The University of Utah Red Rocks finished their up-and-down regular season on a low note Friday as they fell to the top-ranked Florida Gators in Gainesville on Friday.
The Red Rocks had their highest road score of the season, but falls on three events kept the Utes from their high potential and the Gators’ consistency put the meet out of reach as they lost 197.90 – 196.450.
Number 7 Utah has a potential to score much higher, including a 197.450 total in their loss to Nebraska last week, but the young team has been riddled with wobbles and falls on all four events throughout the season, keeping them from rising higher in the rankings.
Cortni Beers and Hailee Hansen started the meet on the bars on a good note with a 9.85 and 9.90, respectively, but Kassandra Lopez had a break then a fall on her routine and a score of 9.225, forcing the rest of the Utes to have clean routines to keep Utah close against Florida. Georgia Dabritz (9.90) and Corrie Lothrop (9.85) were both able to hold on, but after completing a smooth routine, Stephanie McAllister fell on her dismount, scoring a 9.40 and forcing the Utes to count a fall with a total of 48.90.
Freshmen Dabritz (9.90), Tory Wilson (9.875) and Kailah Delaney (9.90) all performed well on the vault, all with strong rotations and solid landings. Kyndal Robarts, who is capable of a 9.975 on the vault, took a big step on her landing and scored a 9.825. Utah finished with a 49.325 on the event, their best total of the night.
Robarts fell on her opening tumbling pass on the floor for the Utes and scored a 9.10, but the rest of the team performed well. Corrie Lothrop scored a 9.875 to top the scores for Utah.
Utah needed perfection heading into their final rotation on beam to make the meet close, but balance checks from several gymnasts and another fall from Robarts–her third atypical miss of the night–barely pulled Utah above the 49.0 mark with a 49.050 total. Only Corrie Lothrop (9.90) scored at least a 9.90 on the apparatus.
Florida had steps on most of their vaults and finished with their lowest event score of the night with a 49.325, but as Utah struggled, Florida become more consistent as the night wore on. They scored a 49.50 on bars despite a fall from Kytra Hunter midway through the lineup. Both beam and floor were solid for the Gators as they scored 49.475 and 49.60, respectively, finishing with a 197.90.
Utah returns to the Huntsman Center next Saturday to host the first-ever Pac-12 Championship.
