The regular season has concluded for NCAA women’s gymnastics, and now it’s on to the postseason. Utah is No. 12 in the country, a ranking it’s been stuck in for several weeks due to a rocky start over the first month of the season.
That rocky start included two scores in the 195 range, and the National Qualifying Score formula isn’t forgiving to low scores especially when you have a handful.
“It really is easy to look at our ranking and see how we started our first four to five meets out and focus on that … I feel like the switch was Arizona, when we went to Arizona. Ever since then, our team has been building in the right direction."
— Utah coach Carly Dockendorf
The Red Rocks have clawed their way back to put together a solid campaign that hasn’t seen a score below 197 since January while earning a second-straight regular-season Big 12 title. They also are coming off their best road score of the year as they head into the Big 12 championship Saturday as the top seed.
The second session of the championship begins at 5 p.m. MDT at the Maverik Center and will also feature No. 23 Denver, No. 24 BYU and Arizona. The earlier session begins at noon and includes Arizona State and West Virginia.
“It really is easy to look at our ranking and see how we started our first four to five meets out and focus on that … I feel like the switch was Arizona, when we went to Arizona,” said Utah coach Carly Dockendorf. “Ever since then, our team has been building in the right direction.
“The team in January was not great, but we’re not that team in January anymore. We are a different team, and we are exactly where we need to be going into postseason. We feel like we have really good momentum.”
Looking back on the season, it’s no surprise that Avery Neff has led Utah. Neff peaked at the end of last season after missing meets due to an injury. She won the Regional all-around and vault titles while being named Big 12 Newcomer of the year among other accolades.
The sophomore has been named Big 12 Gymnast of the Week seven times this season after setting several career bests including a 39.70 in the all-around. She’s tied for fourth nationally on the event and leads the conference.
Senior Makenna Smith has also been key to the turnaround as she’s Utah’s other leader. Smith had a few uncharacteristic meets when Utah was struggling, but can hit big for Utah with all four event career bests being above 9.95.
Ella Zirbes has quietly put together a great season which includes earning her way into the all-around. The junior has hit several career highs, including a 39.55 last week in the all-around showing she can get good scores on all four events.
On bars and beam, senior Ana Padurariu and freshman Abbi Ryssman have been key. The senior and freshman both move beautifully on the events, which have resulted in nice scores from the judges.
Noteworthy
Utah had eight gymnasts win all-Big 12 regular season honors, and were especially dominant on vault. The event had been a struggle for Utah in recent years, but the turnaround with Mike Hunger joining the coaching staff prior to last season has been evident.
“50% of our team got awarded the Big 12 awards and five of them were on vault,” explained Dockendorf. “I mean, that’s just insane.
“We really have used a lot of people throughout the year because we’ve had so much depth and opportunity, and those eight women have been so consistent throughout the season. And, just a tribute to their hard work and their dedication, they deserve all the accolades they’ve received.”
Utah starts on vault Saturday as the top seed and will be looking for a big score to build on.
Rankings
Along with her all-around ranking, Neff is eighth nationally on vault and tenth on bars. She’s the only Red Rock and Big 12 gymnast to rank in the Top 10 for any events. As a team, Utah ranks third on vault and seventh on bars.
Injury update
Utah will be without Clara Raposo as the sophomore had to be helped off floor last weekend after landing awkwardly out of her final pass.
“She will be out,” Dockendorf said. “I don’t think I’m in a position to publicly announce anything yet, but yeah, she will not be competing this weekend.
BYU
The No. 24-ranked Cougars are peaking at the perfect time. BYU is coming off its best score of the season in a 197.225-197.175 upset over then-No. 14 Clemson in South Carolina.
“The Clemson trip was so much fun, especially going to a new location,” said BYU coach Guard Young. “We went out a day earlier to try to get used to the time difference, and we were able to spend a few hours in the Atlanta aquarium which builds memories as a team and was amazing.
“They (our team) went routine for routine with a No. 14 team in the country and ultimately got one of our highest event totals on beam in program history to win the meet.”
The Cougars trailed the Tigers, 147.725-147.675, heading into the final rotation, but went lights out on beam where five Cougars hit career bests.
Freshman Scarlett Sonnenberg set the bar high in the leadoff position with a 9.925, and BYU was able to roll from there with Alilah Avarado at a 9.9, Kylie Eaquinto at 9.875, Brynlee Andersen-Broekman with a 9.975 and then Chloee Hoke concluding with a 9.875 to push BYU to its third-best beam set in school history of 49.55.
“I’m just so happy for our beam team,” noted Young. “Ending on beam in a close meet with an electric environment is not easy. They stayed calm. They stayed present. They did one skill at a time and did not shrink from the opportunity. It was a very good momentum boost going into the postseason.
“I’m especially happy for Chloee Hoke who anchored that beam team with a huge final score we needed to come out on top.”
Andersen-Broekman won the beam title while her teammate Eaquinto grabbed her first all-around title with a career-best 39.475 and added the vault title at 9.9. BYU also recorded a season high 49.25 on vault.
The Cougars have defeated three Top 25 opponents this season and had Ava Jorgensen (bars), Andersen-Broekman (beam) and Sonnenberg (freshman) make all-Big 12 regular season teams. BYU will start on bars Saturday.
