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Utah's gymnastics team might be a close knit group, but there are a few who are have their teammates watching their backs.

Junior Kailah Delaney, who won the vault with a 9.95 against Washington and earned a 9.875 on the balance beam in exhibition and freshman Samantha Partryka, who earned a 9.85 on the vault, are both pushing for chances in the lineup, coach Greg Marsden said Monday.

Marsden said he plans to use this week of practice to help determine his lineups for Saturday's contest against No. 16 Stanford.

Delaney scored a 9.8 in the season opener against BYU, then was replaced by Georgia Dabritz for the following meet when she was sick. Dabritz did well enough to hold onto the spot, but fell against the Huskies.

"You don't take someone out of the lineup for one mistake, but Kailah has been making a strong statement," Marsden said. "We'll have to see how things go this week."

Partryka replaced fellow freshman Tiffani Lewis after a solid warmup. Lewis had earned 9.85s in the last two meets, but Marsden said he went with a 'gut decision,' in making the switch. He might have to make a few more of those this week.

"They are all difficult decisions," he said. "It's not like anyone is doing a poor job week in and week out, but you have to look and see who is being consistent."

While Marsden views the competition as good, he is also aware it can cause some anxiety since the gymnasts realize their spots aren't secure.

"We've talked to them about that," he said. "They have to focus on pushing those in the lineups because ultimately that is what is going to make us a better team and let us as a coaching staff worry about the decisions."

Pac-12 rundown

Tickets for the Pac-12 Championships, which are being moved from Arizona State to Salt Lake City because of possible scheduling conflicts with ASU's women's basketball team, are now on sale for season ticket holders and Crimson Club members.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Feb. 25.

The Utes won the title last year and appear to be the clear favorites again with UCLA and Oregon State the next highest ranked teams at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.

However, Marsden cautioned against getting too confident.

"UCLA is beginning to put it together," he said. "They are notorious for slow starts and strong finishes and Stanford has had a lot of people in and out of the lineups with injuries. It's still going to be a tough competition."

In the rankings

SUU checks in at No. 22 this week…Utah's Georgia Dabritz fell from No. 1 in the all-around to No. 4 with a 39.52 average after her fall off the beam at Washington. She is second in the vault (9.942), third on the uneven bars (9.929) and first on the floor (9.929). Freshman Kari Lee is No. 11 on the balance beam (9.858), Cassandra Lopez is No. 11 on the uneven bars (9.875) and Tory Wilson is No. 11 on the vault (9.908). —

Top 25 gymnastics

1. Oklahoma 197.536

2. Florida 197.325

3. LSU 197.321

4. Utah 197.167

5. Alabama 196.938

6. Michigan 196.929

7. Nebraska 196.492

8. Auburn 196.271

9. UCLA 196.263. 10. Oregon St. 196.196

11. Georgia 196.096

12. Penn St. 196.025

13. Illinois 195.996

14. Arkansas 195.958

15. Boise St. 195.871

16. Stanford 195.821

17. Denver 195.479

18. California 195.436

19. Minnesota 195.432

20. Arizona 195.408

21. Washington 195.379

22. SUU 195.214

23. Ohio St. 195.168

24. Kentucky 195.113

25. New Hamp. 195.095