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
Friday, April 23
Gainesville, Fla.
6:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
NCAA Championships-Super Six
Ute Gymnasts Place Sixth at NCAA Championships
4/23/2010 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
April 23, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -
The monster hole the Utes dug on beam destined them to a sixth-place finish and overshadowed a good night on the other three events. The final team standings were: UCLA 197.725, Oklahoma 197.250, Alabama 197.225, Stanford 197.100, Florida 197.000 and Utah 196.225.
The last time Utah placed sixth was in 2004. A year later, the Utes won the bronze, followed by three straight runner-up finishes and another bronze last year.
"It wasn't what we hoped for," said Utah co-coach Greg Marsden, "But we have to be pleased with what we accomplished this year. I couldn't have been more pleased with how we came out on the bars. I think we went to beam and just rushed things. We were trying too hard, which is something we have done at times this year. The bad thing was not only that we had falls, but that they came from seniors. It was really tough in the locker room during the bye (after beam). It really took a lot for them (seniors Daria Bijak and Jamie Deetscreek) and the entire team to come out and finish strong,"
Several Utes enjoyed big nights, among them sophomore Stephanie McAllister, who scored a career-high in the all-around (39.375) and set or tied career highs on all four events (9.875 on bars, 9.80 on beam, and 9.85 on vault and floor). Kyndal Robarts was Utah's leading all-arounder, posting a 39.40 that was bolstered by a 9.90 on the balance beam. It was an especially impressive effort by Robarts, given the fact she was Utah's final competitor on beam and bore the added pressure of her teammates' mistakes.
Unfortunately, Utah's other two all-arounders did not fare as well, as both Bijak and Deetscreek fell off the beam. As Marsden said, they shook it off for their last two events, with Bijak scoring a 9.825 on the floor and finishing strong with a 9.925 on the vault, and Deetscreek receiving a 9.80 on both floor and vault.
The Utes began the night on a bye and when they came out for their first turn, they were facing some impressive first-rotation scores: UCLA 49.475, Oklahoma 49.425, Florida 49.125 and Stanford 49.100.
Utah came out firing, scoring a 49.30 on the bars, led by a 9.90 by Daria Bijak and a 9.875 by both McAllister and Gael Mackie. After two rotations, here were the standings: Oklahoma 98.725, Florida 98.325, UCLA 49.475, Utah 49.300, Alabama 49.100 and Stanford 49.100.
Utah's bubble burst a few minutes later, when Bijak and Deetscreek both fell shortly after Cortni Beers had a couple of big breaks resulting in a 9.65 score. Only McAllister (9.80), DiLuzio (9.80) and Robarts (9.90) performed as they had in the semis. Utah's 48.425 was its second-lowest of the season.
After three rotations (two events for Utah), here was the scoreboard: UCLA 98.800, Oklahoma 98.725, Alabama 98.475, Stanford 98.425, Florida 98.325 and Utah 97.725. While the Utes sat out on their final bye of the night the scoreboard was adjusted as follows: UCLA 148.175, Oklahoma 148.050, Stanford 147.825, Florida 147.750, Alabama 98.475 and Utah 97.725.
Bijak (9.825) and Deetscreek (9.80) recovered to assist in a 49.225 effort on the floor. DiLuzio was high scorer at 9.90 and Robarts and McAllister received 9.85 scores.
With three scores in from every team, here were the standings: UCLA 148.175, Oklahoma 148.050, Alabama 147.900, Stanford 147.825, Florida 147.750 and Utah 146.950.
Utah finished strong on the vault, led by a magnificent 9.925 effort by Bijak. It was a career-high for Bijak, as were 9.85s by Beth Rizzo and McAllister.
Four Utes will compete tomorrow night for individual championships; Bijak on bars, Deetscreek and Robarts on beam and DiLuzio on floor.
Players Mentioned
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