From The Salt Lake Tribune:
Ashley Postell has long been recognized as one of the top vaulters in the country and several times she has gotten shorted for what Ute coaches thought were routines worthy of a perfect score.
She finally got one Friday in second-ranked Utah’s 197.750- 194.100 win over Minnesota in front of 10,133 at the Huntsman Center, but too bad the career milestone didn’t come on her own merit.
Postell capped off Utah’s best vault set of the year with a vault she stuck, feet slightly apart. One judge saw it as a 10.0 routine. The other judge, Mary Ann Mahoney, gave it a 9.95, that is until she saw the other judge’s score and quickly changed her mark to a 10.0 as well.
What a snafu. Knowing that its judges are not scoring completely independent of one another taints that sky-high team score a little as well. Despite the controversy, it was a great night for Postell, who recorded a career-high 39.8 in the all-around as well.
Can this kid be beaten at the NCAA Championships? Hard to say, although NCAA all-around titleholder Courtney Kupets seems to have made more mistakes in Georgia’s first four meets of the season than she has in her entire NCAA career.
As Georgia pulled off a win against no. 4 Alabama 196.925-196.000 Friday night, Kupets’ 9.150 on floor exercise stood out amongst her other stellar performances, but only because it was so rare.
