After an impressive comeback in the NCAA Regional Final, the No. 5 University of Utah Red Rocks advanced to their 48th consecutive National Championship appearance. Earlier in the day, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 California advanced in Session 1 of the semifinals after defeating No. 8 Stanford and No. 7 Arkansas.
Soon after Session 1, the Red Rocks arrived to take on Session 2, facing No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida and No. 6 Alabama. Utah finished behind Florida in the Regional Final and needed to change things this time around in this highly competitive semifinal competition.
Despite having the furthest campus from Fort Worth, Utah fans began to fill Dickies Arena as the Red Rocks started on the beam. Amelie Morgan started things off, scoring a strong 9.925. Makenna Smith came next, matching Morgan’s score and giving Utah a slight lead early in the competition. Grace McCallum scored 9.8875, and Abby Paulson added on a near-perfect 9.950. Maile O’Keefe, the 2023 beam and all-around champion, hit 9.950 as well. Before Jaylene Gilstrap came in at the anchor spot, the Red Rocks totaled 49.6375, already surpassing their season-high of 49.600. Gilstrap scored 9.250, which was dropped, and the Red Rocks held first place.
Through the first rotation, Alabama held second place with 49.4875, Florida held third place with 49.450 and Oklahoma rounded out the standings with an uncharacteristic 48.3250. The 2023 National Champions had to count a 9.375 and a 9.450 as they tallied their worst score on vault in 16 years.
With momentum behind them, the Red Rocks moved over to the floor, where Smith got things started with 9.8875. Jaedyn Rucker followed with an unfortunate 9.0875 that would later be dropped. Paulson got the Red Rocks back on track with 9.900, and Gilstrap came in with a huge 9.950. O’Keefe gave Utah back-to-back 9.950s, and McCallum rounded the rotation off with 9.900.
The Red Rocks held the lead at the halfway point, amassing 99.225 points after scoring a strong 49.5875 on floor. Florida followed in second with 98.950 and Oklahoma followed in third with 97.9875. Alabama had trouble on beam, counting three scores below 9.300 to finish the rotation at only 96.7375.
Moving into the second half of the meet, Morgan once again started things off, this time on vault. Morgan scored 9.800 before freshman Ella Zirbes scored an impressive 9.9125 in her first National Championship appearance. Ashley Glynn couldn’t stick the landing, scoring a second 9.800 for the Red Rocks. The Red Rocks continued to score in pairs, as Smith delivered another 9.9125. Rucker took a couple of steps back and narrowly avoided sitting down, scoring 9.6125, her second score of the night that was dropped. McCallum finished things off with 9.7750.
Utah struggled on vault, scoring 49.200. Despite this, the Red Rocks still held first place with 148.425. Florida came close behind, scoring 49.450 on bars for a total of 148.400. With just one rotation left, the Red Rocks and the Gators were on the verge of advancing to the Final Four. Oklahoma trailed in third with 147.0875, and Alabama held the final spot with 146.150.
With just bars remaining, the Red Rocks were visibly excited. Smith got Utah started with 9.9125 before Zirbes got the crowd on their feet, scoring 9.925. Morgan hit 9.900, followed by O’Keefe with 9.825. As the Red Rocks sat tied with Florida, McCallum scored 9.875 and the Gators took a narrow lead. Alani Sabado finished the night off for Utah, scoring 9.900 and regaining first place as the meet came to an end.
Florida’s Ellie Lazzari scored 8.975 in the anchor spot, and Utah jumped the Gators to take the top spot. The Red Rocks finished with 197.9375, and Florida followed in second with 197.875. Oklahoma finished third with 196.6625, and Alabama came in last with 195.4125.
Smith’s 39.6375 in all-around competition was good for third in the session, as well as a three-way tie for fourth between both sessions.
“We had a lot of cards laid against us this season and we could have had a lot of excuses for why we didn’t even make it here, let alone make it into the Final Four, and this team chose to never use any excuse for holding them back and what they were truly capable of doing,” Head Coach Carly Dockendorf said after the performance. “I think this is maybe one of my proudest moments coaching.”
With the strong performance, the Red Rocks move on to their fourth consecutive NCAA National Championship Final where they will face Florida, LSU and California. In a near-repeat of last year, Utah, LSU and Florida advance to the Final once again. On the other side, the California Golden Bears will be making their first appearance in program history.
The Red Rocks will once again compete at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. With everything on the line, the meet will take place on Saturday, April 20 at 2 p.m. MDT.
