Marlowe leads Utes to gymnastics title

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A night after leading her school to its seventh NCAA women’s gymnastics title in a decade and easily winning the all-around title, Utah’s Missy Marlowe was tired.

“I couldn’t sleep at all last night (Friday),” she said. “My emotions were spent. I didn’t exactly feel fresh…. I never drank coffee before a meet in my life, but tonight I was pouring it down.”

No matter. The 5-foot-2 senior went on to win three of four individual finals, dominating the meet as no one ever had in its 10-year history.

“I’m just blown away,” she said. “There’s still so much incentive to go out and perform well. I wanted to prove (Friday) night was no fluke. You never want to look bad in front of your competition.”

After finishing in a tie for fifth in the vault competition, Marlowe won the remaining titles. She scored 9.925 on the uneven bars, her favorite event, and won a share of the balance beam title with Dana Dobransky of Alabama, scoring 9.9.

She capped her nearly perfect night with a dazzling floor exercise routine, performing to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” Although she was uncomfortable on the mat in the past, the elegant performance earned her a stunning 9.975. It was the final routine of her gymnastics career.

“I landed on my head in a warmup pass, so that was a pleasant surprise,” she said.

Marlowe’s record-shattering performance included NCAA record totals in the all-around and floor exercise, and a shared record total with Dobransky on balance beam.

In addition, her four titles in one championship broke the NCAA record of three in one championship held by Hope Spivey and Kelly Garrison, two of Marlowe’s teammates on the U.S. Olympic team. She broke another record by collecting five career titles, four this year and the balance beam title in 1991.

Saturday’s vault competition ended in a three-way tie among Tammy Marshall of Massachusetts, Heather Stepp of Georgia, and Kristen Kenoyer (from Whitefield, Maine) of Utah. Each scored 9.812.

The a half-dozen 10s during the season. After winning titles as a freshman last year in the all-around, vault and floor exercise routines, she came up empty this year.

Her miseries began with a dismal performance on the balance beam Friday night, ending in a fallen dismount, that killed any hope of defending her all-around title. Saturday, she finished eighth on the vault after falling on her second run. In the floor exercise, she stepped out of bounds and ended up in a tie for fifth.

Gymnastics

NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Results

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Results Saturday from the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships: Individual Competition

Vault-1 (tie), Heather Stepp, Georgia, Tammy Marshall, Massachusetts, and KRISTEN KENOYER, Utah, 9.812 points. 4, Allison Barber, Penn State, 9.775. 5 (tie), Missy Marlowe, Utah, and Kristen Smyth, California, 9.762. 7, Andrea Dewey, Georgia, 9.737. 8, Hope Spivey, Georgia, 9.612.

Uneven bars-1, Missy Marlowe, Utah, 9.925. 2, Nneka Logan, Georgia, 9.9. 3 (tie), Shelly Schaerrer, Utah, Dee Foster, Alabama, and KRISTEN KENOYER, Utah, 9.875. 6, Beth Wymer, Michigan, 9.825. 7, Stacy Fowlkes, Arizona, 9.8. 8, Jenny Donaldson, Utah, 9.65.

Balance beam-1 (tie), Missy Marlowe, Utah, and Dana Dobransky, Alabama, 9.9. 3, Dee Foster, Alabama, 9.825. 4, Agina Simpkins, Georgia, 9.8. 5, Jenna Karadbil, Arizona, 9.75. 6, Sheryl Dundas, Alabama, 9.725. 7, Heather Stepp, Georgia, 9.675. 8, Stacy Fowlkes, Arizona, 9.65.

Floor exercise-1, Missy Marlowe, Utah, 9.975. 2, Dee Foster, Alabama, 9.9. 3, Tina Brinkman, Arizona, 9.875. 4, KRISTEN KENOYER, Utah, 9.825. 5 (tie), Cheri Knight, Oregon State, and Hope Spivey, Georgia, 9.8. 7, Tammy Marshall, Massachusetts, 9.725. 8, Aimee Trepanier, Utah, 9.375. 8, Heather Stepp, Georgia, 9.15.