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Finding itself in a real battle for the first time this season, Utah's seventh-ranked gymnastics team relied on an old standby to propel itself past No. 20 Arizona 197.15-194.85 Monday in front of 13,162 fans at the Huntsman Center.

The Utes, leading Arizona just 49.075-49.0 after the first rotation, used one of their best efforts on the uneven bars to take control of the meet.

Utah scored a 49.425 on the bars, with Breanna Hughes scoring a 9.925 and Kassandra Lopez and Baely Rowe scoring 9.9s.

Just as important as those high scores was the 9.8 Samantha Partyka scored in the leadoff spot as she made her college debut on the event.

The sophomore replaced Kari Lee in the lineup after Lee tore her Achilles' tendon in practice last week.

Utah's confident set not only put Arizona far behind, but sparked its season-high effort.

Utah notched a strong 49.025 on the balance beam, then scored a season-best 49.625 on the floor.

"That was a heck of a meet," said a very happy Utah coach Tom Farden. "You can talk about it from the determination of the team or event by event. We had a long week of practice with a lot of gymnastics. I felt that is what they needed and it seemed to work."

The loss of Lee was devastating last week, considering she is regarded as one of the top gymnasts in the country. But just as they did last year when they lost Tory Wilson to the same injury, the Utes seemed to get inspired, not discouraged.

Lee was with the team on Monday, giving words of encouragement and advice. Her teammates took her words to heart, said freshman Sabrina Schwab.

"She told us you never know when it is the last time you might compete in the Huntsman Center so go live it up and have fun and compete in the moment, so that is what we tried to do," Schwab said.

Lee's absence was expected to be felt the most on the balance beam, but Utah used the momentum it created on the uneven bars to post a confident 49.025.

The only major mistake on the event came from anchor Maddy Stover, who has been solid this season but fell on Monday.

Floor has been Utah's weak point this season, but a shakeup in the lineup proved to be what the Utes needed as they scored 49.625.

The Utes closed out the lineup with three big scores as Schwab notched a 9.95, Hughes a 9.925 and Partyka a 9.975.

"That was the best floor I've ever done," said Partyka, who could tell she was in for a good routine based on her warmup. "I was feeling good and it just kind of happened."

Farden said the Utes have been on the cusp of putting together a complete meet and he was glad it finally came together.

"We finished the meet strong," he said. —

Storylines

R Utah extends its record to 58-0 all-time against Arizona, sparked by a strong showing on the uneven bars.

Key moment • Samantha Partyka scored a 9.8 in her college debut on the uneven bars to lead off the Utes.

Key state • The Utes score their season high on floor, notching a 49.625.