GYMNASTICS : Utah Women Win; UCLA 4th

Utah won its ninth NCAA women’s gymnastics championship Friday at Athens, Ga., with a score of 196.650, but only after a close meet. The top five finishers, which included fourth-place UCLA with 196.150, were separated by .575.

Michigan tied Alabama for second with 196.425, breaking up the triumvirate of Utah, Alabama and Georgia, which have finished in the top three every year since 1989.

UCLA was lifted by its best performance of the season on beam, 49.25, a meet high.

Kareema Marrow also gave the Bruins a boost with a perfect 10 on the floor exercise, which tied the school record set by Amy Thorne in 1993. During her routine, Marrow mimicked a pose that Tyus Edney struck after he made a three-point basket against Connecticut in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last month.

For top-seeded Georgia, which played host to the meet, falls on the beam and bars dropped it into fifth place, .075 behind UCLA.

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Josh Stein led Stanford to its third NCAA men’s gymnastics team title in the last four years. The Cardinal finished with a season-high 232.4 points at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Defending champion Nebraska scored a season-high 231.55 points to place second. The Cornhuskers have finished first or second in 15 of the last 16 championships.