The University of Utahâs womenâs gymnastics team isnât all that used to losing. Especially not in Pac-12 Conference competition.
It happens, sure, but year after year the Red Rocks have been the class of the conference since joining in 2012, particularly the last few years.
Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, California, Utah may have been unseated as the preeminent Pac-12 power, though, in this the final year of the conference.
In a showdown between top 5 teams â No. 3 Cal and No. 4 Utah â the Red Rocks came up short, losing to the Bears 198.100 to 197.700. Cal was the better team on multiple events â uneven bars and vault â while proving equal to Utah on floor exercise.
Cal sophomore eMjae Frazier was the best gymnast in the meet, winning the all-around title plus three other events titles â bars, floor and balance beam.
Only two Red Rocks â Ashley Glynn and Jaedyn Rucker â came away with some hardware, tying for the event title on vault with a pair of Cal gymnasts (Mya Lauzon and Kyen Mayhew).
With the loss, Utah now trails Cal in the race for the Pac-12 regular season title, a prize the Utes have claimed the last four years. And with only one more conference meet to go (at Arizona on Friday) Utah will need Cal to lose to Stanford on March 10 in order to get a share of the title.
As such, it was a disappointing outing for the Red Rocks, who expect to win conference championships â regular season and postseason â year after year.
âNot the total outcome we were hoping for today,â Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf said.
Wins and losses donât tell the whole story in gymnastics, however, and though the Red Rocks lost, they left California in better position than when they arrived.
With the score of 197.700, Utah improved its national qualifying score (NQS) which determines rankings during the regular season and postseason seeding.
Moreover, Utah withstood the absence of two notable gymnasts â Amelie Morgan and Makenna Smith â for most of the meet and still managed to compete at or near the same level of the Bears, who are a genuine national title threat this year.
âA pretty decent road score for us,â Dockendorf said. âI love that the team fought to the very end. We didnât give up. We definitely gave some tenths (of a point) away on our bars and our landings, and also on vault. … We made a lot of lineup changes as the meet was unfolding. We made a lineup change on three events. A lot of adjusting had to happen today and I was just proud that our team stayed focused throughout the meet.â
Utah lost the meet early.
As mentioned by Dockendorf, the Red Rocks left something to be desired on both bars and vault. Landings in particular were less than Utah wanted, with hops and steps the norm.
In the meantime, Cal had a standout performance on bars with three gymnasts â Frazier, Gabby Perea and Madelyn Williams â closing out the rotation with consecutive 9.975s.
It was that rotation that won the meet for the Bears. Utah outperformed Cal the second half of the competition, but the Bearsâ prowess on bars, coupled with Utahâs early mistakes, proved too much for the Red Rocks to overcome.
âWe definitely need to be more disciplined with our execution,â Dockendorf said.
Even with those miscues, Utah was in the competition late. That was in no small part to the teamâs floor lineup.
Across the board â save for a notable poor outing from Grace McCallum â Utah was excellent on floor, counting a low score of 9.875 from Abby Paulson.
Maile OâKeefe, Ella Zirbes, Jaylene Gilstrap and Jaedyn Rucker all competed well as Utah made clear again that it is a floor team this season.
âFloor is the one event where we had the least amount of lineup changes from last year,â Dockendorf said. âI think there is a lot of confidence and experience coming into that lineup and I think our performance quality is elevated this year and it is reflecting in our scores for sure.â
Utahâs effort on floor didnât prove enough to overcome Cal, but it put the Red Rocks in a position to win if the Bears had made mistakes and it gave Utah the boost it needed to come away with a notable road score.
Makenna Smith had been one of Utahâs most consistent competitors this season, but after stumbling on her vault landing, the sophomore was pulled from the lineup the rest of the night (she was slated to compete in the all-around).
It wasnât anything too serious, Dockendorf noted. Smithâs back flared up during the week and after her struggles on vault Utahâs coaching staff decided to play things safe after it flared up again.
As a result, Camie Winger and Jaedyn Rucker both had to serve as emergency replacements and both did exceptionally well.
Rucker scored a 9.90 on floor in place of Smith, a step in the right direction for the fifth-year senior.
âI was extremely proud of Jaedyn,â Dockendorf said. âShe wasnât scheduled to be in the lineup today, but with Makennaâs back flaring up it was a last-minute change. Jaedyn has been working so hard in practice and for her to go out there and do a normal Jaedyn routine was huge tonight.â
Winger, meanwhile, was no less impressive filling in on beam.
She led off the rotation â one she has not regularly competed in â and earned a 9.850, setting the stage for a strong outing by Utah.
All as a true freshman.
âCamie loves to compete,â Dockendorf said. âThat is where she thrives. … The more pressure the more she loves it. She is really a utility gymnast and what I mean by that is she can kind of go anywhere in any lineup in any space and still be able to go and perform.â
In order to capitalize on Wingerâs innate traits, Dockendorf didnât tell her sheâd be competing in place of Smith until the very last moment.
âI didnât want her thinking about it the entire meet,â Dockendorf said. âI knew that Cam would be able to handle it.â
As noted, Utah was not perfect in the meet. Bars and vault â thought solid rotations â were not up to the standard that Utah needs them to be in order to compete with the best teams in the country, which Cal is.
On bars, the miscues were primarily landing related. Gymnasts showed a lack of patience when holding landings, which led to steps forward and back. There were also rushed handstands and leg separation on transitions between the high and low bars, mistakes that can be found in any NCAA meet week after week, only Utah had too many of them.
It was a similar story on vault, with steps taken as gymnasts tried a little too hard to stick their landings. Or in the case of Smith, were hampered by injury.
Utah wasnât perfect on floor or beam, either, with notable mistakes from McCallum and Elizabeth Ganter on floor and beam, respectively.
But it was bars and vault where the Red Rocks lost the meet and where they will need to be better going forward, particularly come the postseason.
âOn bars, we left some points out there,â Dockendorf said. âSame as on vault. Absolutely if we want to contend for the national title and Pac-12 title, we are going to have to clean up some details still.
âI mentioned earlier this week that that was going to be important for us to focus on and some of the mistakes we saw tonight are mistakes we havenât been seeing.â
Utah lost. Cal was the better team. But the Red Rocks were competitive on the road against a team they will likely see again a couple more times this year.
Utah improved its NQS, all while handling unexpected changes in lineups and the absence of Morgan, who remains in England for the time being while she vies for a spot on Team Great Britain for the Paris Olympics this summer.
Really, Utah proved capable of competing with an elite team while not at its best, which can only bode well for the future.
âIt is going to fire them up,â Dockendorf said. âThey know that we left a lot out there. Multiple lineup changes today with Amelie out and Makenna didnât do all her events and Grace didnât do her normal stuff today.
âThose are all excuses, which I am not going to use for our performance today, but (today) definitely is something we can think about for our potential come postseason.â
At the top of Utah’s roster is Lani White, the team’s leading scorer and one of its most versatile weapons. White is averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, showing she can score both from the perimeter and in transition, while also crashing the glass effectively. Her shooting splits this season, including 41.1% from three and nearly 80% at the free-throw line, which makes her a multi-faceted scoring threat.
White’s ability to hit tough jumpers and attack closeouts will test Arizona’s perimeter defense. Her rebounding numbers are also notable for a guard, meaning she could create extra offensive possessions and limit second-chance opportunities for the Wildcats.
Arizona will need to be disciplined in its rotations to prevent White from getting easy shots off screens or in catch-and-shoot situations.
Another key veteran presence for Utah is Maty Wilke. Wilke finds a lot of ways to impact the game, giving Utah a reliable offense and playmaking. Her ability to score — particularly from deep — adds spacing to Utah’s offense, and she has been an efficient shooter this year.
Wilke’s experience is especially important in late-game situations. She can handle the ball under pressure and make plays for herself or others, which puts pressure on Arizona’s defensive switches and helps Utah maintain offensive flow. Preparing for Wilke’s mobility and decision-making will be a priority for Arizona, especially in denying her rhythm from behind the arc.
Rounding out the top trio is freshman guard Avery Hjelmstad, who has quickly become a go-to scoring option. Hjelmstad is averaging nine points per game, providing Utah with scoring punch beyond its senior leaders. Her size and offensive instincts make her a matchup problem, particularly when she gets downhill or operates off the catch.
Although still early in her collegiate career, Hjelmstad’s impact cannot be understated. She helps diversify Utah’s scoring threats, meaning Arizona’s defense can’t just focus on shutting down White and Wilke. Arizona will need to communicate effectively on switches and close out hard-to-contest Hjelmstad’s perimeter attempts.
Collectively, these three players embody Utah’s balanced offensive attack. White’s scoring and rebounding, Wilke’s shot-making and experience, and Hjelmstad’s emerging scoring ability present multiple challenges for Arizona’s defense.
Utah’s offensive success this season has hinged on spreading the floor, moving the ball, and taking advantage of open looks, something these players excel at.
For Arizona to succeed, it will need to disrupt Utah’s rhythm early, contest shots at the perimeter, and also win the battle on the boards to limit second-chance points. Keeping White in check, forcing Wilke into tough decisions, and closing out aggressively on Hjelmstad could go a long way toward tipping the balance in Arizona’s favor.
Facing these threats won’t be easy, but how Arizona defends them will likely be a major storyline in this Big 12 clash.
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