Upcoming Event: Gymnastics versus NCAA Championships on April 16, 2026 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Gymnastics
vs NCAA Championships
The University of Utah Athletics
Thursday, April 16
Fort Worth, TX
7:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Misty-Jade Carlson
Three Red Rocks Set to Compete for Individual Titles at National Championship
4/14/2026 11:47 AM | Gymnastics
Avery Neff, Ella Zirbes, and Ana Padurariu take stage in semifinal session II
FORT WORTH, Texas--Â Utah Gymnastics will be represented at the NCAA National Championship by athletes Avery Neff (all-around), Ella Zirbes (floor), and Ana Padurariu (beam) as they compete for individual event titles.
Fans can cheer on the Red Rocks individual competitors on Thursday, April 16th in Session II at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN2.
Neff will rotate with the UCLA Bruins as she competes in all four events, while Zirbes and Padurariu will rotate with the Minnesota Golden Gophers as they compete on floor and beam respectively.
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NUMBER ONE NEFF
ZOETIC ZIRBES
PADU "WOW" RIU
 FOLLOW THE RED ROCKS
For an inside look at the Utah Gymnastics program, including tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Red Rocks on social media (TikTok: @utahgymnastics |Instagram: @utahgymnastics).
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
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Fans can cheer on the Red Rocks individual competitors on Thursday, April 16th in Session II at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN2.
Neff will rotate with the UCLA Bruins as she competes in all four events, while Zirbes and Padurariu will rotate with the Minnesota Golden Gophers as they compete on floor and beam respectively.
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NUMBER ONE NEFF
- Neff ranks No. 3 in the county in the all-around, tied eighth on vault, tied 12th on bars, and tied 11th on beam- earning WCGA All-American first team honors for the all-around and vault, and second team honors on bars and beam. Neff is now an 8x All-American (five regular season and three NCAA).
- Neff qualified to compete for a title in the NCAA National Championship as an individual in the all-around. She will rotate with the UCLA Bruins.
- Neff was named the WCGA Gymnast of the Year for region 2 (North Central) on 4/8.
- Neff placed first on vault (9.90- tied with teammate Ashley Glynn), beam (9.925), floor (9.925) and all-around (39.650) during Session I of the Regional Semifinals and walked away the Corvallis Regional beam and all-around champion after all eight teams competed. Neff earned her first career all-around title last season at the Salt Lake Regional, posting the exact same score (39.650).
- With Neff's Regional all-around title, she now sits tied fourth in program history with MyKayla Skinner and Grace McCallum for all-around wins in a season (7).
- 2026 Big 12 Gymnast of the Year and was the 2025 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year the season prior.
- 2026 Big 12 all-around champion (39.700), bars champion (9.90), and floor champion (9.975)- Neff's floor score was a career-high while her all-around score tied her career-best for the third time this season.
- Named to the All-Big 12 vault, bars, beam, floor, and all-around teams (3/18).
- 7x Big 12 Gymnast of the Week in 2026.
- Neff earned her second-highest career all-around score of 39.675 against No. 5 UCLA while going toe-to-toe with Olympian Jordan Chiles for the crown on 3/14. Neff earned one win on bars posting a 9.975 out of the gate at Pauley Pavilion while also recording a 9.925 on vault, a 9.90 on beam, and a 9.875 on floor.
- Neff tied for the beam title with a 9.875 against WVU and BYU (3/7).
- Neff earned the all-around crown against Denver going 39.650. She also secured the bars and beam titles with 9.95s.
- Sophomore Neff earned the all-around crown against Southern Utah (2/20), tying her career-high score of 39.700 set against BYU in back-to-back weeks. Neff went on to notch event wins on vault with her third career perfect 10 (second on vault), and tying on bars with Padurariu (9.95) while posting solid scores of 9.925 on floor and 9.825 on beam.
- Neff earned the all-around crown, setting a career-high score of 39.700 against BYU (2/13). Neff went on to notch event wins on bars with her second career perfect 10, beam matching her career-high of 9.95, and setting a career-high on floor of 9.95.
- Neff earned the all-around crown with a score of 39.625 against Arizona (2/6). Neff also notched event wins on bars (9.90), beam (9.95), and floor (9.90).
- Neff nearly cleaned house on event wins against the Wildcats taking the all-around, bars, beam, and floor titles.
- Neff earned the all-around title against Arizona State going 39.500.
- Neff earned the bars title against Iowa State (1/25).
- Neff made waves in the college gymnastics' world posting the first perfect 10 of the 2026 season on vault during the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad (1/10/26). It was the first perfect score of the sophomore's fledgling collegiate career.
- Earned Utah's first Big 12 Weekly award (Gymnast of the Week) on 1/14/26.
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ZOETIC ZIRBES
- Zirbes has been quietly good for the Red Rocks, posting steady performances on vault, bars, and floor with occasional appearances in the all-around adding in beam to her rotation.
- Zirbes is currently tied 14th in the country on vault, is tied 15th on bars, and tied 11th on floor- earning WCGA All-American second team honors on all three events. Zirbes is a 6x All-American (three regular season, three NCAA).
- Zirbes qualified to compete for a title in the NCAA National Championship as an individual on floor. She will rotate with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
- Zirbes tied her career-highs on floor (9.95) and beam (9.875) at the Big 12 Championship and took third in the all-around (39.525) to give the Red Rocks the perfect sweep in the category.
- Zirbes was named to the All-Big 12 vault, bars, and floor teams (3/18).
- Zirbes earned a career-high in the all-around with a 39.550 after posting a pair of 9.90s on bars and floor, along with a 9.925 on vault and a 9.825 on beam (3/14).
- Zirbes took the all-around title against WVU and BYU with a career-high 39.450 and was also the vault winner with a career-high tying 9.925 (3/7).
- Zirbes competed in the all-around for the first time since Arizona State on Jan. 30, taking second-place behind Neff with a 39.375 while taking the floor title with a 9.95 (3/1)
- The Utah junior proved a steady force once again on three events against SUU (2/20) going 9.85 on vault, 9.925 on bars, and 9.925 on floor.
- Zirbes put up an impressive outing against BYU (2/13) setting a career-high on bars (9.975) and matching her career-high on floor (9.95) for a piece of the floor title.
- Against Arizona (2/6), Zirbes matched her career-high on vault (9.925) while posting a 9.90 on bars and a 9.875 on floor.
- At BOU (1/12), Zirbes was a grounding force earning a 9.875 on vault, a 9.95 on bars, and a 9.925 on floor.
- Zirbes earned her first all-around win to open the 2026 season against Minnesota and Iowa (1/2) with a 39.350.
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PADU "WOW" RIU
- Padurariu earned her first All-America nod of her career as a WCGA regular season selection (second team bars). She is tied 15th in the country on the apparatus.
- Padurariu qualified to compete for a title in the NCAA National Championship as an individual on beam. She will rotate with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
- 2026 Big 12 Specialist of the Year.
- 2026 All-Big 12 bars and beam team selection.
- Padurariu earned a career-high on bars during Senior Day against West Virginia and BYU (3/7) topping her previous high of 9.95 with a 9.975.
- Padurariu tied her career-high on beam (9.95) on the road against Iowa State (1/25).
- 25-27 on hit routines for 2026, and 44-47 in her career.
- Padurariu has tallied 7 career victories (4 bars, 3 beam) -- 5 of which came in 2026 (4 bars, 1 beam).
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 FOLLOW THE RED ROCKS
For an inside look at the Utah Gymnastics program, including tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Red Rocks on social media (TikTok: @utahgymnastics |Instagram: @utahgymnastics).
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
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