Depleted Ute gymnasts stumble

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Utah coach Greg Marsden initially planned to give several gymnasts a chance to earn a spot in the regular lineup someday by competing in exhibition against Michigan. But after injury and illness to three starters, he scratched that plan. The subs competed to count, with mixed results, and the Utes suffered their first loss of the year to No. 12 Michigan, 196.725-196.350.

Utah, 5-1, started the night with just one starter out to injury. Gritt Hofmann, one of Utah's best on beam and floor, missed her third meet with hip and back problems. After warmups, Stephanie Lim, who had earned the final position on the floor exercise, scratched due to illness. By event three, all-America all-arounder Annabeth Eberle was gone with an ankle injury.

The piecemeal lineup competed just that way, leading after the first and third events, but suffering through its worst performances of the season on the vault and beam. It wasn't just the second string, which went four for six, that ran into trouble. All three of Utah's all-arounders fell or had a major break and freshman Rachel Tidd fell on both vault and beam.

The only multi-event performers to make it through the night unscathed were Kristen Riffanacht on vault and floor, Natalie Nicoloff on beam and floor, and Eberle on bars and vault. Eberle improved her season record to 22 of 22 on "hit" routines and kept her vault win record perfect at 6-0, but her vault landing cost her. The winning 9.95 routine proved the last of the night for Utah's star, who has been competing all season with a bone chip in her ankle.

"We really looked good in warmups," Marsden said. "I thought we really had it tonight. We ended up with a lot of (lineup) shuffling going on, but I don't want to make excuses. If we'd just hit our stuff, we would have won. We gave up a point in falls by counting two (falls), and you can't win when you do that."

Utah showed no signs of disarray out of the gate. In Dominique D'Oliveira's return to the bar lineup after a one-meet absence, she recorded a season-best 9.85. Melissa Vituj and Eberle matched her score from the No. 2 and 4 positions and sandwiched between were nice 9.90 routines by Veronique Leclerc and Rachel Tidd. Only Utah's final performer, Nicolle Ford, struggled through her set, which scored a 9.55 and was tossed anyway. After one event, Utah was up 49.35-49.275.