Nationals is a chance for Utah to let loose

Amid all the excitement, thrill and jubilation that followed Utah gymnastics’ memorable rally in the NCAA Gainesville regional final — a comeback from last place to second that clinched a record 48th-consecutive trip to nationals for Utah — there was a palpable sense of relief.

It was visible on the faces of the gymnasts afterward. It could be heard in the voice of Utah coach Carly Dockendorf, too.

The 2024 Utah gymnastics team had made the right kind of history. The continued kind.

The Red Rocks hold a unique place in the history of women’s college gymnastics. They are the only team that has qualified to nationals every single year. Utah may not be the current dynasty — that title belongs to Oklahoma; Utah may not hold the record for most national titles — that honor belongs to Georgia; but Utah is the only team that has qualified for nationals every year possible.

That success is a blessing. Compete for the Utah and you are all but assured to get a chance to prove yourself on the highest stage of the sport. But that legacy is also a burden — more and more every year. It has become a weight that cannot be ignored or shrugged off for any Utah gymnast.

“I think it is something that you can’t really (understand) unless you are a Red Rock,” Dockendorf said. “The tradition of making nationals every single year is something that only Utah gymnastics has to deal with. And it is not just about advancing to nationals. That is the ultimate goal, but it is continuing the tradition of excellence and the legacy of going to every single nationals.”

That legacy is a burden that every gymnast that chooses to attend Utah agrees to shoulder. And it was part of the reason Utah was able to scratch and claw its way from last place in its regional final. The Red Rocks didn’t want to be the team that was on the wrong side of program history.

“Nobody wants to be on that team when that happens,” Dockendorf said. “I think that is some of the fight we saw at regionals. They didn’t want to be that team. Nobody wants to be that team.”

“There is that little added pressure, being the only team that has made it to all 48 national championships,” fifth-year senior Abby Paulson said. “Whether that is actual pressure or pressure we put on on ourselves, it is still there. We’ve felt it and we felt it (this year).”

The pressure is off Utah now. Of that, the Red Rocks are in near complete agreement.

Now that they’ve qualified for nationals and are headed to Fort Worth this week to compete against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida and No. 8 Alabama in one of two national semifinals Thursday night, the Red Rocks are free. Loose. Without expectations and pressure.

“Now is when we can go out and have some fun,” said Paulson.

Thanks to the dominance of Oklahoma, few teams at nationals have serious expectations. Not really. Outside of maybe No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Cal, few teams are presumed to even have a shot at competing at the level of the Sooners, who are looking for a third-consecutive national title, what would be their sixth in eight years.

That includes Utah.

Ranked No. 5 in the country entering the postseason, the Red Rocks were not considered a true national title threat for most of the season. And after losing to Florida in the regional finals, most prognostications have Utah failing to advance to the Final Four for a fourth-straight season. Not with the Sooners and Gators standing in the way.

The Red Rocks aren’t upset by the lack of belief in them, though. In fact, it reminds them of previous seasons.

As sophomores, Paulson, Maile O’Keefe and Jaedyn Rucker were on a Utah team that was almost entirely unaccustomed to postseason competition, thanks in part to the pandemic.

Only three members of that team — Alexia Burch, Adrienne Randall and Sydney Soloski — had ever competed at nationals, combining for only four routines for the 2019 team that was ousted Day 1.

As such, Utah wasn’t expected to advance to the Final Four that year, but the Red Rocks defied expectations. Mostly because they didn’t have any.

“There wasn’t any pressure,” O’Keefe said. “We weren’t a top seed. We weren’t expected to make it to Day 2. We were just out there competing and having fun. I remember that. And we felt super ecstatic to make it to Day 2.

“I feel like we are kind of in that same position (this year). Nobody really expects us to make Day 2,” she continued, with a slight tone of defiance in her voice. “That is totally fine. People are entitled to think what they want to think.”

Utah believes it can make real noise at nationals this year. There is no doubting that.

After patiently listening to deserved Oklahoma praise, Dockendorf couldn’t wait to announce that Utah is “a dangerous team.”

“We beat them (Oklahoma) Day 1 last year at nationals,” she said. “They are obviously an incredible team but we’ve seen them once already this year. We can’t control what they do, but we can definitely control what we are going to do.”

Rucker, an individual NCAA champion on vault two years ago, made it clear that she has the highest of expectations for herself and for Utah. She has no intention of letting Utah do anything but improve upon its three straight third-place finishes.

“With me winning the national championship in 2022 and us (as a team) getting third each year, I want to go to nationals and I want to win,” she said. “I want to win on vault. I want to win everything we can.”

O’Keefe noted that nationals is the only real time all year long that Utah can cut loose. Compete entirely without fear or repercussion.

“You say it all year long, ‘We have nothing to lose,’ but you really have nothing to lose once you are at nationals,” she said. “Only everything to gain.”

The Red Rocks have competed under the weight of expectations all season long, with the pressure reaching a fever pitch at regionals. That is life competing for Utah.

Now that nationals are finally here, though, the Red Rocks can compete free and in the process maybe make some unexpected history.

“We are just going to go out there and give it our all,” Paulson said. “And have some fun.”