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
Thursday, April 17
Fort Worth, TX
7:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
NCAA Championship Semifinal
Photo by: Misty-Jade Carlson
Red Rocks Lead the Way to Final Four
4/17/2025 11:24 PM | Gymnastics
Utah Gymnastics persists in tight meet to earn top score of the NCAA Semifinal round
FORT WORTH, TX — The Red Rocks are heading to the Final Four on Saturday, April 19 after a back-and-forth battle in the NCAA Semifinals came down to the fourth rotation.
Session two of the semifinal round proved to be a true competition with Utah, UCLA, LSU, and Michigan State switching spots after each rotation in the meet. Ultimately, the Red Rocks persisted and earned the highest score of the semifinals despite starting the competition in last place.
"What an honor to be here," said head coach Carly Dockendorf. "It takes so much just to get to national championships, and we definitely don't take it for granted. I'm just so proud of this team tonight."
Makenna Smith got the ball rolling on beam with a 9.85, while Grace McCallum was good for a 9.8125. Freshman Avery Neff stole the show with a 9.9125, and Ana Padurariu rounded out the event with a 9.8875.
Ashley Glynn set the foundation with a 9.8375. Neff then added a 9.875 before the scores took off with Ella Zirbes posting a 9.90, Jaylene Gilstrap a 9.925, Smith a 9.9125, and McCallum finishing up the rotation with a 9.95.
Gilstrap, Neff, and Smith all posted 9.85s, while Smith and Zoe Johnson earned 9.8375s. McCallum earned the big score sticking her vault for a 9.95.
"We've been in that position before where it comes down to a tenth in the last rotation," said Dockendorf. "These women have worked so hard on bars this year. They are so consistent over there. I didn't have any doubt that they were going to go do what they've been practicing. They have been putting in the work every single day."
"It takes a lot to be here, and be a part of this team, and to stand in front of 15,000 fans week, after week, and carrying on the tradition of qualifying to every single National Championship" said Dockendorf. "They have just embraced it, and done it with such pride and bravery. I'm so proud of them."
The Red Rocks will have a day off to recoup before the NCAA Final on Saturday, April 19. Fans can catch the meet on ABC at 2 p.m. MT.
UTAH EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS
Beam – 49.2125
Grace McCallum– 39.675 (1st 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.
Session two of the semifinal round proved to be a true competition with Utah, UCLA, LSU, and Michigan State switching spots after each rotation in the meet. Ultimately, the Red Rocks persisted and earned the highest score of the semifinals despite starting the competition in last place.
"What an honor to be here," said head coach Carly Dockendorf. "It takes so much just to get to national championships, and we definitely don't take it for granted. I'm just so proud of this team tonight."
The Red Rocks came in fourth place after rotation one on beam, scoring a 49.2125. UCLA led the pack with a 49.5250 floor, Michigan State in second with a 49.3875 on vault, and LSU in third with a 49.3250 on bars.SEE YA SATURDAY! ?? pic.twitter.com/CGc3ykoFuu
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 18, 202
Makenna Smith got the ball rolling on beam with a 9.85, while Grace McCallum was good for a 9.8125. Freshman Avery Neff stole the show with a 9.9125, and Ana Padurariu rounded out the event with a 9.8875.
Utah jumped to second place after the next rotation, posting a 49.5625 on floor for a 98.7750 total score. Michigan State took the lead with a 98.8375 after completing bars while UCLA fell to third with a 98.7625 after going on vault, and LSU took fourth with a 98.650 after its turn on beam.A & A ??#RedRocks | #DROP pic.twitter.com/TgNScA0D5X
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 18, 2025
Ashley Glynn set the foundation with a 9.8375. Neff then added a 9.875 before the scores took off with Ella Zirbes posting a 9.90, Jaylene Gilstrap a 9.925, Smith a 9.9125, and McCallum finishing up the rotation with a 9.95.
Utah slid down to third after three rotations, posting a 49.3375 on vault to earn a total score of 148.1125 in a tight race for the top two spots to advance to Saturday. UCLA surged up to first after bars for a 148.1875, LSU shot to second after floor with a total score of 148.1500, and Michigan State fell down to fourth after beam with a 148.000.The Ella we know & love#RedRocks | @ellazirbess pic.twitter.com/a62PrStqdm
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 18, 2025
Gilstrap, Neff, and Smith all posted 9.85s, while Smith and Zoe Johnson earned 9.8375s. McCallum earned the big score sticking her vault for a 9.95.
Heading into the fourth and final rotation, the Red Rocks had to dig deep to produce a 49.650 for the meet winning score of 197.7625 to advance to Saturday's NCAA Final. UCLA stamped their ticket for Saturday just behind Utah with a 197.7375 after wrapping up on beam, while LSU came in third (197.5250) after finishing on vault, and Michigan State took fourth (197.3625) ending on floor.THAT'S OUR AMAZING GRACE??#RedRocks | @grace_mccallum2 pic.twitter.com/MzJNlTCNFM
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 18, 2025
"We've been in that position before where it comes down to a tenth in the last rotation," said Dockendorf. "These women have worked so hard on bars this year. They are so consistent over there. I didn't have any doubt that they were going to go do what they've been practicing. They have been putting in the work every single day."
Smith wasted zero time building team confidence going 9.9125 in the lead-off position. Glynn added a solid 9.80 before the backend of the lineup took off with Neff going 9.925, Morgan 9.9125, Zirbes 9.9375, and McCallum putting a bow on the night with a 9.9625.LET'S GO BIG MAK! ?? #RedRocks | @maksmith04 pic.twitter.com/ydd8xrJa8I
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 18, 2025
"It takes a lot to be here, and be a part of this team, and to stand in front of 15,000 fans week, after week, and carrying on the tradition of qualifying to every single National Championship" said Dockendorf. "They have just embraced it, and done it with such pride and bravery. I'm so proud of them."
REGIONAL SEMIFINAL I STANDINGS5TH STRAIGHT FINAL FOUR! ??#RedRocks pic.twitter.com/i2dBRbggUh
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) April 18, 2025
- Oklahoma- 197.5500
- Missouri- 197.3000
- Florida- 197.2000
- Alabama- 196.8250
- Utah- 197.7625
- UCLA- 197.7375
- LSU- 197.5250
- Michigan State- 197.3625
The Red Rocks will have a day off to recoup before the NCAA Final on Saturday, April 19. Fans can catch the meet on ABC at 2 p.m. MT.
UTAH EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS
Beam – 49.2125
- Amelie Morgan – 9.75
- Makenna Smith – 9.85
- Grace McCallum – 9.8125
- Avery Neff- 9.9125
- Camie Winger – 8.975
- Ana Padurariu – 9.8875
- Ashley Glynn – 9.8375
- Ella Zirbes – 9.90
- Avery Neff– 9.875
- Jaylene Gilstrap – 9.925
- Makenna Smith – 9.9125
- Grace McCallum – 9.95
- Jaylene Gilstrap – 9.85
- Grace McCallum – 9.95
- Avery Neff – 9.85
- Ashley Glynn – 9.8375
- Makenna Smith – 9.85
- Zoe Johnson – 9.8375
- Makenna Smith – 9.9125
- Ashley Glynn – 9.80
- Avery Neff – 9.925
- Amelie Morgan – 9.9125
- Ella Zirbes – 9.9375
- Grace McCallum – 9.9625
Grace McCallum– 39.675 (1st 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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