As is tradition, the University of Utah gymnastics team saw themselves in contention for a national championship on a busy Saturday morning for Ute athletics.
Perhaps fortuitously, Utah opened the competition on the beam, where they rank first in the nation. As expected, the Red Rocks took full advantage and claimed an early lead with a 49.5125, headlined by a 9.950 from Kara Eaker. The top-notch performance opened up a .088 lead over second-place Auburn, and more than three tenths ahead of topped-ranked Oklahoma, who struggled mightily on the floor with two gymnasts stepping out of bounds and no single competitor breaking 9.