Some judges are reluctant to give that perfect 10 and need an extra push:
[quote]Postell capped off Utah's best vault set of the year with a vault she stuck on the landing. 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.
Mahoney's action was wrong, since judges are supposed to rate routines independently of one another and should not change their score based on the other judge's opinion.
Mahoney declined to be interviewed by members of the media afterward.
Regardless of the actual number, Postell said she felt the vault was the best she has performed.
"I was just happy I stuck it; I was running back like, 'whatever,' " she said.
Utah coach Greg Marsden said he didn't see the judge change her score, but that it didn't matter to him what Postell earned because he knew what he saw.
"I know it was the best vault Ashley has done since she has been here," he said. "She absolutely nailed it. She just dropped out of it and nailed it."
The same thing happened the last time a 10.0 was scored in the Huntsman Center. In 2005, Annabeth Eberle earned a 9.95 from one judge and a 10.0 from another on her final floor routine during senior night. The judge who gave her the 9.95 changed her score to a 10.0 upon seeing the other mark.
The altered score perhaps detracted from the validity of Postell's numbers, but it appeared she was on her way to one of her best nights even without the judge's charity.
Postell won the all-around with a career-high 39.8, earning 9.925 on the uneven bars, 9.9 on the balance beam and a 9.975 on the floor.
Mahoney gave Postell a 9.95 on the floor, but didn't change her score, unlike earlier in the meet. [/quote]
Utah vs. Minnesota college gymnastics competition:
photo video:
http://166.70.44.68/multimedia/utah%20minn%20gymnastics/index.html
Postell's 10.0s:
-- Vault, Feb. 1, 2008
-- Balance beam, March 18, 2005
-- Balance beam, March 11, 2005
Recent vault 10.0s
Ashley Postell, Feb. 1, 2008
Rachel Tidd, March 19, 2004
Annabeth Eberle, March 19, 2004
Annabeth Eberle, March 5, 2004
Annabeth Eberle, Jan. 1, 2004
