- The Red Rocks achieved their second-highest score of the season, 197.125, in Tucson.
- Despite some missteps, they excelled on beam with a season-high score of 49.550.
- Coach Dockendorf praised the team's resilience and ability to learn from mistakes.
TUCSON, Ariz. — Ahead of the Red Rocks' road meet against Arizona Friday night, head coach Carly Dockendorf told her team to "prove yourself."
It had been a trying few weeks, with inconsistencies throughout the various meets that sometimes featured decade-long low scores, but Friday's road test was an opportunity to put together a complete meet this season and prove the team could return to consistent form.
And while it wasn't quite a complete meet in Tucson, it bordered on one as the Red Rocks finished the night with a 197.125 score to beat Arizona (195.975) and come away with the second-highest score of the season — both scores being on the road.
"I think this was a big step for us tonight, and part of that big step was that we still did make mistakes, but it was how we responded to it. ... I really think we've learned some hard lessons, and we're making some really good adjustments," Dockendorf said. "And scoring 197 with so much room still to improve."
It proved to be a big step in the right direction as the Red Rocks look to build upon incremental momentum.
After a slow start last week in the opening two rotations at home, the Red Rocks bounced back Friday and got competitive scores on bars (49.200) and vault (49.400).
Makenna Smith opened up the night on bars with a solid 9.825 score before a pair of low scores from freshman Abbi Ryssman (9.675) and Clara Raposo (9.725), but then closed out the event with back-to-back-to-back 9.90 scores from Ella Zirbes, Ana Padurariu and Avery Neff.
Zirbes continued the strong start with a 9.925 in the second spot on vault with a nearly flawless routine that ended with a small hop forward on her dismount. Sophomore Zoe Johnson followed it up with a perfect stick to earn a 9.90 to help set an early tone.
The final three gymnasts scored no lower than a 9.850 to give the Red Rocks a competitive score at the midway point in the meet.
But that momentum fizzled a bit with some missteps on floor, starting when Ashley Glynn stumbled on her first tumbling pass and nearly fell. Glynn recovered and stayed upright, but finished with a 9.625 in the leadoff spot.
Neff got the team back on track with a 9.90 score, but the scoring didn't last. Johnson followed up Neff with a complete floor routine, but could land a stick on her final tumbling pass. The momentum carried her out of bounds a few steps to finish with a 9.50 score, forcing Utah to count Glynn's score.
Zirbes got Utah back on track with a 9.875, but the judges surprisingly gave Smith a 9.750 score despite no obvious deductions to her routine. Dockendorf said she requested a routine summary to get feedback from the judges, because she didn't know, either.
But the Red Rocks didn't let the third rotation limit their potential on the night.
Elizabeth Gantner got the beam team going with a 9.850 in the leadoff spot, with Ryssman following her with a 9.875. In the third spot, Sarah Krump, who was inserted into the lineup for the first time in her career, fell off the beam, leaving the team with no room for error.
The final three gymnasts answered the call, starting with Padurariu, who performed her patented and fluid routine to earn a 9.925. Neff then followed with a 9.950 score on beam in consecutive weeks, with Camie Winger following suit with another 9.950 to closeout the meet.
It amounted to a season-high score on beam (49.550), narrowly topping the Red Rocks' previous high of 49.500 set two weeks earlier.
"I think that we have been in this situation and we didn't handle it well earlier on in the year," Dockendorf said. "Sometimes in the most challenging times you learn the most. You can see that they have learned from that mistake, that tightening up and second guessing themselves and changing what they need, because there was a mistake in front of them.
"I really felt like tonight they have learned from that, and they still just went out and did their routine, regardless of what had happened in front of them."
Team scores
No. 15 Utah
- Bars: 49.200
- Vault: 98.650 (49.400)
- Floor: 147.575 (48.925)
- Beam: 197.125 (49.550)
Arizona
- Vault: 49.050
- Bars: 97.725 (48.675)
- Beam: 146.925 (49.200)
- Floor: 195.975 (49.050)
Red Rocks scores
1st Rotation: Bars (49.200)
- Makenna Smith: 9.825
- Abbi Ryssman: 9.675
- Clara Raposo: 9.725
- Ella Zirbes: 9.900
- Ana Padurariu: 9.900
- Avery Neff: 9.900
2nd Rotation: Vault (49.400)
- Clara Raposo: 9.850
- Ella Zirbes: 9.925
- Zoe Johnson: 9.900
- Makenna Smith: 9.850
- Ashley Glynn: 9.850
- Avery Neff: 9.875
3rd Rotation: Floor (48.925)
- Ashley Glynn: 9.625
- Avery Neff: 9.900
- Zoe Johnson: 9.500
- Ella Zirbes: 9.875
- Makenna Smith: 9.750
- Sage Curtis: 9.775
4th Rotation: Beam (49.550)
- Elizabeth Gantner: 9.850
- Abbi Ryssman: 9.875
- Sarah Krump: 8.950
- Ana Padurariu: 9.925
- Avery Neff: 9.950
- Camie Winger: 9.950
