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Another slow start, along with a subpar beam effort, kept the Utah Red Rocks out of the Super Six for the second straight season. While Utah is the only team to qualify for every NCAA Championship Meet, the Pac-12 Champion Utes are in the midst of a long title drought that will continue into next season, as they fell .075 short of qualifying for the team finals today in Birmingham, Ala.
"It is so disappointing for our team," said coach Greg Marsden. "I am heartbroken for them. They worked so hard and came so far. We looked so good all week, including the pre-meet warm-ups. But we were just a little bit off (in the meet) and there are just too many good teams to have an off night in this competition."
Utah's gymnasts found themselves in fifth place during their first bye after the beam and bars; however, Utah's 49.475 on floor, the second best score of the night, temporary pushed them past Nebraska. But the Huskers delivered a meet-high 49.450 on beam to advance and shut out the Utes. No Pac-12 team (UCLA and Stanford also failed to advance) will be represented in the Super Six for the first time since 1993.
"Despite the fact we had an off night, we came within less than a tenth of a point of advancing," said Marsden. "You could have gone and found a tenth on almost any event for us."
Despite the disappointing team finish, Red Rocks Georgia Dabritz, Nansy Damianova, and Becky Tutka will represent Utah in the individual finals on Sunday. Dabritz will compete in vault, while Damianova and Tutka qualified on floor.