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, January 7
Salt Lake City, Utah
5:00 PM
University of Utah
196.625
vs
195.525
Michigan
Skinner Leads Ute Gymnasts Past Michigan
1/7/2017 8:57 PM | Gymnastics
Freshman shines in 196.625-195.525 win
Photo Gallery
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah gymnastics fans waited a long time to see MyKayla Skinner compete in a Utah leotard. She made the wait worth every minute in her collegiate debut, leading lead No. 6 Utah to a 196.625-195.525 win over No. 7 Michigan.
Skinner, who deferred enrolling at Utah for a year to train for the 2016 Olympics, won the all-around and three events to the adoring approval of a crowd of 14,675 in the Huntsman Center.
"This was a different experience for me," said Skinner. "I'm used to a fan base (from her experience at the U.S. Gymnastics Trials and international meets), but the (Utah) fans cheer for all of us. The experience here is amazing. I love every part of it."
"MyKayla Skinner is a world-class athlete," said Utah co-coach Tom Farden. "Competing on the world stage obviously groomed her, but she had ice in her veins out there tonight."
He could have said the same for his entire team, which hit 23-of-24 routines while winning all four individual titles and the all-around against a powerful Michigan team. Nowhere was Utah's calm demeanor more obvious than on the balance beam.
"Our beam tonight was Utah 2.0," said Farden. "Every single performer was confident, aggressive and clean."
Baely Rowe, the team's lone senior, won the beam, receiving a standing ovation after her 9.925 score was raised. The five routines leading up to Rowe's were also magnificent.
Beam was the only event where Skinner didn't win or share in the victory. The heralded Ute freshman won the all-around (39.550), vault (9.90), bars (9.90) and floor (9.90)—tying for first on floor with all-around runner-up MaKenna Merrell. The sophomore Merrell had the meet of her young career, scoring career highs on all four events, earning her first victory as a Ute and scoring a 39.425 in her first all-around appearance.
Utah led from the outset by scoring a 49.10 on vault while Michigan had to count a fall on bars in a 48.30 performance. Skinner (9.90) and Merrell (9.85) led the Utes.
Although Michigan regrouped on the next rotation, scoring a 49.125 on vault, the Utes did even better on bars, and their 49.275 gave them a 98.375-97.425 lead. Skinner put up her second 9.90 in as many routines, this time coming from the middle of the bar lineup after she anchored Utah's vault set. Hers was one of six innovative and beautifully executed routines. Preceding Skinner's 9.90 routine was a 9.85 from Merrell, and immediately following it was a 9.875 from Tiffani Lewis.
Beam featured not only walk-through performances from start to finish, but the return of beam star Kari Lee after nearly a year away with an Achilles tear. Lee, who also competed on vault, was one of six Utes to score a 9.80 or better on the beam.
Armed with a healthy 147.600-146.350 lead entering the final rotation, Utah had mixed results on the floor. Along with Skinner's and Merrell's 9.90s, sophomore transfer Macey Roberts scored a 9.85 in her first Utah routine. Lewis had Utah's only fall of the night and Sabrina Schwab—making her first career all-around appearance—stepped out of bounds.
Utah competes at BYU next Friday.
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah gymnastics fans waited a long time to see MyKayla Skinner compete in a Utah leotard. She made the wait worth every minute in her collegiate debut, leading lead No. 6 Utah to a 196.625-195.525 win over No. 7 Michigan.
Skinner, who deferred enrolling at Utah for a year to train for the 2016 Olympics, won the all-around and three events to the adoring approval of a crowd of 14,675 in the Huntsman Center.
"This was a different experience for me," said Skinner. "I'm used to a fan base (from her experience at the U.S. Gymnastics Trials and international meets), but the (Utah) fans cheer for all of us. The experience here is amazing. I love every part of it."
"MyKayla Skinner is a world-class athlete," said Utah co-coach Tom Farden. "Competing on the world stage obviously groomed her, but she had ice in her veins out there tonight."
He could have said the same for his entire team, which hit 23-of-24 routines while winning all four individual titles and the all-around against a powerful Michigan team. Nowhere was Utah's calm demeanor more obvious than on the balance beam.
"Our beam tonight was Utah 2.0," said Farden. "Every single performer was confident, aggressive and clean."
Baely Rowe, the team's lone senior, won the beam, receiving a standing ovation after her 9.925 score was raised. The five routines leading up to Rowe's were also magnificent.
Beam was the only event where Skinner didn't win or share in the victory. The heralded Ute freshman won the all-around (39.550), vault (9.90), bars (9.90) and floor (9.90)—tying for first on floor with all-around runner-up MaKenna Merrell. The sophomore Merrell had the meet of her young career, scoring career highs on all four events, earning her first victory as a Ute and scoring a 39.425 in her first all-around appearance.
Utah led from the outset by scoring a 49.10 on vault while Michigan had to count a fall on bars in a 48.30 performance. Skinner (9.90) and Merrell (9.85) led the Utes.
Although Michigan regrouped on the next rotation, scoring a 49.125 on vault, the Utes did even better on bars, and their 49.275 gave them a 98.375-97.425 lead. Skinner put up her second 9.90 in as many routines, this time coming from the middle of the bar lineup after she anchored Utah's vault set. Hers was one of six innovative and beautifully executed routines. Preceding Skinner's 9.90 routine was a 9.85 from Merrell, and immediately following it was a 9.875 from Tiffani Lewis.
Beam featured not only walk-through performances from start to finish, but the return of beam star Kari Lee after nearly a year away with an Achilles tear. Lee, who also competed on vault, was one of six Utes to score a 9.80 or better on the beam.
Armed with a healthy 147.600-146.350 lead entering the final rotation, Utah had mixed results on the floor. Along with Skinner's and Merrell's 9.90s, sophomore transfer Macey Roberts scored a 9.85 in her first Utah routine. Lewis had Utah's only fall of the night and Sabrina Schwab—making her first career all-around appearance—stepped out of bounds.
Utah competes at BYU next Friday.
Players Mentioned
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