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Utah's home winning streak is intact — and so, too, is the Utes' reign over the Pac-12.

Utah, the defending Pac-12 champion, sent a message it has the talent to defend that title with a convincing 196.725-194.725 win over No. 8 UCLA on Friday in front of 14,873 fans at the Huntsman Center.

The win is Utah's 13th home win in a row, a streak that is the fourth longest in the program's history. The longest was a 170-home meet stand that lasted from 1979 until the Bruins beat the Utes in the 2003 opener.

UCLA (2-1, 2-1) couldn't be the spoiler Friday, not with the Utes (5-0, 1-0) on their game while the Bruins struggled so often that UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field was seething after the meet.

"You can't have 85 percent of the team doing well and the other 15 percent not show up and think you are going to win the battle," she said. "This isn't club, you have to have 6-for-6."

That they could cause the Bruins' coach to give such criticism just added to the satisfaction of Friday's win, the Utes acknowledged.

After all, they expect UCLA to provide their biggest challenge at the Pac-12 Championships and then again at the NCAAs.

"We understand where they are coming from," said senior Georgia Dabritz. "We know what it is like for them. They are going to work harder, and we are going to go back and work harder, too, so we can bring it again the next time."

The Bruins' mistakes came on the uneven bars, where they opened with just 48.1, thanks to two major mistakes. The Utes, unlike a week ago, came out firing on the vault and scored 49.45.

That effort created a deficit the Bruins could never overcome as the Utes finished strong on their other rotations.

"These are the two best teams in the Pac-12 for the last several years, and we have gone back and forth," Utah coach Greg Marsden said. "Both teams have a lot of tradition and pride, and any time we meet, we want to win. What happened to them tonight happened to us three or four years ago, when we were there and missed four of our first six bars routines. It can happen. They got off to a bad start, and it snowballed on them."

The only tense moment came on the balance beam — of course — when Baely Rowe fell, scoring just 9.05. But anchor Corrie Lothrop, the most experienced member of the team, played it cool and finished the event with a 9.825 for the Utes.

Her score gave the Utes a 147.725-146.625 advantage going into the last rotation.

"We definitely train with pressure, and you have to go up there and not think about it," Lothrop said. "It's all mental, and, luckily, I am pretty strong mentally."

Utah's win was impressive, but adding to its credibility as a top team was that it dominated without some of its key gymnasts.

Freshman Kari Lee was held out of two routines with sore Achilles, while Rowe was sick and was pulled from the floor.

All in all, the night couldn't have been much better for the Utes.

"It was exciting for us to win that meet in front of all those fans," Marsden said. "But we still have to focus and keep getting better. There are still things we can improve on." —

Storylines

R Utah extends its home meet winning streak with the 196.725-194.725 win over the Bruins.

Key moment • After Baely Rowe falls from the balance beam, Corrie Lothrop scores 9.825 to save the rotation for the Utes.

Key stat • After struggling on the vault a week ago, the Utes come back with their best vault set of the season, scoring 49.45.