There has been something different about the Red Rocks lately.
Utah’s gymnastics team was great throughout the regular season, racking up a 10-1 record, including a perfect 6-0 mark in the Pac-12. It was no surprise that the team was regularly ranked among the top six teams in the country.
Over the last three meets, though — the Pac-12 championships, a Salt Lake City Regional semifinal and the Salt Lake City Regional final — Utah has taken things to a different level, a level few teams up on the hill have ever reached.
In some cases, the 2020-21 Red Rocks’ performance this postseason now stands alone in program history.
Pac-12 championships
Take the Pac-12 championships. The postseason starts with conference championships and before this year only four Utah teams had scored better than a 197.700 at Pac-12s (the average Utah score at the conference championships — over an eight-year period — was a 197.593).
- 2013-14 — Led by Tory Wilson and Georgia Dabritz, Utah recorded what was then the seventh-best score in program history — 197.925 — to win the Pac-12 title.
- 2014-15 — Wilson, Dabritz and Corrie Lothrop led the Red Rocks to a season-best performance — 198.150 — and consecutive conference titles.
- 2016-17 — Powered by all-around champion MyKayla Skinner, Utah — 197.925 — regained its position at the top of the conference.
- 2018-19 — A new season-high — 198.025 — wasn’t enough to propel the Red Rocks past UCLA, but still stood as Utah’s best outing of the year.
This year’s Red Rocks joined that elite group of teams, thanks to the 197.725 recorded at the Pac-12 championships. At that point in the season, it was the team’s high score, and Utah thoroughly dominated the competition, ending a three-year championship drought.
NCAA regionals
The NCAA altered the postseason format ahead of the 2018-19 season, making it more exclusive, not to mention more difficult.
Gone were the regular six NCAA regionals, replaced by only four. Nationals, which once included 12 teams and ended with a six-team final, became an eight-team event and only four teams could qualify for the national championship meet.
Regionals became more difficult, and not just because the competition was improved — fewer regional sites meant the better teams had to compete against each other earlier in the postseason — but also because it became a two-day affair with meets in consecutive days rather than a one off meet.
Truth be told, whatever kind of regional you look at — pre-2019 or post-2019 — this year’s Red Rocks performed better than any other team in program history.
Before this season, only eight Utah teams had scored better than a 197 at regionals.
- 1991-92 — The Red Rocks defeated Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Utah State, thanks to a 197.075.
- 2003-04 — Powered by the trio of Melissa Vituj, Rachel Tidd and Nicolle Ford, Utah scored a meet-winning 197.625.
- 2006-07 — Ashley Postell-led Utah scored a 197.325, which tied for the best regional score in the country. Runner-up Nebraska finished with a 196.675.
- 2008-09 — Thanks to a trio of strong all-around performances by Kristina Baskett, Daria Bijak and Jamie Deetscreek, Utah scored a 197.675, easily defeating second-place finishing Illinois.
- 2013-14 — Utah scored a 197.300 to defeat runner-up UCLA (196.600), thanks to standout floor performances by Becky Tutka, Dabritz, and Nansy Damianova.
- 2015-16 — Breanna Hughes and Kailah Delaney paced Utah to a 197.125, ahead of second-place UCLA (196.375).
- 2016-17 — In Skinner’s first season at Utah, the Red Rocks held off Denver for first place with a 197.150.
- 2017-18 — Competing inside the Huntsman Center and led by Skinner, Utah handled the competition with ease thanks to a 197.475.
How does this year’s team compare?
The Red Rocks scored a 197.500 in their regional semifinal against Arizona State, Southern Utah and Boise State, and the next day followed it up with a season-best 197.925, the best score by any Utah team in a regional meet ever.
NCAA nationals
These have yet to happen this year, of course, with the national semifinals slated for April 16. Utah will compete in the second of two semifinal meets and will face off against Oklahoma, LSU and Alabama.
An eight-team NCAA women’s gymnastics championships has only happened once in the sport’s history, because the 2019-20 season was cut short by the pandemic, but as small a sample size as it is, the performances of the teams two years ago are still instructive given Utah’s run this postseason.
- Denver — The Pioneers finished second at the Big 12 championships (197.250), then won their regional semifinal (196.975) and final (197.375). At nationals, Denver finished second in their semifinal (197.0375) and then finished last in the national championship meet (197.000).
- Georgia — The Gymdogs finished fourth at the SEC championships (197.000), then finished first in their regional semifinal (197.300), before finishing second in the regional final (198.050). At nationals, Georgia finished fourth in their semifinal (196.4625).
- LSU — Won the SEC championships (197.900) and then proceeded to win both their regional semifinal (197.200) and final (197.500). The Tigers finished second in their national semifinal (197.5125) and finished second in the national championship meet (197.825).
- Michigan — The Wolverines won the Big 10 championships (197.400) and then finished second in their regional semifinal (196.950) and final (197.275), before finishing third in their national semifinal (197.200).
- Oklahoma — The Sooners won the Big 12 championships (197.575) and kept on winning, claiming both their regional semifinal (198.300) and regional final (198.475). At nationals, Oklahoma won their semifinal (197.850) and the national championship (198.3375).
- Oregon State — The Beavers finished No. 3 at Pac-12s (196.600), then proceeded to finish second in their regional semifinal (197.125), and final (196.900). At nationals, Oregon State finished third in their semifinal (196.900).
- UCLA — The Bruins won the Pac-12 championships (198.400), then won their regional semifinal (197.675) and final (198.075). Once at nationals, UCLA won their national semifinal (197.6750), before finishing third in the national championship meet (197.5375).
- Utah — The Red Rocks finished second at the Pac-12 championships (198.025), before winning their regional semifinal (196.800). Utah finished 2nd in the regional final (197.250) before finishing fourth in their national semifinal (196.7250).
Of those teams, there are three that the Red Rocks compare most favorably with — Oklahoma, UCLA and LSU. All three teams won their conference championships with scores above a 197.500 and then swept through the competition at regionals before duking it out at nationals.
As the No. 6 seed this postseason, Utah isn’t a favorite to advance to the final day of nationals. That honor belongs to Florida, Oklahoma and Michigan, and to a lesser extent LSU. The way the Red Rocks have been competing recently, though, it would not be a surprise to see them make it to the final day at nationals, and maybe even contend for the title itself.