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Going into their final event Saturday night, the Utah Utes knew they would advance to the NCAA women's gymnastics meet as long as most of them merely avoided tripping along the vault runway.

The rivalry with UCLA was another issue. The Utes needed a solid vault showing to beat the Bruins for the first time this season. They delivered. Upon vault co-champion Kailah Delaney's landing, the roar from the Huntsman Center crowd punctuated Utah's night.

The Utes' convincing victory in the NCAA Salt Lake City Regional came with the added bonus of topping UCLA, while the Bruins also qualified for nationals. In the old Greg Marsden coaching era, a stuffed bear with a red-ribbon noose was displayed in Utah's gym in advance of meets with UCLA, symbolizing the friendly battles that predated the Utes' Pac-12 membership.

The Utes posted a 197.125 score to UCLA's 196.375 for a rivalry win that co-coach Tom Farden labeled "always a treat."

Always models of sport psychology, the Ute gymnasts would not play along with that theme in the interview session, emphasizing their "Utah bubble … like we're the only people there," said all-around winner Breanna Hughes. They're human, though, and they're competitors, so Farden sensed the Utes were "fired up and excited" about a regional draw that gave them another shot at the Bruins.

UCLA is responsible for the Utes' only defeats this year, narrowly winning in Los Angeles and then dominating the Pac-12 meet in Seattle as Utah tied for second. So winning this meet was meaningful, in a competition that UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field described as "one of the greatest rivalries in sports right now."

As Marsden once said, "It's not just about going out there and dancing and performing. It's all about beating the other team."

Saturday's episode was all about beating four other teams and finishing second, at worst. April is pretty much the only month that matters in women's gymnastics, so considerable pressure frames the regional meet. What if the current Utes became the school's first team to miss nationals after 40 years of always qualifying?

"Obviously, Utah's been going to the national championships longer than I've been alive," said Farden, who was promoted to co-coach last spring when Marsden retired. "So that's intimidating."

Yet the Utes were never in danger in this meet, finishing well ahead of third-place Washington, Illinois, Utah State and Southern Utah — in addition to UCLA, which overcame some last-event struggles to advance.

The Utes were fun to watch from the start Saturday. The home team had a bye for the first rotation, creating some anticipation for the bars, Utah's best event. The coach's reactions told the story. Farden responded to each of the first five routines by raising his arms in triumph. With strong efforts from Samantha Partyka and Tiffani Lewis, the Utes got going.

As the Utes moved to the beam, co-coach Megan Marsden was slightly more subdued, clenching her fists after each solid routine. Floor did not go as well as usual for the Utes, creating mild drama in the final rotation. But the home team responded well on vault and UCLA had some trouble on bars, enabling Utah to win easily.

Ute administrators made a calculated mistake when they curtained the upper bowl of the Huntsman Center. The strategy of creating a packed, energized environment in the lower bowl worked, but declaring a sellout (7,927) earlier Saturday and turning away fans at the door was the unintended consequence.

Those folks missed one last look at the Utes before they compete in the NCAA meet in two weeks in Fort Worth, Texas, and would have enjoyed the home team's win over UCLA. In the traditional pageant-style announcing format, the Bruins were declared the second-place finishers — to big cheers.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribkurt