Gymnastics

The UW gymnastics team is looking to continue improving tonight when it faces off against No. 3 Utah.

Washington is now 3-1 after wins over Sacramento State, Seattle Pacific and Alaska Anchorage, falling to No. 7 Stanford last Friday.

After two strong showings on consecutive weekends, the Huskies find themselves ranked No. 25 in the nation and led by three gymnasts performing in the top 50 of their events.

Senior Ashley Houghting is tied for No. 15 in the country on vault, with an average score of 9.862. Houghting is also tied for fourth in the nation on floor with an average score of 9.887. Two other Huskies have received national rankings as well; sophomore Kristen Linton is tied for No. 44 on bars and teammate Samantha Walior is tied for No. 46 on beam.

As the team makes its first trip away from home, it will face a Utah squad that has previously dominated in all but one meeting — which ended in a tie — between the two schools. The Utes have won nine straight meetings against the Dawgs and enter the weekend with a 1-1 record.

Swimming

The UW men’s and women’s swim teams return to the pool tonight in Los Angeles against USC. They will continue their stay in California tomorrow when the women will take on UCLA while the men face USC for a second time.

Both Washington teams were topped by No. 9 Minnesota last Saturday in several seniors’ final home meet.

Scott Spansail and Jon Banker both swam well despite the loss. Spansail won both the 500 freestyle and 1,000 free, while Banker won the 100 backstroke and 200 back. The other senior with a win was Lindsey Sharp, who took first in the 50 free. Freshman standout Hannah Ross took two of the four races the team won.

The Huskies have now faced five of the top 10 teams in the country this season.

Reach reporter Nari Kalafian at sports@dailyuw.com.