- The Red Rocks earned the No. 12 seed for the Corvallis Regional.
- They face No. 5 Alabama April 3 aiming for a nationals appearance.
- Coach Dockendorf believes the team is peaking despite challenges this season.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Red Rocks are headed into familiar territory as it moves into postseason play, except as a lower-ranked team this season.
On Monday, the Red Rocks were announced a No. 12 seed who will compete in the Corvallis Regional against a tough slate of schools, including No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Alabama and No. 13 Minnesota.
The Red Rocks will take part in the first session of the Corvallis Regional on April 3 against No. 5 Alabama, Denver and Oregon State. Competing in the second session is No. 4 UCLA, No. 13 Minnesota, Iowa and the winner of the play-in meet between San Jose State and Washington.
The top two highest scores from each regional semifinals will move on to the regional finals on April 5.
Though a lower-seeded team coming into regionals this season, the Red Rocks have improved as the season has moved on, including a season-high road score, 197.675, on Saturday in a Big 12 championship win.
Head coach Carly Dockendorf said she believes her team is peaking at the right time, while noting the Red Rocks have yet to consistently score high on all events.
"We've done that a few times now where we've had one event that's a low score and we've had a high 197," Dockendorf said Saturday. "We know it is there. And regionals, it's now or never. It really is."
What's again at stake for the Red Rocks is a chance to return to Fort Worth, Texas, as the only program in the country to appear in every nationals. And while it's been an up-and-down season, Dockendorf believes her team is ready for the fight after a season full of adversity.
But that adversity, she said, has set up the team for current success.
"With regionals coming up, we need to just keep on working, keep on believing, staying focused on just our team," Dockendorf said. "Regionals is always the most intense meet of the year, and as long as we just continue to put in the work in practice and show up with everything, knowing we haven't skipped a beat, then that is the best that we have going in there."
In the Corvallis Regional, only UCLA and Utah have topped the 198 score this season, with the Bruins earning a top score of 198.150 and the Red Rocks earning a 198.025. The other two seeded teams, Alabama and Minnesota, had a top score of 197.950 and 197.825, respectively, this season.
UCLA and Utah competed in the final meet of the regular season, with the Bruins coming out on top. But the Red Rocks were without three starters in their lineups due to illness and Clara Raposo suffered a season-ending ACL injury on floor in Los Angeles to limit the team's ability to stay in the competitive meet.
The two rivals could be on a collision course again for a chance at a nationals appearance.
Also moving into postseason play from the state of Utah is Mountain West champions Utah State, who will be paired up with No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 Michigan and North Carolina in the first session of the Baton Rouge Regional on April 2. The Aggies won the Mountain West for the second straight year and will look to upset the favorites in Louisiana.
In the Tempe Regional is BYU and MPSF champions Southern Utah, who will compete in the first session against No. 6 Georgia and No. 11 Michigan State.
