No. 4 Utah (7-1, 197.496) at No. 13 Oregon State (6-1, 196.755)
When: Friday, 6 p.m. MST
Venue: Huntsman Center (15,000 capacity)
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: ESPN 700
Livestream: Pac-12 Networks Live
Series: Utah leads the overall series with Oregon State 74-10-1 and is a perfect 35-0 against the Beavers in Salt Lake City. The Red Rocks have won nine straight meets against Oregon State, the last loss coming in Corvallis in 2017. Since the creation of the Pac-12, Oregon State is the only school other than Utah and UCLA to win the conference title.
The stakes
For Utah: The Red Rocks, once ranked No. 2 overall, have dropped to No. 4 behind Michigan, Florida and Oklahoma. With the loss at No. 9 Cal, the regular season Pac-12 title is all but out of reach for Utah, so the emphasis turns to seeding for NCAA regionals. National Qualifying Score (NQS) determines rankings after eight weeks and Utah needs one or two more elite road scores in its final three away meets, in addition to another high home score, to keep pace with the Wolverines, Gators and Sooners.
For Oregon State: The Beavers have been dramatically improved this year and appear to be all but assured of a top 15 ranking by seasons end. At 6-1 — with a loss to Cal — Oregon State is not really in the running for the Pac-12 regular season title, but the Beavers can assure themselves a spot in the evening session of the Pac-12 championships if they maintain their current position in the Pac-12.
The gymnasts
For Utah: No Ute has been better this season than Maile O’Keefe, who is ranked No. 3 on balance beam. Jillian Hoffman — the reigning Pac-12 Coaches Choice honoree — and Sydney Soloski are tied for No. 20 on floor, while Grace McCallum is tied for No. 23 on vault. O’Keefe and McCallum have both scored perfect 10s this season, and along with Cristal Isa, are the winningest Red Rocks, with seven and four event wins, respectively.
For Oregon State: It all all about Jade Carey for the Beavers. The Olympic gold medalist has been arguably the best gymnast in the NCAA this season and has yet to score below a 9.875, despite competing in the all-around every meet. Currently, Carey is the top all-arounder in the country and ranked No. 1 on bars, No. 3 on floor, No. 6 on beam and No. 9 on vault.
Next up
The Red Rocks travel to Tucson to face Arizona. The Wildcats — otherwise known as the GymCats — are winless this season, with losses to Southern Utah, UCLA, Washington and Arizona State, as well as a fourth place finish in a quad meet that included Oklahoma, Stanford and Utah State. Arizona did post multiple season-high scores against the rival Sun Devils last weekend, paced by sophomore star Malia Hargrove.
Utah schedule
Jan. 7 — vs. No. 19 BYU and No. 21 Utah State, No. 23 Southern Utah (Best of Utah)
Jan. 14 — vs No. 3 Oklahoma
Jan. 21 — vs. No. 20 Arizona State
Jan. 29 — vs. No. 18 Stanford, 2 p.m.
Feb. 4 — at No. 16 UCLA, 8 p.m.
Feb. 12 — at No. 9 Cal, 5 p.m.
Feb. 18 — vs. No. 13 Oregon State, 6 p.m.
Feb. 21 — at Washington, 7 p.m.
Feb. 25 — at Arizona, 6:30 p.m.
March 4 — vs. No. 6 Minnesota, 7 p.m.
March 11 — at No. 5 LSU, 6:30 p.m.
March 19 — Pac-12 Championships
All times MST