Utah Gymnastics secured a spot in the Corvallis Regional Final after winning the Regional Semifinal I Session on April 3 with a score of 197.500, outpacing No. 5 Alabama, Oregon State, and Denver.
The victory ensures Utah’s continued presence in the NCAA gymnastics postseason and highlights their consistent performance across all four events. Head coach Carly Dockendorf said, “First, super proud of this team. That is a great score for us. We definitely left some tenths out there on some landings and some little things, but for us to do that on the first day of Regionals is awesome for us. We just really built our confidence heading into the final on Sunday. We competed with a lot of calmness and confidence, and stayed focused on the team from start to finish.”
Utah began strong with a 49.350 on bars in the opening rotation, taking an early lead over Oregon State (49.250), Alabama (49.175), and Denver (48.925). The Red Rocks maintained their momentum throughout each event: tying Alabama at 98.700 after beam; regaining sole possession of first place with a 49.450 floor routine; then closing out vault with another 49.350 to clinch victory.
Individual performances contributed significantly to Utah’s result: Makenna Smith opened bars with a score of 9.85; Ashley Glynn and Avery Neff each scored 9.90s; Elizabeth Gantner led off beam at 9.825 while Neff posted top scores across multiple events including beam (9.925), floor (9.925), vault (9.90 tied with Glynn), and won the all-around title at 39.650.
Alabama finished second in the session at 197.225 to also advance to Sunday’s regional final alongside Utah, while Oregon State (196.375) and Denver (195.950) ended their seasons in third and fourth place respectively.
The Red Rocks will compete next in the Corvallis Regional Final scheduled for Sunday, April 5 at 6 p.m., joined by Alabama as well as two additional teams from Friday night’s Semifinal II session.
