This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah's gymnastics team lost to Georgia 197.65-196.975 on Saturday, but found plenty of positives in the outcome as Utah hit all 24 routines in a hostile atmosphere. What stood out to the Utes the most were solid rotations on the balance beam and uneven bars, their trouble spots this year. What doomed the Utes was Georgia's overall strong performance and some uncharacteristic missteps by the Utes on floor. Utah scored a 49.225 on the event with Becky Tutka leading the way with a 9.9. Others though had some steps, including Lia Del Priore (9.75) and Georgia Dabritz (9.775). "What surprised me is the tenths we gave away on floor," Utah coach Greg Marsden said. "We did well on the events we've been struggling on. I thought we took a step forward there, but on floor we gave up a lot of tenths with missed landings and things like that. We have to clean that up." Even though they lost to Georgia, the Utes may have succeeded in finding the combination it needed to help Georgia Dabritz on the balance beam. Utah flip-flopped Dabritz and Mary Beth Lofgren in the lineup, putting Lofgren fifth and Dabritz last. Marsden said he did so to take the pressure off Dabritz. The move worked with Lofgren winning the event with a 9.9 and Dabritz scoring a 9.775. "We felt like we needed to do something different," Marsden said. "We knew we had five dependable gymnasts in front of her and it seemed to work. That is something we might look at sticking with." Dabritz said she liked being the anchor. Normally it is a pressure situation, but not when the others hit, Dabritz said. "I could just go up there and relax and do my thing," she said. "I felt a lot better about it." - Lya Wodraska