SALT LAKE CITY — Utah senior Kim Tessen has been the Red Rocks’ standout gymnast through the early weeks of the season and Tuesday afternoon she was honored for it.

Tessen was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week in recognition of her winning two events — uneven bars and floor exercise — at the Best of Utah Saturday night in West Valley City. She scored a career-high 9.95 on bars and matched her career-high on floor with a 9.90. She also scored a 9.85 on vault, placing third overall on that event.

Including her two event wins at the Best of Utah, Tessen has five event victories in just two meets this season. Heading into the year, she had two event wins combined in her previous three seasons at Utah.

Of her hot start to the year, Tessen noted, “I think one of the big differences is I actually got to train all preseason. I haven’t been able to do that because of injuries the last three years and being able to train and work on small details and stuff has helped me feel confident going into meets. That has made a big difference.” 

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Her award win is Utah’s first Pac-12 award of the season. It is also the Utes’ first win in the conference’s Specialist of the Week category since 2016.

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