By Lya Wodraska

| The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah’s gymnastics team knew it would lose its No. 1 ranking after it scored a season low in its 196.05-194.85 win at Michigan on Friday, but the advance knowledge did little to make Utah’s bump down the standings any easier to take.

The Utes, who held the No. 1 ranking for three straight weeks, fell to No. 5 in the latest standings, behind Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama.

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At a glance

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Top 25 rankings

Team Ave. Pvs.

1. Florida 196.929 2

2. Oklahoma 196.784 3

3. Georgia 196.725 4

3. Alabama 196.725 6

5. Utah 196.721 1

6. UCLA 196.543 7

7. Arkansas 196.50 5

8. Oregon St. 196.383 8

9. Nebraska 196.308 9

10. Penn State 195.982 10

11. Ohio State 195.856 11

12. Stanford 195.725 12

13. LSU 195.575 13

14. Arizona 195.321 15

15. Auburn 195.250 17

16. Boise State 195.225 14

17. Missouri 195.211 16

18. Illinois 195.036 18

19. N.C. St. 194.957 19

20. Denver 194.829 20

21. Michigan 194.700 21

22. Minnesota 194.543 NR

23. West Va. 194.543 22

24. Arizona St. 194.514 25

25. Wash. 194.504 23

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The Utes always expected they would drop next week when the rankings system switched from season average to the regional qualifying score because they haven’t earned high road scores this year.

However, Utah coach Greg Marsden found the drop this week a little irritating, particularly since he was still smarting over the strict judging in Friday’s win.

He felt the Utes had one of their best bar sets, but Utah scored just 48.85.

The bar scores were low for the Wolverines, too, as they scored just 48.725.

"This is a good lesson that I have to remind myself and the athletes to not get too excited when the scores are high and not get discouraged when they are low," he said. "I just need to look at the films and evaluate and just know what we are trying to do."

Marsden is upset because scores are used to compare teams across the country, not head-to-head wins, and they are used to seed teams in the postseason.

Carole Ide, who assigns judges for college gymnastics, said the National Association of Women’s Gymnastics Judges offers 12 to 15 hours of judging seminars and training at its July conference, although the seminars are not mandatory.

Judges aren’t tested on the college rule system but can receive examples of college routines and judging to sharpen their skills.

The system has been in place for several years now, but Marsden said he is seeing more inconsistency this year than in previous seasons.

"It is in the hands of the judges to get their house in order," he said. "Nobody expects every meet to be judged exactly the same, but it is really strange in terms of how loose some have gotten."

In the rankings

In addition to losing the No. 1 overall ranking, the Utes were also replaced by Florida at the top of the balance beam rankings. Florida is averaging a 49.239, and Oklahoma is second with a 49.234, followed by Utah with a 49.167. Utah did maintain its No. 1 ranking on the floor, where it is averaging a 49.204.

Freshman Kailah Delaney is ranked No. 10 on the vault (9.896), Kyndal Robarts is ranked No. 9 on the balance beam (9.854) and Corrie Lothrop is No. 10 (9.846). Lothrop is also No. 10 on the floor (9.883).