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SALT LAKE CITY — As UCLA gymnast and Olympian Jordan Chiles prepared to perform her floor routine to closeout the Pac-12 women's gymnastics championship meet in West Valley City on Saturday, the Red Rocks stood anxiously by as the team awaited the final results to be tabulated.
And as Chiles started her routine, one that eventually earned her a near perfect 9.975 score, the Red Rocks learned they had clinched a historic win. Utah edged out UCLA 197.925-197.850 to claim the program's third consecutive Pac-12 championship — the first time in Pac-12 history that a team had three-peat.
It was a come-from-behind performance that Utah head coach Tom Farden called one of the "gutsiest win in Utah history" — at least in the time he's been at Utah — and one of the "hardest championships we've won" on a night that took everything to come out on top. But the Pac-12 championship meet was just the appetizer to the gymnastics entree to come.
On Monday, the fifth-seeded Red Rocks learned their postseason fate. Utah was selected to participate in the Los Angeles regional, where fourth-seeded UCLA will host the event. While the two teams will not compete in the first round of the regional, it sets up a potential regional final meet between the top two Pac-12 programs for a chance at nationals.
Both could — and on paper should — return to nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, together, but the Los Angeles regional is, arguably, the toughest of the four regional sites based on seeding. As a result, it could bring unwanted chaos to an otherwise projected finish for both Pac-12 programs.
SEC schools No. 12 Auburn and No. 13 Missouri, which were seeded in the regional based on their National Qualifying Score, will join UCLA and Utah in Los Angeles. Also participating in the three-day regional is Stanford, Southern Utah, Washington, BYU and Boise State — all of which were added based on geography.
BYU and Boise State will participate in a two-team elimination meet on March 29 for a chance to compete in the regional semifinal on March 30 against UCLA, Missouri and Stanford. Utah will compete in a second regional semifinal session against Auburn, Stanford and Western Michigan.
The regional final will take place on April 1, with the top two teams advancing to nationals. Utah remains the only program in the country to make every nationals since its inception, a total of 46 consecutive seasons.
With the two weeks off before regionals, Utah could get two key gymnasts back in their lineups. Olympian Grace McCallum and senior Jillian Hoffman suffered injuries late in the season but could be back for postseason action. Farden said McCallum is "doing great" and is "fantastic on bars," while adding that "my gut tells me we'll have her back in postseason" for Hoffman.
Coming off three season-ending injuries, Hoffman became a stable fixture for the Red Rocks on vault in the anchor position and would instantly add to the team's lineup — and overall starting values — in her return. McCallum's presence on every event has been missed and would add a proven gymnast to whatever event she's able to compete in should she be available.
The other regional pairings can be seen below (or click here).
