The fifth-ranked Red Rocks defeated the fourth-ranked UCLA Bruins 198.100 to 197.425 Saturday night at the Jon. M. Huntsman in Salt Lake City.
Utah celebrated “Senior Night” in front of a stadium of 15,558, the season’s first sold-out crowd for the Red Rocks regular season.
“Just so proud of this team tonight. We really talked about making this a special night for our seniors and definitely need to thank our fans for showing up,” said Head Coach Carly Dockendorf. “That was electric tonight, and the energy could be felt throughout the entire evening, all the way to the last routine. And it really does make a difference to have our fans in there, and our athletes felt it. And it heightens the whole experience of being down there and competing.”
Utah will be graduating four accomplished seniors including Grace McCallum, Amelie Morgan, Jaylene Gilstrap and Jaedyn Rucker.
The Red Rocks opened on the vault with a score of 49.425. Ella Zirbes and McCallum started off with 9.85’s. Avery Neff set a new career high with a 9.95. Makenna Smith scored a 9.925, and anchor Zoe Johnson scored a 9.85. After the first rotation, Utah and UCLA were tied at 49.425.
“Our vaults are getting bigger and bigger, and we’re dialing in on those landings; that’s exactly what we need to continue to do,” Dockendorf said. “For Avery to just drop that one and a half for her first time back in the Huntsman doing that, I think that really just did spark the rest of the evening for her, and bars has again just been such a strong event for us all year.”
Utah scored a 49.525 on bars for the second rotation. Smith set the tone for the rotation with a 9.95, while Neff set another career high with a 9.925. McCallum anchored and scored a 9.925 to close out the rotation for the Red Rocks. After two rotations, Utah led UCLA 98.950 to 98.600.
The Red Rocks continued their dominance, scoring a season-high 49.600 on beam. Morgan led off with a 9.875, followed by Camie Winger tying her career high of 9.95. Smith scored a 9.85, and then McCallum delivered her first 10.0 on beam, which erupted the sold-out Huntsman crowd. Following literal perfection, Neff showed Red Rock nation the future of gymnastics will be perfectly fine without its seniors, scoring a 9.925 and matching her career high. Anchor Ana Padurariu returned to the beam and scored a 9.85. After three rotations, Utah led UCLA, 148.550 to 147.975.
“Then beam, overall, I just thought our team did a really good job over there, changed up the lineup a little bit. Saw Anna back in there,” Dockendorf said. “For Grace to finally get her 10. You couldn’t ask for more on a Senior Night, but she has worked for that, and she deserves that. And I’m just so excited that it happened tonight for her. And then just to come around on the floor, for the final rotation, the energy was building. I did have to keep checking in with myself, like, it’s not over yet. It’s not over yet. Still got one more rotation to go here.”
Utah scored a 49.550 in the fourth and final rotation on the floor. Ashley Glynn led off with a 9.825, followed by a Zirbes 9.90 and a Neff 9.875. Gilstrap scored a 9.90 on her last regular season floor routine at the Huntsman; the crowd acknowledged this with a standing ovation. Smith continued to electrify the sold-out crowd with a 9.975. Anchor McCallum closed out the night with a 9.90, helping Utah beat UCLA while breaking through the 198 barrier with a team score of 198.100, a new season high.
“I just thought overall, our team was really focused tonight; they were really determined. We came here to win. I mean, that was our goal. We weren’t afraid to talk about that this week,” Dockendorf said. “We weren’t trying to just say, Let’s go be our best. No, our goal was to come in and win tonight, and I really felt like they kept that focus all night, and we’re just determined to make that happen.”
Smith scored 39.700 to take first in the all-around. McCallum and Neff tied for second place with 39.675 in the all-around.
After the meet, McCallum announced she will be returning to Utah next season as a student-coach. Much like Maile O’Keefe returned this season to help coach the Red Rocks.
“I feel like coaching has always been something that’s been in the back of my mind, and who better to learn from than these amazing coaches here?” McCallum said. “I just feel like I’ll learn so much wisdom, and I’m really excited. When I was offered the opportunity to come back a sixth year to coach. How could I say no?”
Next up for Utah will be the Big 12 Conference Championship on March 22 at the Maverik Center in West Valley, Utah.
