Utah gymnastics: Hughes has career high in all-around

Ask Breanna Hughes about her strong performances in meets and she always replies she is doing what she does in practice.

The Utes might want to consider selling tickets to her practices. They would certainly be worth the price of admission.

Hughes won the all-around and floor and tied teammate Kailah Delaney for the vault title on Saturday as the Utes beat Washington 197.125-196.25.

Hughes' all-around score of 39.575 was a career high as was her 9.975 on the floor.

"I knew it was one of my best routines," Hughes said of her floor. "To hear the Huntsman Center erupt in roars like that is so exciting."

Hughes is 21-for-21 in routines this season and leads the Utes with eight wins.

"She is doing a fantastic job," said Utah coach Tom Farden, who said he has known Hughes since she was 8 years old. "To watch her grow and her maturation and grow in confidence is awesome."

In the vault

The Utes went with a new vault lineup, replacing freshman MaKenna Merrell with Kassandra Lopez. Lopez said it was her second vault in five years.

"It was exciting for me," she said.

It was also exciting for Farden, who made the change on Friday after seeing how well Lopez was vaulting.

"She has been competing and practicing with more confidence so it was a natural choice," he said.

Schwab sizzles

Freshman Sabrina Schwab earned a career best 9.925 on the uneven bars to win the event. Farden said she is starting to settle in.

"When the lights were on she was magnificent," he said. "I'm very proud of her."

Of note

Merrell earned a 9.825 on the vault in exhibition … Maddy Stover earned a 9.8 on the uneven bars in exhibition … The Utes are on the road for their next three meets, with their next home meet being against Georgia on March 12 … Kailah Delaney's fall off balance beam was her first fall of the season, leaving her streak of made routines at 12.