University of Utah Gymnastics Team Wins Pac-12 Championship

Utah wins the conference event for the first time since 2017, with Cal second and UCLA third.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah celebrates the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championship Trophy in the Maverik Center on Saturday, March 20, 2021.

The last few performances by the Utah gymnastics team could be seen, that the disappointing performances would be a great wake-up call for the Pac-12 championship, or that they indicated that the Utes were over and on their way. at the wrong time of year.

Well, guess we know which theory was right.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cristal Isa reacts after competing on Saturday, March 20, 2021 on the uneven beams for Utah in the PAC-12 Championship at Maverik Center.

The Utah gymnastics team breaks out of its slump to deliver a dominant performance on Saturday to win the Pac-12 Championship at Maverik Center by 197,725. California overtook UCLA in the final rotation to finish second with a 197,375, while the Browns were third (196,725) and Arizona State fourth (196,375). The Utes last won the conference meeting in 2017.

“It was a great night,” Utah coach Tom Farden said. “I am very proud of the team and athletes and staff. It takes a town to win a conference championship, and I feel very grateful at the moment. ”

UCLA, which won in 2018 and 2019, was the closest contender to the Utes in the first half of the event and actually led Utah 49,525-49,325 after the first rotation.

However, there was no sense of panic among the Utes as they assumed their start on the bars would be their low score, even if it was a best season.

With the bars behind them, the Utes delivered the kind of performance they said they were capable of achieving as Utah posted one score after another of 9.9 or higher. In total, the Utes finished with 13 scores of 9.9 or higher, of which Farden has been highlighting lately.

The Utes absolutely dominated on the scales, scoring 49,675 with Cristal Isa, Maile O’Keefe and Abby Paulson all scoring 9.95.

The point was good enough to put the Utes 99-98.95 ahead of UCLA. The beam performance, as impressive as it was, was not surprising as the talent of Utes has been on the apparatus for the past two years.

What was surprising was Utah’s ability to fit that score on the floor. There, O’Keefe, Jaedyn Rucker and Sydney Soloski all had 9.95s, giving Utah a comfortable margin of 148,675 to UCLA’s 148.3 that would go into the final rotation.

Vault was disappointing, with the Utes scoring only 49.05, but by that time the Utes were comfortably ahead and had the event except locked up.

O’Keefe had such a strong season, and Saturday’s efforts seemed almost mundane to her, as she scored 9.95 seconds on everything but the vault, where she had a 9.85. Only when the final scores were achieved was it clear how wonderful she had that night when she won the all-round and earned a piece of every title except for the vault.

The immediate reaction to the Utes’ victory was that the Utes could indeed sharpen their gymnastics in the big events, just as they said they could.

“They were hungry,” Farden said. ‘I said the last two weeks’ practice was good and solid and confident, and they put it in a tough competition tonight. They have a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. ‘

As far as the program is concerned, it was a great victory, because the conference meeting has eluded the Utes in recent years. After watching UCLA win rugby titles, the Utes thought they would get their chance last year after being unbeaten, only to cancel the post-season due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Now the Utes can not only enjoy titles of the regular season and conference events; they can look forward to the NCAA regional convention in two weeks with two new confidence.

The loss of Saturday’s event could really be a devastating loss to drop the Utes in the rankings and fall out of the national picture.

Saturday’s victory puts the Utes in a whole new position, given the way they have dominated.

Yes, the event started off shaky when Abby Paulson fell off the bars in the lead, but the Utes barely cracked because they put together so many strong routines that the expected close meeting depended on an overall route.

It was the kind of gathering the Utes not only wanted, but also needed if they wanted to be taken seriously when the NCAAs threatened.

Individual results

Vault: Sekai Wright (UCLA) 9.95

Uneven bars: Maile O’Keefe (Utah), Cristal Isa (Utah), Margzetta Frazier (UCLA) 9.95

Balance bar: Maile O’Keefe (Utah), Cristal Isa (Utah), Abby Paulson (Utah) 9.95

Floor: Maile O’Keefe (Utah), Chae Campbell (UCLA), Kyana George (Cal), Pauline Tratz (UCLA), Jaedyn Rucker (Utah), Sydney Soloski (Utah), Kyla Bryant (Stanford) 9.95

Around: Maile O’Keefe (Utah) 39.7

Team results

1. Utah 197,725

2. California 197,375

3. UCLA 196,725

4. State of Arizona 196,375

5. Oregon State 195,625

Arizona 195.4

7. Stanford 195,175

8. Washington 194.4

.Source