Utah’s gymnastics team knew it had an uphill battle Saturday, as the 12th-ranked-Red Rocks faced No. 5 UCLA on the Bruins’ home floor.
In the end, the Red Rocks fell 197.850-197.400 to UCLA. Though the loss is going to sting considering the rivalry, Utah continued to show the grit and resilience it has all season, as the Red Rocks were without key gymnasts across all events due to the flu hitting the team this week.
“To have a couple of our big hitters out on every single event tonight and to have people step in and still put up our highest score on the road talks about the depth and strength of our team,” said Utah coach Carly Dockendorf.
The Red Rocks have been searching for a high road score all season to help boost their National Qualifying Score, and they found it Saturday even with the subs.
“We, you know, didn’t have the start to the season that we would have needed to, to maybe have a little more flexibility right now,” Dockendorf said. “These scores do really count, and not just for the ranking but also for their confidence going into championships next week and to regionals.”
Utah opened Saturday with a solid start on bars, highlighted by Avery Neff’s 9.975 to conclude the set. Ella Zirbes added a 9.9 and Utah didn’t count a score lower than a 9.85 for a 49.425 total.
Meanwhile, UCLA recorded a 49.475 on vault to take the early lead.
The Red Rocks topped their bars’ effort with a 49.45 on vault as Camie Winger kicked off the event with a 9.9 and then Zirbes added a 9.925.
After Clara Raposo stepped off the mat on her landing, a stick by Makenna Smith earned a 9.875, and a small-hopped landing by Ashley Glynn earned a 9.825 and then Neff’s stick netted a 9.925.
Utah had cut the Bruins lead after two rotations, 98.90 – 98.875, in what looked to be a nail biter.
But the final rotations didn’t go quite as planned for the road side. On floor, Sarah Krump had a 9.725 to start off the rotation. The Red Rocks had hoped to drop that score but in the anchor spot, Clara Raposo landed awkwardly on her final pass and couldn’t finish her routine.
That left Utah counting the 9.725 and with a final of 49.25. Raposo was slowly walking around later in the meet and will be evaluated further.
Beam continued to be a bit of a struggle, where the Red Rocks once again had no falls as the positive but did have some mishaps that resulted in deductions.
Elizabeth Gantner gave Utah a nice start with a 9.85, but later in the lineup Zirbes only drew a 9.825, while Smith (9.55) nearly fell off and Ana Padurariu (9.825) couldn’t hold her landing after a beautiful routine.
The Red Rocks did have a nice finish with Neff going for 9.9 and Camie Winger hitting 9.875 that meant Smith’s score could be dropped for a 49.275 total.
In the final analysis, Utah kept pace for two events before losing tenths later in the meet. All in all it was a good showing for the Red Rocks considering the environment on the road and the lineup changes across events.
“I think this is probably one of, if not the best away environments for us to compete in,” Dockendorf said. “Tons of good energy in here, and that was what we had talked about going in this week.
I said if we want to be successful, we just need to join the party tonight. It’s not about winning, it’s about putting up a good score.”
Meet notes
Neff battled through two rotations with Jordan Chiles, as the two were tied for the all-around, but Chiles recorded 9.95s on her final two events to win the title with a 39.80 to Neff’s 39.675.
Zirbes finished third with a career-best 39.55.
Neff was Utah’s only event winner with her 9.975 on bars.
Event winners
All-Around — Jordan Chiles (UCLA); 39.80
Vault — Ashlee Sullivan (UCLA); 9.975
Bars — Avery Neff (Utah); 9.975
Beam — Jordan Chiles (UCLA); 9.95
Floor — Jordan Chiles (UCLA); 9.95
Next up
The Big 12 championship is at the Maverik Center March 21. Utah and No. 24 BYU will compete in the second session at 5 p.m.