Utah gymnastics coach Greg Marsden may have gotten his 850th career win as the Huskies fell 196.725-193.850 to No. 3 Utah Friday night at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, but Washington won something perhaps as significant: a little more respect for its program.

With its 193.850, the Huskies posted their highest team score in more than a year and served notice to the rest of the Pac-10 that they aren’t the same team they were in 2006, when Washington gymnastics had its worst year in program history and failing to qualify as a team to the Regional Championships. The Huskies have been showing steady improvement in their scores since their season opener against UCLA two weeks ago, where they scored a 188.175.

“Everybody just kept building,” senior Chelsea Bakken said. “We were really consistent this time. We didn’t have to count any falls on any event for the first time in awhile.”

Utah senior Nicolle Ford had a terrific competition, scoring no less than a 9.825 on each of the four apparatus. Ford won the all-around and added individual titles on the balance beam and floor exercise, while Utah sophomore Kristina Baskett won vault and Utah standout Ashley Postell took top honors on uneven bars. Bakken, Washington’s sole all-arounder, was fifth overall with a combined score of 38.550.

The Huskies opened up the competition on bars, where each gymnast performed a solid routine, including junior Nikki Waiss, who recorded a career-best 9.675. But it was during the second rotation that Washington posted what was perhaps the biggest surprise of the meet.

On vault, freshman Cassidy Lance, competing for only the third time as a Husky, nailed her half-twisting Yurchenko to score a 9.9, good enough to tie for second place on her favorite event. Lance’s 9.9 is quite an accomplishment for the Salt Lake City native, who ruptured her ACL three times while in high school.

“It means so much; when you’re doing well you’re contributing to the team,” Lance said, adding that the adjustment to college has been a challenge for her. “I was kind of struggling a little bit this year. I wasn’t even going to train vault.”

Other Washington gymnasts posted season-bests against Utah. Sophomore Kelly Gilbert nailed her beam routine to score a 9.775, her highest score of the season so far. She also added a 9.7 on floor exercise.

The Huskies were competing without bars standout Raimey Iselin, who underwent surgery Friday for a knee injury. Junior Natalie Gillan, who is expected to be a force in the all-around later in the season, has been limited to competing only on bars for the past two weeks due to a foot injury.

Nevertheless, coach Joanne Bowers told Gohuskies.com she’s been thrilled with the team’s improvement and growing confidence in itself.

“We’re all just so excited,” Bowers said. “I’ve never been prouder of a group of girls. They’re starting to believe in themselves, to believe that they are talented and that they can go into a place like this and perform well. That’s the first step we need to take to get this program back where we want it to be, and it’s exciting to see them taking that step.”

Reach reporter Blythe Lawrence at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.