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Utah senior gymnast Ashley Postell has long been recognized as one of the top vaulters in the country, but several times she has gotten shorted for what Ute coaches thought were routines worthy of a perfect score.
She finally got one Friday in second-ranked Utah's 197.750-194.100 win over Minnesota in front of 10,133 at the Huntsman Center, but it's too bad the career milestone didn't come on her own merit.
Postell capped off Utah's best vault set of the year with a vault she stuck on the landing. One judge saw it as a 10.0 routine. The other judge, Mary Ann Mahoney, gave it a 9.95 - that is, until she saw the other judge's score and quickly changed her mark to a 10.0 as well.
Mahoney's action was wrong, since judges are supposed to rate routines independently of one another and should not change their score based on the other judge's opinion.
Mahoney declined to be interviewed by members of the media afterward.
Regardless of the actual number, Postell said she felt the vault was the best she has performed.
"I was just happy I stuck it; I was running back like, 'whatever,' " she said.
Utah coach Greg Marsden said he didn't see the judge change her score, but that it didn't matter to him what Postell earned because he knew what he saw.
"I know it was the best vault Ashley has done since she has been here," he said. "She absolutely nailed it. She just dropped out of it and nailed it."
The same thing happened the last time a 10.0 was scored in the Huntsman Center. In 2005, Annabeth Eberle earned a 9.95 from one judge and a 10.0 from another on her final floor routine during senior night. The judge who gave her the 9.95 changed her score to a 10.0 upon seeing the other mark.
The altered score perhaps detracted from the validity of Postell's numbers, but it appeared she was on her way to one of her best nights even without the judge's charity.
Postell won the all-around with a career-high 39.8, earning 9.925 on the uneven bars, 9.9 on the balance beam and a 9.975 on the floor.
Mahoney gave Postell a 9.95 on the floor, but didn't change her score, unlike earlier in the meet.
"It was like a domino effect out there, one person would get a good score and then another," Postell said. "A lot of us stepped up, whether it was in exhibition or in competition."
Minnesota's presence on the floor was almost an afterthought as the Gophers (3-3) never threatened to spoil Utah's night.
Their score was a season-high, too, but they fell behind quickly while the Utes (4-0) posted one big score after another to earn their 10th-highest total in school history.
Utah's vault rotation was its best of the season, not only with a 49.55 score but also in the performance itself. By Marsden's estimation, nearly every gymnast improved on their vault performance, particularly the landings. All but Daria Bijak, who led off with a 9.85, earned season-highs on the event.
"That was fun," he said. "It felt like everything was coming to the team easily. They were having a good time and were really relaxed."
Utah kept rolling after that opening event, scoring a season-best on the uneven bars and balance beam as well, with 49.325s. Both Postell and Kristina Baskett earned 9.925s to lead the Utes on the bars, and Postell and Nina Kim had 9.9s on the balance beam.
Floor ended with a 49.55, led by Postell's 9.975.
"It's going to be tough to improve on that score," Marsden said of the team mark. "We took a step forward, a big step forward. The landings are getting better, everything is getting better. It'd be hard to be more pleased than I am."