The Red Rocks handily defeated ASU, Boise State and Southern Utah to win their regional semifinal and move within a meet of nationals.
It was win or go home for Utah’s gymnastics team Friday afternoon.
Well, sort of.
Four teams — Utah, Arizona State, Boise State and Southern Utah — competed in the first of two NCAA regional semifinals held inside the Maverik Center in West Valley City, competitions wherein the two teams that finished with the highest scores would advance to the regional final, while the two teams that finished with the lowest scores would have their seasons come to an end.
There was little doubt that Utah would find a way to finish among the top two. The sixth-ranked Red Rocks were one of the best teams in the country during the regular season, Pac-12 champions twice over, and on paper, by far the best team in their semifinal.
At the close of competition, the Red Rocks proved just that, in case anyone needed more convincing. Utah soundly defeated ASU, Boise State and Southern Utah, scoring a 197.500, nearly a point better than the second place Sun Devils (196.600).
The Red Rocks won or tied for first on every event, except vault, scoring a 49.550 on balance beam, a 49.375 on uneven bars and floor exercise and a 49.200 on vault. Sophomore Maile O’Keefe, the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, won the all-around competition with a 39.575 and also picked up an event win on beam with a 9.950.
Most importantly, though, Utah survived to live another day. That is the theme of the postseason for the Red Rocks and really every gymnastics team still competing. As head coach Tom Farden like to say, “top two gets you through,” and with their performance Friday, Utah stayed alive.
“The theme was live to fight another day,” Farden said. “It was a good meet in terms of the result, coming in here and securing that win.”
Defining moment
Utah set the tone for the meet as soon as possible, with an opening rotation that was better than what any other team was able to muster on any event all afternoon long.
The Red Rocks started on beam, their strongest event this year, and save for a fall from Lucy Stanhope, every Utah gymnast scored a 9.875 or better, including a 9.950 from O’Keefe and a 9.925 from Abby Paulson.
Maile O'Keefe leads us on beam with a 9.95 in the anchor spot!
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 2, 2021
ESPN3 pic.twitter.com/aLoUCvq1js
Alexia Burch led things off with a 9.875 — more on leadoff routines in a bit — but it was Cristal Isa, Adrienne Randall, Paulson and O’Keefe who took things to another level. And while the team’s beam score was not a season-high, it was nonetheless one of Utah’s better performances this year. It showed early on that the Red Rocks were simply in a different class than their competition.
“Our goal was to stay clean and confident and consistent across the whole meet,” Paulson said. “We still have a lot to improve on and more potential in us, but we did what we needed to do.”
Area for improvement
As good as Utah was, there were still mistakes made. Farden, Paulson and Isa all spoke to that.
“We were a little steppy and made minor mistakes here and there,” Farden said. “Little uncharacteristic at times. Lucy has been really good over there (on beam), and that was uncharacteristic of her. And then Jaedyn (Rucker) stepped out of bounds (on floor). She was a little over enthusiastic.”
Outside of those miscues by Stanhope and Rucker, there weren’t really any glaring mistakes. Utah was just a bit too bouncy on landings on floor, dragging their feet or getting a little too close for comfort to the out-of-bounds line. And sticks remained pretty elusive on bars and vault, especially vault.
Sydney Soloski wraps us up with a 9.90 on floor!
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 2, 2021
ESPN3 pic.twitter.com/uSVd8FyQnp
None of that was a surprise for Farden, though. He expected as much.
“We can be sharper with our landings (on floor),” he said. “We were bouncing. And we were a little steppy on vault and bars. But that was the plan, to not be perfect today and hit a clean meet.”
Area for excitement
There was plenty reasons for Utah to be excited at the conclusion of competition.
As Isa said, “today wasn’t our best day, but we were still really strong.”
The most obvious reason for excitement was the team’s bars rotation. Utah scored a new season-high on that event, and perhaps more importantly, didn’t suffer a fall or count a score under a 9.850.
Cristal Isa ends the meet with a 9.90 on bars for the Red Rocks! pic.twitter.com/kEBpmq5Hjm
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 2, 2021
Sticks remain an issue, but for a meet at least, the Red Rocks looked almost comfortable on bars, which couldn’t really be said at any other point this season.
It wasn’t just the bars rotation either, though. One of the most encouraging aspects of the meet was the success had by the Red Rocks who led off rotations.
Burch, Randall, Isa and Paulson all lead off on an event, and none scored lower than a 9.825. Burch’s 9.875 on beam got the meet started in a hurry, while Paulson’s 9.850 on bars set the stage for that breakout performance. Randall has been in and out of the floor lineup throughout the year, but her leadoff routine earned a 9.850 and enabled Utah to weather Rucker’s mistake.
“We had a few mistakes, but the rest of the lineup hit,” Paulson said. “It was business as usual.”
Maybe even a little better than usual.
“We want to stay at this level,” Farden said, “or maybe squeeze out a little more. This is what we wanted, so we are pleased with that.”
What’s next?
Utah had little intention of dwelling on the competition after it was over. That is because they will now compete in the Salt Lake City regional final Saturday night.
And all eyes, whether the Red Rocks will admit it or not, are on the third-ranked LSU Tigers. LSU defeated Utah at the 2019 regionals and the Red Rocks want to return the favor this year.
“We are going into tomorrow with the mindset that we are the best team,” Isa said. “We have seen so many upsets this season, so it is anyone’s game and if we bring our A-game, we can beat anyone. It is always fun competing against LSU because everyone is expecting a great meet and that is exactly what is going to happen tomorrow.”
“We know what is on the line,” Farden added. “Top two gets us through, but in all reality we would like to win another regional crown.”
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3wgzuqq
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