8 quick impressions from the Red Rocks Preview

Another year of NCAA women’s gymnastics has arrived, and it was kicked off at the University of Utah with the annual Red Rocks Preview Friday night at the Huntsman Center.

It wasn’t a sellout, scores weren’t kept and all 14 gymnasts competed at least once — likely the only time fans will see that this season — but it was college gymnastics returned to center stage.

Here are some quick impressions from the night.

Utah remains an elite team

It is no secret that Red Rocks dealt with considerable upheaval during the offseason, with the departures of former head coach Tom Farden as well as the transfers of Jillian Hoffman (LSU), Lucy Stanhope (Nebraska) and Sage Thompson (Oregon State), plus Cristal Isa and Abby Brenner exhausting their remaining eligibility and the early retirement of Kara Eaker.

There was legitimate reason to question and/or wonder if Utah would be affected by all the change, as the team brought in five new gymnasts and has a new head coach in Carly Dockendorf.

It wasn’t a competitive meet, but the preview showed that Red Rocks are still the Red Rocks, i.e. one of the best women’s gymnastics teams in the country.

Be it fifth-year seniors Maile O’Keefe, Abby Paulson and Jaedyn Rucker, high-profile juniors Grace McCallum and Amelie Morgan, sophomore Makenna Smith, Temple transfer Ashley Glynn or freshmen Ella Zirbes, Elizabeth Gantner or Camie Winger, Utah has legitimate talent on every event and goes six gymnasts deep on every event.

Watch out for Makenna Smith

A sophomore this season, Smith was in her element Friday night, more so perhaps than in any meet last year.

Smith had a strong freshman season, competing in the all-around multiple times and making an impact at nationals, but she appears to be on the verge of a true breakout campaign.

She looked much improved and more comfortable on beam, was arguably Utah’s most electric vaulter and was dynamic and explosive on floor.

Per Dockendorf, Smith is likely to compete in the all-around this season.

“I think Makenna loves gymnastics and she just loves performing,” Dockendorf said. “She just loves being out there. Freshman year is hard. It is hard for a lot of reasons. I think she used last year to gain some tools of how to handle big meets.

“She competed on multiple events at nationals. I think just carrying over the confidence that was built last season, that’s where her starting point was this fall and that will likely continue to grow.”

Uneven bars could be the Red Rocks’ best event

In recent seasons, balance beam has been Utah’s clear strength, but the uneven bars lineup may make a run at that title this year.

With the likes of Winger, Smith, Zirbes, Morgan, McCallum and O’Keefe, plus depth with Glynn, Utah has a bars lineup that could rival the best that will be seen this season in the NCAA.

Morgan, McCallum and O’Keefe all have considerable experience, but Smith, Zirbes and Glynn all had impressive showings Friday, while Winger teased her potential despite a few miscues.

Dockendorf credited assistant coach Jimmy Pratt for some of the Red Rocks’ leap forward on bars, saying “he is a bar wizard.”

“He is incredible. I think bringing in some of his technical expertise helped.”

The talent of the freshmen has as well. Winger and Zirbes have stepped in and helped replace three bar routines Utah lost — from Isa, Brenner and Thompson — and the team didn’t seem to miss a beat with them in the lineup.

“Our freshmen bring in a lot of talent and confidence in that event,” Dockendorf said.

Ashley Glynn will become a fan favorite

A transfer from Temple, where she excelled on vault while at times competing in the all-around, Glynn has the potential to compete on three events for Utah this season — vault, bars and floor.

Her vault will all but surely be part of the regular lineup, and her bars routine looks like it is good enough to let her crack into that lineup more often than not.

More than anything else, Glynn appeared unfazed by the environment of the Huntsman Center, with Dockendorf praising her, along with the freshmen.

“I was so proud of the freshmen and Ashley, their first time being out here. This is more fans than they’ve ever competed in front of, and for them to go out there and just do their routines just like they do in practice every day, that really stood out to me a lot.”

Glynn’s vault will win Utah fans over. Her height and distance were among the best of any gymnast and she competes a 10.0 routine.

If she can consistently land it, she should quickly acquire fanfare, a la what happened a year ago with Brenner and Hoffman.

Ella Zirbes may well be the next Utah superstar

Following the meet during interviews, Zirbes was visibly nervous. She is a freshman, after all. On the competition floor, however, she looked like anything but a freshman.

Zirbes, along with Winger and Gantner, was a five-star recruit, and she showcased why.

Her vault was solid, her bars even better and her floor routine was on the level of regulars in that lineup.

Per Dockendorf, her beam is still a work in progress, but Zirbes is determined to compete in the all-around and Dockendorf won’t put it past her.

“I am extremely impressed with Ella Zirbes,” Dockendorf said. “(Beam) is not her event. It was not her event in club, it was not her event when she got here. She was like, ‘I do not like this event.’

“She is determined to be an all-arounder, and she has worked extremely hard. Too see her out there tonight do that beam routine, I was so proud of her.”

Utah may have enough 10.0 vaults

The Red Rocks didn’t showcase their true potential on vault Friday, playing it safe by and large, but afterward Dockendorf confirmed that the team has seven 10.0-valued vaults that are competition ready.

Based off what was competed Friday, that likely means vaults by McCallum, Rucker, Smith, Glynn, Winger, Zirbes and potentially Morgan or freshman Olivia Kennedy.

Vault has been the biggest issue for Utah for multiple seasons now, the reason the Red Rocks have plateaued as the third-place finishing team at nationals three years in a row.

There was real vault talent on display, though, from McCallum, Rucker, Smith and Glynn especially.

“Definitely when we open (the season) our goal is to have six 10.0 vaults,” Dockendorf said. “They’ve worked really hard on those all fall. Jimmy’s just been drilling away.”

The all-arounder is making a return

The last couple of seasons, Utah has gone away from having multiple gymnasts compete in the all-around, at least regularly.

Some of that was depth related, some of that was talented related.

As of Friday, the Red Rocks appear primed to have multiple all-arounders this season, namely McCallum, Smith and potentially either Zirbes or Winger.

Lack of depth doesn’t appear to be the reason, with McCallum noting, “It is really exciting to be back out there and seeing the amount of depth we have this year. ... This team has so much potential.”

No, the reason Utah may have multiple all-arounders is the talent level of the freshmen class.

“They have so many strengths,” McCallum said. “They are such a powerhouse class. They can contribute so much to this team.”

Said Dockendorf: “We will definitely have some all-arounders throughout the season.”

Take in Maile O’Keefe, Abby Paulson and Jaedyn Rucker while you can

The fifth year senior is soon to be a thing of the past, at least in volume, and the Red Rocks have a trio of special seniors.

O’Keefe is the reigning NCAA all-around champion, Rucker is a NCAA vault champ and Paulson has been near the level of both on multiple events.

All three were clearly in their element Friday and somehow maybe even better than they’ve been before.

That applies specifically to O’Keefe and Paulson on beam, where both were as good as they’ve ever been.

“Every year I feel like they keep getting a little better” Dockendorf said. “... They just keep growing and gaining better perspective of what they are doing.”

In what is a very obvious observation, an improved O’Keefe and Paulson can only help Utah this season.