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, March 11
Athens, Ga.
2:00 PM
University of Utah
196.650
at
197.250
Georgia
Ute Gymnasts Fall to Georgia 197.250-196.650
3/11/2017 4:28 PM | Gymnastics
Kari Lee wins the all-around with a 39.450
ATHENS, Ga.—The No. 5 ranked Utah gymnastics team, facing a No. 7-ranked Georgia team sending off five seniors before 9,412 fans in Stegeman Coliseum, came up on the short end of 197.250-196.650 decision. The Utes (10-2) narrowed the gap to 0.250 after three rotations and finished strong on beam, but could not match the Gymdogs' massive 49.600 floor finale.
Ute freshman MyKayla Skinner saw her string of all-around and vault wins halted, but there was a ray of light to the streak's end. Sophomore Kari Lee, competing on floor and in the all-around for the first time in over a year, won the all-around with a career-high 39.450 to narrowly edge runner-up Skinner's 39.425. Lee, who completed her comeback from a season-ending ankle injury suffered early last season, also picked up Utah's sole event win, scoring a 9.90 on beam and tying her season high.
Lee got her shot at the all-around when the Ute coaches decided to rest senior Baely Rowe on vault and floor.
"With resting Baely on the leg events, it was great to have Kari come in on floor and hit a fantastic set," said Ute co-head coach Tom Farden.
Despite falling to the seventh-ranked Gymdogs, Farden was pleased with his team's performance.
"We started a little slow on bars, but I thought the kids handled the hostile environment well. We executed three 10.0 valued vaults cleanly and continue to prepare the vault team with an eye on the postseason. We also had some nice floor routines and we're so proud that our team finished on beam on such a strong note," said Farden.
Utah got the meet off to a shaky start when MaKenna Merrell fell as the first competitor. However, the next five Utes recovered for a 49.025 score, even with their best routines receiving scores ranging from just a 9.80-9.825. Georgia scored a 49.375 on vault to take a lead it would never relinquish.
Utah struggled to bring in big scores during its turn on vault and Skinner's 9.875 prevented her from finishing the regular season undefeated on the event. Skinner had won all nine vault competitions coming into the meet. At the midway point, Georgia led 98.550-98.150.
Utah made a run at the Gymdogs on the floor exercise, which featured Lee's 9.875 season debut and a 9.925 from Skinner. Heading into the final rotation, Utah had cut Georgia's lead to 0.250 (147.650-147.400).
Utah would finish the day by hitting all six beam sets cleanly, including a 9.90 from Lee and a 9.875 from Rowe. Its 49.250 on beam scored tied floor for Utah's best event scores of the meet. But the Gymdogs, backed by a roaring crowd on their final home event of the 2017 season, unloaded a series of 9.90s and 9.95 on floor to pull away.
Next up for Utah is the Pac-12 Championships in Stanford, Calif., on Mar. 18. Utah and UCLA tied for the regular-season Pac-12 title with 5-1 league marks.
Ute freshman MyKayla Skinner saw her string of all-around and vault wins halted, but there was a ray of light to the streak's end. Sophomore Kari Lee, competing on floor and in the all-around for the first time in over a year, won the all-around with a career-high 39.450 to narrowly edge runner-up Skinner's 39.425. Lee, who completed her comeback from a season-ending ankle injury suffered early last season, also picked up Utah's sole event win, scoring a 9.90 on beam and tying her season high.
Lee got her shot at the all-around when the Ute coaches decided to rest senior Baely Rowe on vault and floor.
"With resting Baely on the leg events, it was great to have Kari come in on floor and hit a fantastic set," said Ute co-head coach Tom Farden.
Despite falling to the seventh-ranked Gymdogs, Farden was pleased with his team's performance.
"We started a little slow on bars, but I thought the kids handled the hostile environment well. We executed three 10.0 valued vaults cleanly and continue to prepare the vault team with an eye on the postseason. We also had some nice floor routines and we're so proud that our team finished on beam on such a strong note," said Farden.
Utah got the meet off to a shaky start when MaKenna Merrell fell as the first competitor. However, the next five Utes recovered for a 49.025 score, even with their best routines receiving scores ranging from just a 9.80-9.825. Georgia scored a 49.375 on vault to take a lead it would never relinquish.
Utah struggled to bring in big scores during its turn on vault and Skinner's 9.875 prevented her from finishing the regular season undefeated on the event. Skinner had won all nine vault competitions coming into the meet. At the midway point, Georgia led 98.550-98.150.
Utah made a run at the Gymdogs on the floor exercise, which featured Lee's 9.875 season debut and a 9.925 from Skinner. Heading into the final rotation, Utah had cut Georgia's lead to 0.250 (147.650-147.400).
Utah would finish the day by hitting all six beam sets cleanly, including a 9.90 from Lee and a 9.875 from Rowe. Its 49.250 on beam scored tied floor for Utah's best event scores of the meet. But the Gymdogs, backed by a roaring crowd on their final home event of the 2017 season, unloaded a series of 9.90s and 9.95 on floor to pull away.
Next up for Utah is the Pac-12 Championships in Stanford, Calif., on Mar. 18. Utah and UCLA tied for the regular-season Pac-12 title with 5-1 league marks.
Players Mentioned
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