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Provo • BYU didn't prove to be much competition for Utah's sixth-ranked gymnastics team Friday, but if the season opener was any indication, the Cougars won't be the only team left in the dust by the Utes.
Utah opened the season with a 196.9-193.35 win over the Cougars at the Marriott Center in one of their better season-opening showings in recent seasons.
The score was the highest opening mark since a 197.675-197.3 win over UCLA in the 2005 season opener. The Utes finished that year 12-2 and third at the NCAAs.
The current Utes have expectations of making a similar run.
"I'm proud of what we did tonight," senior Georgia Dabritz said. "It showed what we have been working hard for in the preseason. It was a great way to start the season, and we want to keep building from here."
Utah won all of the individual event titles, and senior Tory Wilson took the all-around with a 39.45.
The only major mistake the Utes had was a fall from the uneven bars by senior Corrie Lothrop.
"It was a good start, from a coach's perspective," Utah coach Greg Marsden said. "There were a lot of good things to pat people on the back and feel good about, and there were plenty of things to work on. There were some things we have been doing in the gym we didn't do, so we can clean up execution and things like that."
The Utes posted a 49.175 on the bars to start the meet, with Dabritz posting a meet-high 9.9.
They grew stronger from there, earning 49.3 on the vault and 49.225 on the floor. Dabritz and Wilson led the vault effort with 9.925's, and Wilson had a meet-high 9.9 on the floor.
The Cougars never threatened to upend the Utes as they scored just 48.7 on the vault to start the meet, then counted falls on both the balance beam and uneven bars to fall even further behind the Utes.
Eliane Kulczyk had a good meet for the Cougars, scoring 9.75 on the vault, 9.725 on the floor and 9.875 on the uneven bars.
Utah closed out the meet with a 49.2 on the balance beam, the event that has caused them the most problems in recent seasons.
"It's no secret that has been a weak event for us the last few years and cost us getting into the Super Six," Marsden said. "I feel like they demonstrated to themselves and the coaches and fans that this can be a beam team and go on the road and finish a meet off on balance beam, rather than just trying to hang on."
Another highlight in the opener was the showing by the freshmen.
Kari Lee had a 9.85 on the vault and balance beam and a 9.775 on the floor, and Tiffani Lewis had a 9.75 on the vault. She also had a nice floor routine in exhibition.
"I was nervous coming in, but my teammates helped me ease my nerves," Lee said. "I went out and tried to do like we do in practice and just have fun."
The Utes were surprised to hear their score was one of the highest the program has seen in a season opener in many years, but veteran Kassandra Lopez indicated it wasn't a fluke by any means.
"It wasn't unexpected," she said. "We have seen that in practice day in and day out, and that is what we wanted to show."
Utah 196.9, BYU 193.35
R In short • Utah's gymnastics team extends its winning streak to 34 meets against the Cougars with Friday's opener.
Key moment • Tory Wilson scores a 9.8 on the balance beam as the leadoff gymnast to clinch the all-around title and give the Utes a boost of confidence in the event.
Key stat • Utah's score of 196.9 is the highest season-opening score since 2005.