Bijak's first 9.95 paced Red Rocks past Georgia

It's always been a puzzle to the Ute gymnastics team and its fans that Daria Bijak, who once finished eighth all-around in the World Championships, never seemed to get the scores they thought she deserved for her unique and difficult routines.

That finally changed last Friday night when Bijak, a senior, got the first 9.95 of her NCAA career for her floor routine, a major reason for Utah's 196.55-196.50 victory over Georgia in the Huntsman Center.

"We've talked about this over the years," said coach Greg Marsden. "She feels like she's doing something unique and doing things with a lot more amplitude than many people do — and seems to not get rewarded for that.

"I know that was exciting for her."

Bijak has always been quiet about her frustration, but she admitted, "It feels good. I always felt like I could not tell what they deduct.

Finally, I don't know — I like it a lot," she said.

"Everyone is telling me my first pass is so high and so cool because no one else does it, and the last pass is a D (difficulty levels range from an easy A to a most-difficult E), too, so it's not like I don't have the value in my routine.

"So it makes me feel good that I finally got a high score. Just hope I'll get it more often than just once," Bijak said.

She thought back to her freshman and sophomore years and said she's pretty much done the same routine the same way from the beginning, sticking with the unique skills even if she wasn't rewarded.

Friday night during warmups, though, she did make one change in her middle pass, doing a whip-half followed by a half-layout somersault instead of the full she usually does. It does not change the value of her routine, but it allowed her to see the floor before landing, and she thought the landing might have been slightly cleaner.

Marsden said it made no difference, but she might be more comfortable that way.

At least Bijak has some real hope as the Utes continue the season Friday night at the University of Washington.

"I feel now that they gave me a high score, maybe they are willing to give me a high score more often, if I do a good job," she said. "I know I still have things to work on in my floor routine, but at least I see that I am able to get a 9.95."