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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The odds were significantly stacked against the Red Rocks after the first rotation of the Gainesville regional final Sunday afternoon.
The Red Rocks suffered their worst rotation of the season on uneven bars, recording a 48.975 score to end a season-long streak of every event hitting over 49.0. It also ended a 104-meet streak (dating back to 2017) of recording a score above 49.0 on bars.
The poor start — which included a fall by Alani Sabado in the anchor spot and a 9.500 by Makenna Smith in a rare mistake in the leadoff spot — put the Red Rocks in a distant fourth place and their nation-leading streak of making every nationals in history at risk.
"I think because that was the first routine up, it definitely shook the team and added extra pressure and nerves for the next five bar routines," Red Rocks head coach Carly Dockendorf said, speaking to Smith's early mistake. "But we had a job to do and we definitely didn't give up."
But after a solid middle two events — beam (49.475) and floor (49.625) — the Red Rocks had some life and found themselves tied with second-place Missouri with a 148.075 score.
Florida ran away with the meet early behind back-to-back 49.60+ scores and had locked up one of the two nationals spots, and Michigan State stumbled to last place, leaving the final spot for nationals between Missouri and Utah going into the final rotation.
Grace McCallum and Ella Zirbes stated out with solid 9.850 scores on vault. The Red Rocks secured the second spot following a 9.90 by Ashley Glynn and back-to-back 9.950 scores by Makenna Smith and Jaedyn Rucker, lifting the team to a 197.575 final score.
When Smith stuck her landing, Dockendorf visibly looked like she knew her team was ready to take the second spot and that nationals was on the table.
"I really just felt like in that moment that was the turning point," Dockendorf said, "that this was going to be our meet and we were going to punch our ticket to nationals."
It was a complete rebound performance for Smith, who shook off an early mistake on bars and then recorded a 9.90 or higher on all three final events.
"She came back and just did incredible on her next three events," Dockendorf said. "I think that just speaks to who she is as a person and her character and her desire to win. She wasn't gonna give up. She loves to compete. She loves us to win, and I think she just kind of use that first rotation and the mistake that she had made to really step up for the team and fight for everything moving forward on those last three rotations for her."
Missouri went in the opposite direction and had a fall in the second spot, and failed to score anything over a 9.875 on beam. The Tigers finished in third place, missing the cut, with a 197.325 score.
Florida won the meet with a 198.325 and Michigan State rounded out the meet with a 196.625.
"Quite an interesting meet," Dockendorf said. "Definitely not how I anticipated it going. ... We apparently tried some new things we haven't done all year, like jumping off the beam and casting hands over. Just really want to keep it exciting for the fans; I think that's what we're really doing."
Dockendorf, though, said she still maintained confidence in her team after bars despite facing a 0.625 deficit after one routine — even if there was a lot of stress that went into the final three rotations.
"I definitely had a roller coaster of emotions, but I knew after bars that we had three events that we could score really high on; and it seemed like after the first rotation, the bar judges were judging a little more tight than the other three rotation," Dockendorf said. "So I knew that everyone else still had to come to that event and that we had a really good opportunity to just go big on beam and floor and vault and get some scores that we knew we are capable of doing."
With the second-place finish, the Red Rocks secured their 48th straight nationals appearance. The program that Greg Marsden started remains the only gymnastics school in history to make every nationals appearance.
The Red Rocks began the comeback in the second rotation, but it was far from perfect as McCallum fell off the beam after trying to land on a flip in the third spot. But 9.90 scores by Amelie Morgan and Smith to start the rotation helped stabilize the event, and Maile O'Keefe added a 9.950 in the fifth spot to lift the team to third after some stumbles by Michigan State on bars.
Floor is where the Red Rocks shined, though — as they've done for much of the season.
Smith led off the event with a 9.90 score, and was followed by a career-high 9.950 by Abby Paulson to set the early tone. Jaylene Gilstrap continued the high marks in the fourth spot with a 9.950, followed by a 9.925 by Maile O'Keefe and a 9.90 by McCallum to round out the event. It was all enough to complete the comeback and leave no doubt.
The Red Rocks' comeback coincided with some small missteps by Missouri on bars — a tough event for every team outside of Florida — and a final rotation determined the final spot.
Nationals will take place at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, from April 18-20.
Team scores
No. 4 Florida
- Beam: 49.600
- Floor: 99.250 (49.650)
- Vault: 148.825 (49.575)
- Bars: 198.325 (49.500)
No. 5 Utah
- Bars: 48.975
- Beam: 98.450 (49.475)
- Floor: 148.075 (49.625)
- Vault: 197.575 (49.500)
No. 12 Michigan State
- Vault: 49.425
- Bars: 98.425 (49.000)
- Beam: 147.100 (48.675)
- Floor: 196.625 (49.525)
No. 13 Missouri
- Floor: 49.525
- Vault: 98.800 (49.275)
- Bars: 148.075 (49.275)
- Beam: 197.325 (49.250)
Red Rocks team scores
1st Rotation: Bars (48.975)
- Makenna Smith: 9.500
- Ella Zirbes: 9.825
- Amelie Morgan: 9.825
- Maile O'Keefe: 9.875
- Grace McCallum: 9.950
- Alani Sabado: 9.200
2nd Rotation: Beam (49.475)
- Amelie Morgan: 9.900
- Makenna Smith: 9.900
- Grace McCallum: 9.350
- Abby Paulson: 9.850
- Maile O'Keefe: 9.950
- Jaylene Gilstrap: 9.875
3rd Rotation: Floor (49.625)
- Makenna Smith: 9.900
- Abby Paulson: 9.950
- Jaedyn Rucker: 9.850
- Jaylene Gilstrap: 9.950
- Maile O'Keefe: 9.925
- Grace McCallum: 9.900
4th Rotation: Vault (49.500)
- Grace McCallum: 9.850
- Ella Zirbes: 9.850
- Ashley Glynn: 9.900
- Makenna Smith: 9.950
- Jaedyn Rucker: 9.950
- Jaylene Gilstrap: 9.625
