Doing a new uneven-bars routine for the first time, Utah's Missy Marlowe scored the second perfect 10.0 of her career in that event - second in less than three weeks - and came within .05 of equaling her NCAA-record all-around score Friday night as the No. 1-ranked University of Utah gymnastics team roared back to life after three so-so meets.
This 10, on the road, was better than the last, said Marlowe, "because I did a more solid dismount." She'd hopped a little on the dismount Feb. 11 when she received a 10.0 at home for her old routine.Marlowe, who won the all-around with 39.45, and sophomore Kristen Kenoyer, who scored two 9.9s to win balance beam and floor exercise and equaled her career-high all-around total with 39.25, led as Utah got its highest road score of the season to defeat host Cal State-Fullerton 193.9-186.85 Friday night. Utah is 7-1 for the season; injury-riddled CSF is 3-7.
"I think we will stay with this bar routine that Missy did tonight," said Coach Greg Marsden, who'd said before the meet that if judges didn't recognize its virtuosity Marlowe would return to the old routine. "This one has more originality," Marsden reasons.
Marlowe said her new routine includes a unique Voronin vault (a front giant swing followed by a piked half-turn over the high bar) as her first release move, and near the end she does the reverse Hecht release she's always used. She's taken out the full-twisting pirouette.
Marlowe had scores of 9.85 in vaulting, to tie teammate Shelly Schaerrer for the win in that event, the 10 on bars, 9.85 on floor and 9.8 on beam. Kenoyer vaulted for 9.65 and had 9.8 on bars. Schaerrer, third in the all-around with 38.7, had 9.85 vaulting and 9.7 on bars and floor.
"We have been in a bit of a slump lately," said Marsden, "and this was a great road score. We had a couple kids who had the flu, and the team had a better effort despite that."
Utah again had a few problems on beam, its final event for the night, having to count a 9.3, 9.45 and 9.55. Marsden said, "I think we did a great job on three events. On beam, we were doing so well, and we wanted to hit and we thought about it too much."