30. At the NCAA Championships, she scored a 9.90 on bars all three nights.
The only small miscue in Baskett's NCAA finals' routine was a pause on her way up to her final handstand. She finishes her career as a four-time first-team All-American on bars, highlighted by a national championship as a freshman in 2006. The bar winner was Courtney Kupets of Georgia with a 9.95.
Next came vault, where Baskett, the NCAA runner-up a year ago, was tagged for a small hop on the landings of her two vaults and tied for third with a 9.8563. Gymnasts are required to do two different vaults in the NCAA individual finals. She shared the bronze with Kupets, who edged Baskett for the all-around championship on Thursday. On both nights of team competition, Baskett scored a 9.95 on the vault. Winning the 2009 NCAA vault title was Ashleigh Clare-Kearney from LSU with a 9.90 combined score.
 Daria Bijak placed fifth in the nation on the floor. | |
Daria Bijak represented the Utes well on the floor--showing off her impressive big tumbling in a 9.875 routine that earned her a fifth-place finish. It is Bijak's best individual showing at a national championships, having placed eighth on bars at the 2007 NCAA Championships as a freshman.
Bijak nailed her first tumbling pass, which is unique to college gymnastics with its punch double front, punch front ending. However, she lunged out of her second tumbling pass, and her position as the first competitor also likely did not help her score. Nonetheless, it was an impressive showing for the junior, who was making her first appearance in floor finals. She scored a 9.90 both nights of team competition, posting the highest score of the preliminary session on Thursday. Tying for first on floor were Clare-Kearney and Kupets with a 9.95.
Baskett ended her Ute career with yet another third-place tie, this time on the balance beam. Her 9.90 tied her career high--matched seven other times, including in Thursday's preliminary competition. She saved a great routine for last, with no breaks, great lines and movement and a stuck landing.
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