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
Ute Gymnasts Win Wild NCAA Region Championship
4/1/2000 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
Nothing like a good "bye" to get you going. The Utah gymnastics team was in fourth after one rotation and in third after two. But after taking their designated bye before bars, the Utes came out and bid good bye to the competition. Utah blew a close meet open in the second half and secured its national record 25th straight trip to nationals, its 19th under NCAA jurisdiction, in the process. With Florida failing to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time, Utah is the only school to make all 19 NCAA Championships.
Utah's four all-arounders all placed in the top 10, led by sophomore Deidra Graham, the all-around champion. Graham, who scored a 39.475 in the all-around, also won vault (9.875) and tied for first on beam with teammate Ashley Kever (9.875). Angelika Schatton placed second in the all-around (39.25), Denise Jones tied for fourth (39.125) and Theresa Wolf was ninth (38.900). Utah's other winner was Jenny Schmidt on bars (9.975).
Utah came back from a two-event deficit to overpower the rest of the field in a wild finish. The Utes scored a 196.325 to give them nearly a one-point advantage over runner-up West Virginia (195.475), but that final margin was deceptively wide. The same could not be said for West Virginia's .025 win over Denver (195.475-195.450) that earned the Mountaineers a berth in the NCAA Championships. Minnesota was in the race until the end too, having entered the last rotation tied for second with West Virginia. But two falls on beam knocked the Gophers out.
In the closest regional competition, top to bottom, that Utah has ever been in, the Utes were glad "halftime" doesn't count. Certainly, the Utes' streak of national championship appearances appeared in jeopardy after two rotations. Utah's opening event score of 48.875 on floor was its third worst of the year. The Utes didn't even equal that on vault, where their 48.775 left them in third place going into their break. But, those proved the two lowest scoring events for every team (in fact, Utah won vault) and the low scores perhaps inspired Utah to come out of the bye room smoking.
The Utes took the lead for the first time of the night on their next event, where, led by Schmidt's career-high 9.975, they roared to a 49.55 bar score. All six Utes hit big in tying their season best, a tribute to bar coach Aki Hummel, who was laid up in Salt Lake City after fracturing his femur in six places in a weekend ski accident. But the deal wasn't done, as beam lay ahead. When lead-off beam worker Kim Allan fell, Utah's lead over Minnesota, West Virginia and Denver suddenly became very tenuous. The next five Utes picked up Allan's spirits by combining to score a 49.125. Deidra Graham and Ashley Kever's 9.875s as the final two competitors gave Utah a nice cushion going into their meet-closing bye.
Its position in nationals all but secured, Utah took a seat while Minnesota and West Virginia (tied after three events) and upstart Denver battled it out for second place. Minnesota fell from contention with two falls on beam and West Virginia held off fast charging DU by just .025.
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