It may be a long time before a squad better than Utah's women's gymnastics team competes in Rec Hall.

Then again, looking at No. 6 Penn State (1-2), it may not be as long as you think.

Utah (4-0) fulfilled every expectation Saturday night in recording a 195.05 -- the highest score in the NCAA this season. The Lady Utes' virtual perfection overshadowed an impressive Penn State performance. The Lady Lions recorded a 190.65, their highest score of the season.

"It wasn't our place and we weren't in an absolute comfort zone," Utah Coach Greg Marsden said. "And they still held up and did an incredible job."

The Lady Utes dazzled the crowd of 4,390 at Rec Hall, performing tricks which had some of the less-flexible fans grimacing in pain.

"They're really talented girls and that's what we expected," senior tri-captain Janice Rogers said. "It was exciting to compete against them and see how we measure up."

Despite the score, Penn State measured up pretty well. The Lady Lions hit 22 of 24 routines without a break.

"We hit most everything we did and that was our goal," Coach Judi Avener said. "We usually start off the season and we're a little bit less consistent."

Junior Allison Barber recorded a 38.4 in the all-around despite a fall on the balance beam. It was Barber's highest all-around score this season.

"Her confidence is a little bit low from the last two meets and I think she did a good job despite that," Avener said.

Despite strong performances from all four Lady Lion all-arounders, Utah dominated. The Lady Utes were led by 1988 Olympian Missy Marlowe's 39.4, Suzanne Metz' 39 and Kristen Kenoyer's 38.75.

Marlowe, the NCAA balance beam champion last year, registered the highest all-around score in Rec Hall history. Her performance included scores of 9.9 on the uneven bars and the balance beam.

"What can I say?" Marsden said. "Right now she and Hope Spivey (of Georgia) have distanced themselves from everybody else (in the all-around)."

Marsden was ecstatic with the the Lady Utes' overall performance as well.

"The kids did it in a great environment but in a situation that the crowd was for the other team and not for them," he said. "Our kids on the beam had to work through some boos."

Those boos came from fans disgruntled with the judges' scoring of Lady Lion performances on the uneven bars and the floor exercises. Although Penn State was receiving 9.6s and 9.7s in those events, the fans were unhappy. And so, it seems, was Avener --although she refused to admit it.

"I've decided that I'm a coach and the judges are judges and I do my job and they do theirs," Avener said.

Despite the fact that some of the crowd's energy was negative, coaches and players agreed that it was the best in several years.

"After I was done with my floor routine -- laying on the floor before I got up -- I just got choked up," Rogers said.

"They haven't had this crowd since the last time we were here -- in 1981," Marsden added.

The largest Rec Hall crowd ever (8,700) flocked to see then-No. 2 Penn State upset top-ranked Utah that year.

This year, an upset would have been virtually impossible -- but the Lady Lions accomplished other goals.

"We were just happy that we stuck with them," Rogers said. "We showed them that we're back on the way up."