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MyKayla Skinner leads Utah gymnastics team over Penn State in season opener

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gathered before the crowd, Utah gets ready to hosts Penn State in their season opener at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gathered before the crowd, Utah gets ready to hosts Penn State in their season opener at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.

It’s a new season for Utah’s gymnastics team, but some things never change for the Utes, mainly the question of where the heck are those would-be deductions in MyKayla Skinner’s routines?

Skinner, the junior who has yet to miss a routine in 114 appearances, led the fifth-ranked Utes to a 197.175-194.45 win over Penn State in the Huntsman Center Saturday in front of 13,193 fans.

It was the season opener for both teams and there were some typical jitters, with a few falls and breaks, but Skinner seemed immune to it all. The Gilbert, Ariz., native has a gymnastics resume some only dream of, with two NCAA titles (floor 2017, vault 2018), 77 career victories, five Pac-12 championships and six region titles in just two seasons, but she has entered her junior season more focused than ever.

Skinner spent the offseason working a new release on the uneven bars and pushing perfection on the other events. Her hard work was evident as she nailed her handstands on the bars for a 9.95. After a 9.85 on the balance beam, Skinner won the floor with a 9.95 for an all-around victory total of 39.7.

Fans are accustomed to Skinner flirting with perfect scores and Saturday was no exception as her vault seemed as flawless as it could be. So it was no surprise that when the scores were posted — a 9.9 from one judge and a 10.0 from the other one — that the fans booed, hoping for the first perfect score of the year. Skinner didn’t seem to care so much about the score as the fact that she stuck the landing.

“I have tried so hard to stick vaults,” she said. “To already have a stick like that is super cool. It helped that MaKenna [Merrell-Giles] stuck hers so I said if Kenna got it I have it.”

Utah coach Tom Farden gushed about the vault after the meet.

“She basically picked up right where she left off as the reigning vault champion,” he said.

Merrell-Giles, who set up Skinner’s vault with a 9.9, finished with a 39.575 in the all-around, scoring a 9.85 on the bars, 9.9 on the beam and 9.925 on the floor. Merrell-Giles said the Utes made some mistakes, but overall were pleased with the performance.

“It’s nice to know we can make some mistakes and still get a high team score,” she said. “We can relax now. The first meet is always a little nerve-wracking but now that we have this under our belt we are ready to go.”

Like last year, the Utes are trying not to focus on the end of the season and nationals, using the “take one meet at a time” mantra, but it is hard to ignore what their goal is, to be a contender at the end of the season. Based on Saturday’s performance, the Utes certainly like the elements they have as a veteran team. Several times the Utes had big scores early in the lineup to help build to big scores at the end.

That kind of rhythm stood out the most on the bars, where the Utes finished with a 49.425. Going fifth in the lineup was freshman Cristal Isa, who had a 9.925 to set up Skinner’s 9.95 effort.

“We have a talented team and a freshman class ready to go,” Farden said. Skinner has changed her bars routine this year, including an element called the “Ray,” named after former Michigan gymnast Elise Ray. It’s a more difficult move but Farden said Skinner likes to challenge herself. “She’s a trickster,” he said. “You don’t want her to get bored out there.”

As long as she is chasing perfection, she never seems complacent.


No. 5 Utah 197.175, Penn State 194.45

In short: The Utes won their 27th straight meeting against the Nittany Lions, dating back to a 1981 loss, to open the season.

Key moment: MaKenna Merrell-Giles scored a 9.9 on the vault to set up MyKayla Skinner’s 9.95 effort.

Key stat: MyKayla Skinner has hit 114 routines in a row without a fall, the longest streak in school history.

Individual winners

Vault: MyKayla Skinner (Utah) 9.95

Uneven bars: MyKayla Skinner (Utah) 9.95

Balance beam: MaKenna Merrell-Giles (Utah) 9.9

Floor: MyKayla Skinner (Utah) 9.95

All-around: MyKayla Skinner (Utah) 39.7

By Lya Wodraska | Special to The Tribune