After falling short of nationals, Red Rocks optimistic about future of program

SALT LAKE CITY — The streak was all anyone wanted to talk about.

For 49 consecutive seasons, the University of Utah gymnastics program had advanced to the sport's nationals meet. But as the years went on — and the streak continued — it got tougher to qualify for nationals and keep the longest streak in the NCAA alive.

Schools around the country got better and the ways to qualify for nationals became more challenging — including the most recent shift to only take eight schools. And in a sport with subjective scoring, anything was possible.

The Red Rocks were good enough — their regional final score was higher than two teams that qualified to nationals — but members of the team knew they could be better and more consistent. And for the first time in program history, the Red Rocks failed to advance to nationals.

The night of April 5 was one nobody on the team would forget; how could they? And though it was difficult to be the first team in program history to miss out on nationals, it wasn't one that has shaken the core of the team.

If anything, it's became an opportunity to grow within a program steeped in tradition and success.

"I don't think it was a defining moment," Red Rocks coach Carly Dockendorf said. "I think it was a moment for refinement moving forward, because we all we need to refine and be better. And I don't think it's a monumental moment and everything's changed, because whether it's a moment where you win, or a moment of darkness, or whatever you want to call it, it's really about the process and how you grow as a person through it. That is life changing. It's not like that moment."

Missing out on nationals — and its associated streak — was difficult, they're not denying that, but only one team wins it every year. Each year is an opportunity to reach the pinnacle of the sport, and there was more the Red Rocks needed to do to get to the top.

"You have to break something down in order to build it back up stronger," team captain Avery Neff said. "There was a lot of breaking down this year. There was a lot of hardships that we had to go through as a team with coaches and everything — everybody had to endure a lot of hardships. And I think that's one thing that's really going to grow us as a team.

"Maybe it wasn't our best, maybe it wasn't good enough to come out on top, but that doesn't get to takeaway from how hard we worked, how hard we fought to the end. ... Sometimes it's not going to go our way, and that's how sports goes; and that's when you come back with a stronger mindset and you're ready to work harder."

Dockendorf said the team "hit that bottom spot" a few times over the season — including two meet scores in the 195's and a 196.450 at home against Arizona State five meets into the season — after inconsistent meets, as well as an assistant coach leaving the program midway through the season.

But there was also a season-high score of 198.025 against BYU midway through the season before a gradual build toward postseason competition, including a Big 12 championship and a regional high score in the semifinals. It was a team that continued to fight and persevere through a season of change.

"It felt like we couldn't catch a break," Dockendorf said. "Sometimes so many things are out of our control and some things in our control. And so I really do think that we are changing the culture at Utah. It has been changing over the past few years for the better, and sometimes you've got to go through a bumpy patch to get to where you're going."

Even with the context of the season in the rear-view mirror, nobody on the roster is looking back. In the minds of the gymnasts and the coaching staff, it's a one-year blip to an otherwise historical run in NCAA sports.

"No one's ever gonna take away 49 years of going to a national championship," Dockendorf said. "I mean, that record will never be broken. And even when we add to it next year, it will continue to grow. Just because the consecutive streak may have ended, I mean, that history is set in stone and it is truly untouchable."

Already, the gymnasts are focused on the upcoming season.

"I'm already excited to get back into the gym with this new team and start working," gymnast Ella Zirbes said. "I think we really brought hard work to a whole new level this year. And, obviously, it sucked that it didn't get to be shown on the national stage, but I think we, this past team, really set the standard for hard work at Utah gymnastics.

"I'm excited to see just how much further this team can go with that."

Zirbes added that she believes next year's team will be "very dangerous" because the team knows "what it's like now to just go all out." And there won't be that little streak hanging over the team's head.

"We won't have the pressure of the streak anymore, which obviously was great to have — that's great — but we won't have the pressure in the back of our head anymore, so we'll really know to just go all out. I think that'll be kind of our theme the whole season."

The 2027 team will be a team driven by redemption, and one that has a clearer vision of how it can get to the top. It's a work in progress and one that Dockendorf teaches shouldn't be the only defining characteristic of the gymnasts on the roster.

Reaching the pinnacle of the sport is the ultimate goal, but for Dockendorf, it's not the only defining characteristic of the gymnasts on the roster. It's that message that has resonated most with the gymnasts, who are excited to see their head coach have her contract extended by four years even after the team fell short of the mark this last season.

"She's a great coach, and she's a great leader for this program, and she's done so many wonderful things, so I'm just happy she gets to stay," Zirbes said. "I know she's going to continue to do wonders for the program."

"I'm glad the university still has the same belief that we do, too," Neff added. "And even though there was a lot of changes this year, that doesn't mean that that's Carly, that means that it's the team; it's the team figuring everything out. I'm grateful to know that the university has just as much as belief in her as we do as a team. We are a team for a reason, and that includes everybody being a part of it."

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