Perfection and the highest season opening score in nearly 20 years propels Utah past Boise State

New Utah head gymnastics coach Carly Dockendorf had a message that she shared with recruits during the lead up to national signing day in November.

It was a message intended to keep those recruits committed to attending the University of Utah, despite a tumultuous offseason that included the unexpected departure of multiple gymnasts and former head coach Tom Farden.

“It still is Red Rock gymnastics,” Dockendorf explained. “Come here and be a Red Rock. It really is about the teammates they get to share these memories with, the fans and the whole atmosphere of being a part of Utah gymnastics.”

In short, Utah gymnastics is more than one individual. Or two or three. And no matter what it will remain Utah gymnastics, i.e. one of the most storied and competitive programs in the sport.

Friday night in the season opening meet against Boise State, that message proved prescient.

In front of a packed house inside the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah easily defeated Boise State 197.300 to 194.350 to improve to 1-0 on the season.

It was the highest season opening score for the Red Rocks since 2005.

Results

Team scores — Utah, 197.300; Boise State, 194.350

Event winners

• All-around — Makenna Smith (Utah); 39.325

• Balance beam — Maile O’Keefe (Utah); 10.0.

• Floor exercise — Maile O’Keefe (Utah); 9.950.

• Uneven bars — Grace McCallum (Utah), Maile O’Keefe (Utah); 9.925.

• Vault — Makenna Smith (Utah); 9.90.

“What an amazing night tonight,” Dockendorf said. “Immensely proud of this team. ... I don’t even think the scores reflected the performance we had tonight. The quality of routines we had were exactly what we see in practice every day and that is exactly what we were asking for. Just (for the gymnasts) to go out there and do what they’ve been practicing and not do anything more. But some girls even elevated a bit from what they do every day.”

Red Rocks came away with each event title, senior Maile O’Keefe claiming both the balance beam and floor titles, while sharing the uneven bars title with Grace McCallum, while Makenna Smith won both the all-around and the vault title.

Utah scored a 49.325 or better on three events, the only outlier being a slow starting vault rotation.

Be it long time standouts like O’Keefe, who earned the first perfect 10 in all the of the NCAA this season with her beam routine, Abby Paulson or McCallum, newcomers like Ashley Glynn or unsung vets like Alani Sabado, a bit of everything seemed to go right for the Red Rocks.

After an offseason filled with questions, the performance left the Red Rocks nothing but proud.

“I think it is very easy to overlook how proud I am and how proud our whole staff is (of our team),” O’Keefe said. “From the outside maybe you guys don’t see everything like we do on the inside. I don’t know if I can express how proud I am of us. We are just kind of working together to the best of our ability trying to move forward.”

Standout routines

There were no shortage of notable performances, even on opening night.

O’Keefe’s perfect 10 on balance beam, the 12th overall in her career and 11th on that specific event, being at the forefront.

Per the fifth year senior, this one was special. More emotional than others earned in the past even.

“Honestly it was one of my more emotional 10s,” O’Keefe said. “Starting the season like that is kind of crazy and surreal. Plus we went through so much turmoil this preseason and everything. I’m going to be totally honest, I wasn’t sure I was looking forward to season. But I just feel like once you get her, get your first routine under your belt, the atmosphere changes.”

Dockendorf praised the reigning NCAA all-around champion, noting that the routine was a true perfect 10.

“It was definitely a 10,” she said. “And I told her afterward, ‘You deserve that.’ That is what she trains every day. That is not a gift, getting that score. She works for that every day. And I think we are going to see more of that this season. What a way to start your final lap as a senior here.”

O’Keefe wasn’t the only Red Rock to impress, though.

Sophomore Makenna Smith had a standout vault, as did Temple transfer Ashley Glynn.

Glynn competed one of five 10.0-valued vaults for Utah, and the height that she was able to generate on her Yurchenko 1.5 was notable. Even game-changing perhaps for Utah.

“Ashley’s vault was huge,” Dockendorf said. “I am so excited to see that continue to grow and for her to get confidence with that.”

Senior Alani Sabado competed on bars and had arguably the best performance of her career at Utah, as part of a bars lineup that looks likely to be the Red Rocks’ strongest event this season.

“I do think bars is going to be an event for us this year,” Dockendorf said. “Some really good quality routines and it is just going to keep getting better. I was really proud of Alani Sabado, her first time being in the lineup, she has been an alternate a lot.”

Floor exercise contained multiple standout routines, as Utah put on display a new approach to floor exercise, centered on generating more excitement and fan engagement.

“I think that when we got to the Final Four last year and you have all the best teams in the country side-by-side, it became obvious areas we could improve on. It really stood out to us that we could have more engaging music, a little more complex choreography,” Dockendorf said. “That becomes a separator when you are up against the very best.”

It showed, with routines from O’Keefe, Smith and Abby Paulson, specifically.

“It is very fun,” O’Keefe said. “I think we have a lot of fun floor routines. Personally, my favorite’s is Paulson’s because I think she dances so well to it because she enjoys it. It is a lot of fun and Carly and (assistant coach) Myia (Hambrick) had a lot of creativity and freedom with it this summer.”

“Everyone gets to show their personality a little more,” Paulson added. “Makenna’s is a little more groovy and goofy and that’s the way she is. Maile’s has a little bit of salsa and she’s an amazing dancer. There is more personality, which I am excited about.”

Adjustments to make

As well as Utah did, there is still plenty of room to improve. After all, it is only Week 1 of a long season.

To start, the team struggled on vault, particularly at the outset of the rotation.

Some of that was short landings, some of it was failing to holding the finishing position, which thanks to new rules incurred deductions that quickly added up.

There were also under-rotated vaults, and not a single stuck landing, though Smith came close.

“Maybe a little bit tight first rotation, but that is anticipated to happen,” Dockendorf said.

Added O’Keefe: “I feel like we kind of settled into our gymnastics mid meet today. I feel like it would be good to see us more confident from the get go.”

Utah also wasn’t at its best on beam, despite O’Keefe’s brilliance, with multiple mistakes —  it balance checks, hops on landings, low landings, etc. — in multiple routines.

“Beam, I thought it was a great start for us,” Dockendorf said, before adding, “some people were more tentative. You start to see nerves come out on that event, especially earlier on in the season.”

The efforts of Utah’s newcomer’s — the four freshmen and Glynn — were not as impactful as they could have been, outside of Glynn’s vault, though Ella Zirbes, Elizabeth Gantner and Camie Winger all flashed considerable potential, Zirbes and Winger on vault, Zirbes and Winger on bars and Gantner on beam.

Improvement from those three freshmen, and continued solid efforts from Glynn, will go a long way in providing Utah the depth needed to survive a long and physically demanding season.

Utah also will need more going forward from veterans like Amelie Morgan and Jaylene Gilstrap, both of whom were ever so slightly off during multiple routines. Not up to their normal standards at least.

The takeaway

It was only one a meet in a season that will last until the middle of April, but Utah went out and successfully showed that it still is Utah gymnastics, regardless of what happened in and around the program during the offseason.

The Red Rocks remain elite, with plenty of work to do going forward to remain so.

“I think that from here we just refine the details a little bit,” Dockendorf said. “This team showed how confident and determined they are. They could have come up with so many excuses for why they wouldn’t be ready today, based on the fall that we had, but they chose to control their emotions and attitudes every day, all fall.

“That is strength to not be overlooked going forward. This team is pretty unbreakable.”