Minutes after the University of Utah gymnastics team won an improbable ninth national title, Missy Wells-Taylor, one of two seniors on the team, was still trying to get a grasp of the accomplishment.
"I'm just trying to soak everything in," Wells-Taylor said. "This is a storybook ending," said Taylor, who was one of a number of unlikely heroes that made another NCAA title a reality for the Lady Utes.Another was sophomore Megan Caudle, who nailed a near-perfect vault for a career-best 9.975, tied a career-best for her floor exercise routine (9.85) and earned a season-high 9.775 as the first Ute up on the balance beam.
"That was the best vault I've ever done in competition," said Caudle, who recieved perfect 10s from two of the four vault judges.
Caudle was one of four Utes who fell off the balance beam in Thursday's preliminary round, but when it counted Friday she got Utah off to a fine start earning a 9.775 score.
Sandy Woolsey, participating in all four events for the first time in competition since a meet against Utah State Feb. 7, also came through when it counted. She nailed a 9.9 on the uneven bars and, after falling on the beam to post a 9.1, rebounded to score a 9.775 on her floor exercise routine.
"After I fell on the beam I just had to laugh it off and put it out of my mind," Woolsey said. "I knew the meet wasn't over yet."
Woolsey performed only two events Thursday night in the preliminaries, but filled in on the vault for Aimee Trepanier and in the floor exercise for Jennifer Mercier Friday.
"We won the national championship as a team and I was able to contribute. I couldn't ask for more," Woolsey said.
Wells-Taylor, one of Utah's most consistent beam workers all year long, fell off the four-inch plank on Utah's second-to-last rotation. She quickly put it out of her mind and nailed a 9.8 on the floor exercise.
"It (falling on the beam) made me mad more than anything," she said. "It made me more determined than ever on the floor."
"This is so unbelievable," Wells-Taylor continued. "We never really went out thinking that we had to win it. We just wanted to have fun and enjoy the fans."
Suffice it to say, the 11,944 Huntsman Center fans enjoyed the Lady Utes.