The University of Utah barely edged out the No. 8 Michigan women’s gymnastics team on Friday with a final score of 196.425 to 195.425. The Wolverines scored low on their first event — the uneven bars — and never quite recovered.

Michigan, taking to the uneven bars first in their rotation, found it difficult to hit its stride. Where the Wolverines took a small step to stabilize themselves, the Red Rocks barely faltered, and No. 3 Utah took the early lead.

The Wolverines bounced back on the vault, putting themselves less than a point behind the Red Rocks after the first rotation. But when they moved to the floor exercise and the balance beam, Michigan could never push ahead of Utah’s consistently high scores. The Wolverines had a strong showing on the balance beam, but couldn't hold their own on the floor exercise.

Performing in front of a packed arena in Salt Lake City, the Wolverines experienced a more public, higher-pressure competition environment than they usually encounter at their home center in Ann Arbor.

“It was really fun to have that many people there,” sophomore Katie Zurales said of the nearly 14,000 people in attendance.

The large fan base clearly didn't intimidate Zurales, as she gave her best performance of the year on the balance beam with a score of 9.825.

Senior Kylee Botterman also had a strong performance. Winning the all-around title at the meet, Botterman was the true stand-out. But even with her individual success, she was more concerned with the overall success of the team.

“We’ve been having great practices these last couple weeks, but we haven’t been able to take that to the competition floor, and obviously it’s showing,” Botterman said. “We should have been able to hang right in there with Utah.”

Michigan coach Bev Plocki echoed Botterman’s frustration with the recent outcome of the team's efforts.

“We need to not be satisfied with taking a step on a landing, or wobbling on a balance beam routine," Plocki said. “We can’t count anything less than (a) competition quality routine.”

The Wolverines will have only four practices before they take on Oklahoma State on Feb. 26th.

Plocki said the girls will only be focusing on the meet next week, and not dwelling on their "lackluster" loss at Utah.