Jan. 25, 2008

Recap

SALT LAKE CITY -
Scores and commentary from tonight's Utah gymnastics meet at Arizona State will be posted live. You will need to hit your reload/refresh key for updates. Competition is scheduled to start at 7:35 p.m. Mountain Time. The first scores should begin to appear around 7:50 p.m.

Note: Vault and bars are going to run simultaneously so commentary might be delayed.

ASU                               UTAH

VAULT                             VAULT
Tiana Jean          9.700         Daria Bijak          9.875
Francesca Mercurio  9.775         Annie DiLuzio        9.800
Mary Atkinson       9.825         Nina Kim             9.775
Beate Jones         9.775         Kyndal Robarts       9.775
Nicole Harris       9.775         Kristina Baskett     9.825
Ashlee Hinkle       9.750         Ashley Postell       9.775
VT: 48.900; Running: 48.900       VT: 49.050; Running: 98.375
Utah vault notes:
Daria Bijak just did a big time vault. She deserved her
career high score. Later in the lineup, she might have
gone a tenth higher.
Annie DiLuzi looked good in the air but took a step
on her landing.
Nina Kim got good distance off the horse, but couldn't stick
the landing.
Kyndal's step was smaller than Nina's on the dismount
and I thought her flight was pretty clean.
I have no clue what Kristina Baskett got dinged so
hard for on her vault. Maybe it was my angle, but I thought
she was going to get a 9.95.
Ashley Postell's problem was that she went far to the left
side of the mat. It was impressive otherwise and she stuck
the landing.

BARS                              BARS
Francesca Mercurio  9.675         Kyndal Robarts       9.700
Mary Atkinson       9.750         Nina Kim             9.825
Beate Jones         9.675         Jessica Duke         9.850
Tiana Jean          9.800         Daria Bijak          9.825
Tia Orlando         9.750         Kristina Baskett     9.925
Nicole Harris       9.875         Ashley Postell       9.900
UB: 48.850; Running: 97.750       UB: 49.325; Running: 49.325
Utah bar notes:
Nice overall routine by Kyndal Robarts. She was slightly short on a couple of handstands and had a step back on her landing.
Nina Kim had a great routine -- her first on bars
this season. She got great air on her release moves
and stuck her dismount.
Jessica Duke had some real pop tonight. Great hop full. Stuck
her landing.
Daria Bijak had the coolest move. Sorry I don't know what
it was, but neither did Lya Wodraska. However, we both
thought it was really cool. She was docked for a hop
on her landing and one short handstand.
Kristina Baskett had a beautiful routine. I'm not a good
enough judge to know what the deductions were.
Ashley Postell didn't move as fast on the bars as
she sometimes does, but absolutely nailed everything,
other than a very small hop on her dismount.
All in all, the best bar set by far this year.

BEAM                              BEAM
Tiana Jean          9.850         Jamie Deetscreek     9.800
Francesca Mercurio  8.675         Kyndal Robarts       9.775
Kaitlynn Bormann    9.775         Kristina Baskett     9.600
Ashlee Hinkle       9.825         Nina Kim             9.850
Nicole Harris       9.875         Daria Bijak          9.850
Tia Orlando         9.850         Ashley Postell       9.925
BB: 49.175; Running: 146.925      BB: 49.200; Running: 196.700
Utah beam notes:
Really nice opening routine by Jamie Deetscreek. Her series
was great and really, the main thing I was saw was a kind
of funny step on her landing. It was almost like she rolled
her ankle, but she looks like she's OK.
Kyndal's routine was just phenomenal until her landing,
and even then, she didn't take a true step. She kind of
dipped down to the side and her feet were apart, but
nothing big. I think she was underscored.
Kristina Baskett shot my theory that she either gets
a 9.90-plus on the beam or falls. This time, she looked
like she was headed for a fall but did a balancing act.
Still, she was hit hard for it by one judge in particular,
who gave her a 9.5.
Nina Kim had just a sensational routine other than
one balance check late in the routine -- really more of a
slight tilt back than anything.
I thought Daria Bijak deserved the 9.90 that one judge
threw her. Her routine was just amazing until a step
on her landing. She just does totally cool elements and
does them well.
Ashley Postell was, well, Ashley Postell. Just about
perfect. Scott, John and the boys had the big Utah
contingent screaming for a 10.

FLOOR                             FLOOR
Francesco Mercurio  9.550         Katie Kivisto        9.700
Beate Jones         9.775         Jessica Duke         9.800
Brittany Schuett    9.800         Daria Bijak          9.600
Tiana Jean          9.300         Stephanie Neff       9.875
Ashlee Hinkle       9.750         Kristina Baskett     9.875
Nicole Harris       9.825         Ashley Postell       9.875
FX: 48.700; Running: 195.625            FX: 49.125; Running: 147.500
Utah floor notes:
Katie Kivisto's routine looked really good but I'm
wondering if she skipped a leap because I think I
remember a second leap on that pass. Also, one judge
gave her a 9.65 and the routine was really clean, so
she must have been missing something.
Nice, clean routine by Jessica Duke.
Daria Bijak got better and better as her routine
went on and finished with a great pass. Unfortunately,
on her first pass, she took several steps out of
bounds after her tuck double front, tuck front.
I loved Stephanie Neff's routine. She hit all of that
unique front tumbling and her leaps and jumps looked
better than I've ever seen them. She picked a good
time for a career high in front of her "home" crowd.
Kristina Baskett had a 10.0 going until the very
end when she skidded slightly on her last tumbling
pass landing. Still, a nice routine.
Opposite of Kris, Ashley Postell's small mistake
came at the start of her routine. She threw a huge
triple twist and had some trouble controlling it
when she came down, taking a step. The rest of her
routine was absolutely golden.