Utah’s gymnastics team was reeling and a bit lost, so the Utes returned to what is familiar to right themselves Friday.
The Utes put together a huge effort on the balance beam to defeat Oregon State 198-197.15 in front of 13,030 fans at the Huntsman Center.
The Utes, coming off a disheartening loss at Cal a week ago which included the loss of Jillian Hoffman to an Achilles tendon injury, scored a 49.725 on the beam in a win the Utes hope will get their season back on track with the season-high score.
The beam effort, which tied the season-high set earlier against Stanford, was highlighted by a 10.0 from senior Cristal Isa, the first perfect score of her career.
Putting her in a great position for the 10.0 were Adrienne Randall and Abby Paulson, who scored 9.925 and 9.95 ahead of her. Maile O’Keefe finished off the rotation with a 9.95.
Individual Scores
Vault: Lucy Stanhope (Utah) and Jade Carey (Oregon State) 9.95
Uneven bars: Grace McCallum (Utah) and Jade Carey (Oregon State) 9.95
Balance beam: Cristal Isa (Utah)
Floor: Jade Carey (Oregon State), Abby Paulson (Utah) and Sydney Soloski (Utah) 9.925
All-around: Jade Carey (Oregon State) 39.7
The performance was a huge contrast to the one against the Bears, when the Utes suffered majored breaks and looked tentative. The miscues included a rare fall from Isa, which made Friday’s performance even more satisfying.
“I knew what I did last week,” Isa said. “I was way too over confident and sometimes you need to be a little more humble.”
The Utes did a better job of owning the beam Friday throughout the lineup, typified by Isa’s showing.
“Last week I was devastated for her because it was uncharacteristic of her,” Farden said of Isa. “She was in a different head space tonight, full of confidence and she knew she was going to knock it out of the park.”
Utah took a while to find form Friday, opening with a 49.225 on the vault, led by a 9.95 from Lucy Stanhope.
Part of the slow start could have been the absence of leadoff gymnast Hoffman, who is recovering from surgery on her torn Achilles tendon. Sage Thompson went in her place on the vault, scoring 9.775.
The Utes came alive on the bars where they earned a 49.5, led by Thompson’s 9.925 and a 9.9 from O’Keefe.
Utah closed out the meet with a 49.55 on the floor. Paulson, competing in place of Hoffman, scored a 9.925, tying her career-best. Grace McCallum and Sydney Soloski also earned 9.925s.
McCallum said her gymnastics was a little “angry,” after the loss to Cal.
“Losing can be a really good motivator,” she said. “Sometimes you need to lose to come back better than before and that is what we did.”
Earning a 198 after losing Hoffman and suffering a defeat gave the Utes a boost of confidence.
“I’m really proud of what we did and what we can do,” Isa said. “We still haven’t hit 24-for-24 but it’s a great start for where we want to go.”
