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Nicolle Ford tied for first in the all-around in her home regular season finale.
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March 23, 2007
SALT LAKE CITY -
By the end of the third rotation, the No. 5 ranked Utah gymnastics team had won the national attendance title and all but won the meet with Arizona State. Nicolle Ford had won the balance beam to a standing ovation from the crowd of 11,923 in attendance, many whom were wearing cardboard crowns to honor "Queenie" in her last regular season home meet.
Win the meet they did - 196.65-194.95 - but the Utes once again staggered to the finish line with a dismal floor performance. For the third straight week, they entered their final event bolstered by the highest three-event score of the season - this time a 148.125. Two falls and two out-of-bounds' flags later, Utah said good-bye to cracking 197.00 and settled for a win over a banged-up, out-matched ASU team.
Ford, at least, went out on a high note - winning the floor exercise with a 9.925. She finished tied for first in the all-around with Ashley Postell, as both scored a 39.55. She also tied Postell on the balance beam with matching 9.925s. Kristina Baskett picked up wins on the vault, where she scored a career-tying 9.975, and on bars with a 9.95. Baskett struggled on the floor, however, where she fell and went out of bounds. In a strange twist, Postell was tagged with a late out-of-bounds flag - after appearing to clearly land in bounds.
As has been Utah's practice all year, the troubles came in the second half of the meet. Utah opened with a season-best 49.50 score on the vault, which included career bests from Sarah Shire (9.90) and Baskett (9.975), and a season-best 9.925 from Postell. The Utes followed up with a solid 49.325 bar score, which included a 9.95 by Baskett and a 9.90 from Postell. Beam, a trouble area in several meets this year, went well on this night, and Ford and Postell's 9.925 scores helped Utah to a 49.30, not far off its season high of 49.375.
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