Utah gymnastics notes: Tiffani Lewis bails Utes out on bars vs. Cal

Utah gymnastics notes • Junior ties for event title with 9.85.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the floor as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the floor as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's Kari Lee on the beam as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's Kari Lee on the beam as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's Tiffani Lewis on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's Tiffani Lewis on the floor as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Tiffani Lewis performs her floor routine as the University of Utah hosts Michigan, NCAA gymnastics at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Saturday January 7, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the beam as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's Baely Rowe on the vault as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MaKenna Merrell on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MaKenna Merrell on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's Baely Rowe on the vault as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MaKenna Merrell on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

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Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the floor as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the floor as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's Kari Lee on the beam as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's Kari Lee on the beam as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's Tiffani Lewis on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's Tiffani Lewis on the floor as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Tiffani Lewis performs her floor routine as the University of Utah hosts Michigan, NCAA gymnastics at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Saturday January 7, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the beam as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's Baely Rowe on the vault as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MaKenna Merrell on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MaKenna Merrell on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's Baely Rowe on the vault as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MaKenna Merrell on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017. Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah's MyKayla Skinner on the bars as the University of Utah hosts Cal, NCAA Gymnastics at the Huntsman Center, Saturday February 4, 2017.

By Lya Wodraska Special To The Tribune

· February 5, 2017 10:23 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Utah's meet with Cal was hitting a big lull in the uneven bars, with the first four routines earning only average scores for the Utes.

Thankfully the Utes had Tiffani Lewis to give the rotation something to cheer.

The junior hit her routine to earn a 9.85, tying Cal's Emily Richardson for the uneven bars title.

The routine gave Lewis her first win on the event this season.

Lewis was the lone bright spot in what was a near disaster for the Utes on the bars, an event in which they rank fifth nationally averaging 49.288.

On Saturday, both Kari Lee (8.9) and Baely Rowe (9.275) had major breaks while the others failed to score higher than 9.8.

The effort left the Utes with a season-low 48.425 on the event and dropped them into a tie with Cal at the midpoint.

The Utes went on to win 196.45-195.725, but it wasn't the way they had imagined things would go.

"I told them after bars we were tied and if you want to win, you have be aggressive and determined," coach Tom Farden said.

Lewis seemed to have that philosophy the whole meet. She had a 9.825 on the vault and added a 9.9 on the floor.

"That was a stunning routine," Farden said of Lewis' floor effort. "It might have been the best one of her career."

Lewis said she tried not to pay attention to the other efforts on the bars so she wouldn't be affected by them.

"I just wanted to focus on what I needed to do to help the team," she said. "If someone doesn't do well in front of you and are wobbly, it doesn't mean you have to go up the exact same way. My mentality is to do what I have been doing no matter what the circumstances are."

Of note

Cal was without Toni-Ann Williams, who had won the four previous floor titles for the Bears. She suffered a season-ending injury in practice. … The Utes compete at Oregon State next week. … Saturday was the first time Maddy Stover led off on beam since 2015.