Red Rocks Suffer Close Loss To UCLA
Feb 23, 2019, 5:21 PM | Updated: 5:22 pm
Utah's Makenna Merrell-Giles competes on the beam during a gymnastics meet against Georgia at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 16, 2018. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The No. 4-ranked Utah gymnastics team suffered its first loss in a dual meet again the No. 2-ranked UCLA Bruins.
The Bruins just edged Utah by a final team score of 198.025 to 197.625.
It was a fiercely fought Pac-12 battle!!!
The Red Rocks score a season-high 197.625 in front of a loud and rowdy sold out crowd but it wasn’t enough to over come the Bruins. pic.twitter.com/dtZGdYmuBc
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) February 23, 2019
Utah’s star gymnast MyKayla Skinner missed out on the top of the podium in the all-around. She was passed in the standings by Kyla Ross, who beat Skinner by just 0.025 points for the all-around crown.
Ross and Skinner battled all afternoon, tying for third place in vault and first on the beam. Skinner edged Ross on the floor, but a perfect 10 by the Bruin junior on the bars gave her the advantage in the end.
High floor scores courtesy of Sydney Soloski and MyKayla Skinner (9.925 for each). The Red Rocks are back in action next Saturday vs. Michigan for Senior Day! #goutes pic.twitter.com/9WPh4747Ks
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) February 23, 2019
Makenna Merrell-Giles tied Felicia Hano for the top spot in the vault event.
Skinner and Soloski tied UCLA’s Katelyn Ohashi, whose perfect score on the floor went viral earlier this season, for first place in the floor event.
Next Up
The Red Rocks will look to regroup against the No. 8-ranked Michigan Wolverines on March 2. The meet will begin at 2 p.m. and be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
