Completed Event: Gymnastics versus NCAA Championship Final on April 19, 2025 , , 4th of 4 (197.2375)
Final Score
Gymnastics
4th of 4 (197.2375)
vs NCAA Championship Final
Friday, February 7
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
197.675
vs
196.125
Arizona
Photo by: Misty-Jade Carlson
No. 4 Red Rocks Earn Season’s Second-Highest Score for 50th Birthday Celebration
2/7/2025 10:57 PM | Gymnastics
Alumni Night Score of 197.675 tops No. 19 Arizona
SALT LAKE CITY — The fourth-ranked Utah gymnastics team earned its second-highest score of the season in front of 87 alumni and a season-best crowd of 13, 115 in celebration of the Red Rock's 50th birthday at the Huntsman Center on Friday night. Utah's winning score of 197.675- 196.125 over the 19th-ranked Arizona Gym Cats surpassed last week's second-highest score set in a tri-meet with West Virginia and No. 2 Florida.
The Red Rocks turning 50 was not the only celebration happening in the Huntsman Center as fans cheered on the return of standout freshman Avery Neff on bars (9.825) after an injury she sustained against Iowa State on Jan. 17. Additionally, Ella Zirbes showed grit and determination posting a career-high 9.95 on bars, a 9.875 on floor, and a 9.80 on vault.
Usual suspects Grace McCallum and Makenna Smith did their thing once again, placing first and second, respectively, in the all-around with scores of 39.650 and 39.625 to help the Red Rocks to victory.
Utah got things started right on vault with McCallum (9.900) and Smith (9.975) wowing the crowd in the middle of the lineup for a 49.275 team total. Zirbes and Camie Winger led off with a 9.80 and 9.825, while Ashley Glynn and Amelie Morgan rounded things out with a 9.725 and 9.775.
Moving on to bars, Neff made her much-anticipated return to competition at the No. 3 spot and posted a 9.825 to earn a loud ovation from the crowd. That was followed by two 9.90s from Morgan and McCallum, before Zirbes earned a team-high on the event of 9.95, pushing the Red Rocks to a team score on bars of 49.350.
The Red Rocks kicked things up a notch on beam, earning a 49.475 with Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Ana Padurariu leading off with a 9.80. Winger followed up with a 9.85, Smith and McCallum then tied for the event high-score with 9.925. Morgan proved to be her steady self, posting a 9.875, and Elizabeth Gantner had herself a night earning a career-high of 9.90.
Utah set the Huntsman Center on fire to wrap things up on floor, posting a season-high team score of 49.575 while Red Rocks alumni cheered them on in the background.
Glynn led off by tying her career high of 9.90. Zirbes and Winger followed with 9.875s, and then the Red Rocks were off to the races with Smith going 9.95, and Jaylene Gilstrap and McCallum posting 9.925s.
Dockendorf emphasized the Red Rocks have shown steady improvement that is being converted into the confidence they need to compete at their best.
"Whether the scores reflected it or not, I really thought that we did make some really important changes," Dockendorf added. "People stepped up in areas that we needed. Twenty-four for 24 (routines)—it just keeps showing the consistency of this team and their confidence."
UP NEXT
Utah will hit the road again to face Big 12 opponent No. 26 Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 14. The meet will start at 7 p.m. MT.
UTAH EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS
Vault – 49.275
Bars – 49.350 (98.625)
Grace McCallum – 39.650 (1st place overall)
Makenna Smith – 39.625 (2nd place overall)
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed meet-day experience, from managing tickets to mobile concessions ordering, as well as video content, news and information, schedules, rosters and stats. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself meet-day ready.
The Red Rocks turning 50 was not the only celebration happening in the Huntsman Center as fans cheered on the return of standout freshman Avery Neff on bars (9.825) after an injury she sustained against Iowa State on Jan. 17. Additionally, Ella Zirbes showed grit and determination posting a career-high 9.95 on bars, a 9.875 on floor, and a 9.80 on vault.
Usual suspects Grace McCallum and Makenna Smith did their thing once again, placing first and second, respectively, in the all-around with scores of 39.650 and 39.625 to help the Red Rocks to victory.
"I'm extremely proud of the team tonight," said head coach Carly Dockendorf. "It was so much fun to have the arena full of fans and our alumni. It was a really special night, and I felt like our team really did elevate across the board."4-PEAT STICKS FROM MAK!! ??#RedRocks | #DROP pic.twitter.com/17kfo5aGLo
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) February 8, 2025
Utah got things started right on vault with McCallum (9.900) and Smith (9.975) wowing the crowd in the middle of the lineup for a 49.275 team total. Zirbes and Camie Winger led off with a 9.80 and 9.825, while Ashley Glynn and Amelie Morgan rounded things out with a 9.725 and 9.775.
Moving on to bars, Neff made her much-anticipated return to competition at the No. 3 spot and posted a 9.825 to earn a loud ovation from the crowd. That was followed by two 9.90s from Morgan and McCallum, before Zirbes earned a team-high on the event of 9.95, pushing the Red Rocks to a team score on bars of 49.350.
Utah's effort on vault and bars gave them a comfortable lead over Arizona of 98.600 to 98.125 heading into the second half of the meet.She's baaaaaaack #RedRocks | #DROP pic.twitter.com/wukG13th4h
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) February 8, 2025
The Red Rocks kicked things up a notch on beam, earning a 49.475 with Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Ana Padurariu leading off with a 9.80. Winger followed up with a 9.85, Smith and McCallum then tied for the event high-score with 9.925. Morgan proved to be her steady self, posting a 9.875, and Elizabeth Gantner had herself a night earning a career-high of 9.90.
Utah set the Huntsman Center on fire to wrap things up on floor, posting a season-high team score of 49.575 while Red Rocks alumni cheered them on in the background.
Glynn led off by tying her career high of 9.90. Zirbes and Winger followed with 9.875s, and then the Red Rocks were off to the races with Smith going 9.95, and Jaylene Gilstrap and McCallum posting 9.925s.
"We really went out there tonight and decided that we were going to make it happen," said Dockendorf. "We were going to put something on the floor that we haven't done yet, and I really felt like they did that. There were so many highlights for me tonight. I can't even list them all, but just to see people put together the work that they've been doing in practice and for it to show up on the floor. Tonight was a really special night."We see you Jay! ??
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) February 8, 2025
9?.9?2?5? on floor#RedRocks | #DROP pic.twitter.com/7uno5ksIix
Dockendorf emphasized the Red Rocks have shown steady improvement that is being converted into the confidence they need to compete at their best.
"Whether the scores reflected it or not, I really thought that we did make some really important changes," Dockendorf added. "People stepped up in areas that we needed. Twenty-four for 24 (routines)—it just keeps showing the consistency of this team and their confidence."
UP NEXT
Utah will hit the road again to face Big 12 opponent No. 26 Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 14. The meet will start at 7 p.m. MT.
UTAH EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS
Vault – 49.275
- Ella Zirbes – 9.80
- Grace McCallum – 9.90
- Camie Winger – 9.825
- Makenna Smith – 9.975
- Ashley Glynn – 9.725
- Amelie Morgan – 9.775
Bars – 49.350 (98.625)
- Makenna Smith – 9.775
- Ana Padurariu – 9.775
- Avery Neff – 9.825
- Amelie Morgan – 9.90
- Ella Zirbes – 9.95
- Grace McCallum – 9.90
- Ana Padurariu – 9.80
- Camie Winger – 9.85
- Makenna Smith – 9.925
- Amelie Morgan – 9.875
- Grace McCallum – 9.925
- Elizabeth Gantner – 9.90
- Ashley Glynn – 9.90
- Ella Zirbes – 9.875
- Camie Winger – 9.875
- Makenna Smith – 9.95
- Jaylene Gilstrap – 9.925
- Grace McCallum – 9.925
Grace McCallum – 39.650 (1st place overall)
Makenna Smith – 39.625 (2nd place overall)
OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF UTAH ATHLETICS – UTAH 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today to unlock a refreshed meet-day experience, from managing tickets to mobile concessions ordering, as well as video content, news and information, schedules, rosters and stats. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself meet-day ready.
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