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Enough of the last-minute comebacks or nail-bitingly close finishes. Stung twice by UCLA earlier in the season, Utah's gymnastics team got the better of the Bruins to win the NCAA regional at the Huntsman Center on Saturday.

The Utes posted a 197.125 to take the regional crown in front of 7,927 fans while the Bruins were second with 196.375 to also qualify for the NCAA Championships, April 15-16 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Washington placed third with 195.825, followed by Illinois (195.35), Utah State (195.025) and Southern Utah (194.95).

Utah senior Breanna Hughes won the all-around with a 39.525, two weeks after she won the Pac-12 title.

Utah is the only team in the country that has qualified for every NCAA Championship. The fifth-ranked Utes finished second last year to three-time defending champion Florida by 0.05.

The Utes believe they can be a contender this year, too.

"We're ready," Utah junior Baely Rowe said. "The good thing is we still have a lot of work to do. We didn't need to be perfect, just hit 24 for 24 tonight and we did that, but we have a lot we can work on in practice the next couple of weeks."

The Utes go into the championship knowing they can at least get the best of No. 8 UCLA, after the Bruins beat them in the regular season and at the Pac-12 Championships.

Ever since the NCAA field was announced two weeks ago, the Utes have maintained Saturday's competition wasn't about UCLA but about advancing to the NCAAs.

However, they couldn't deny it felt good to beat the Bruins, particularly since they will see them again at the NCAAs.

"It's motivating for the athletes," Utah coach Tom Farden said. "We knew we let a couple ones slip away."

The Utes began their competition with 49.35 on the uneven bars, their fifth-highest mark of the year on the event, to begin the competition.

That solid effort set the tone for the Utes, who led the whole night.

The only tense moments came in the final rotation when the Utes led UCLA 147.875-147.575.

Utah had the advantage of finishing on one of its power events, scoring a 49.25 on the vault, while UCLA suffered a fall and a major break on the uneven bars and scored just 48.4 on the event.

"Our goal was to hit all four events and stay in our Utah bubble," senior Kailah Delaney said. "We just wanted to focus on ourselves and have a great meet and it was exciting how it finished."

Key to Utah's win was its effort on the balance beam, where it scored 49.225 with every gymnast earning 9.8 or higher. It was a huge improvement from Utah's showing at the Pac-12s when Utah suffered two falls on the event to give UCLA the opening it needed to snatch the league title.

"We were confident in each other," Rowe said of the difference in performances from two weeks ago. "We were just building off each other."

Utah did have a slightly disappointing showing on the floor where it posted 49.3, the Utes' fifth-lowest score of the season on the event.

It wasn't enough to hurt the Utes in the end, but it does give them something to work on, Farden said. —

Storylines

R Utah maintains its distinction as only program to qualify for every NCAA championship, winning the region title in front of a sellout home crowd.

• Utes beat UCLA after losing to Bruins in regular season and Pac-12 meet.

• Breanna Hughes wins the all-around to follow her Pac-12 individual all-around championship.

• Utah State finishes fifth in the event and Southern Utah finishes sixth.