Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Weekly Release - Jan. 13, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO - Pac-12 women's gymnastics heads into its second weekend with all eight teams currently slated to compete following an opening week that was impacted by a number of cancellations due to COVID-19.

• In the six meets on the docket, Pac-12 squads will face against four top-25 opponents in the Road to Nationals rankings.  
• At 6:30 p.m. PT on Friday, No. 4 Utah will host No. 3 Oklahoma in a nationally-televised matchup on ESPN2. The Utes' early-season test will be a showdown between two national title contenders. At last season's NCAA championships, Oklahoma finished second with a score of 198.1625, while Utah was right behind in third with a score of 197.9875. This will be the first meeting between the two at the Jon M. Huntsman Center since the 1992 NCAA Regional. The Utes lead the all-time series with Oklahoma 28-13 (11-0 in Salt Lake City).
• Earlier that evening, Arizona will visit No. 18 Southern Utah (6 p.m. PT) at America First Event Center, which is set to air on ESPN+.
• On Saturday, Arizona State is slated to open its season as the Gym Devils head to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on the defending national champions and top-ranked Michigan at 1 p.m. PT (Big Ten Network+).
• Oregon State and Washington are also set to open their seasons at the Beaver Tri-Meet on Saturday (7 p.m. PT). Originally scheduled as a quad-meet, Boise State will no longer compete due to COVID-19 protocols. The event will now feature the Beavers, Huskies and No. 9 San Jose State.
• On Sunday, Stanford makes the short trip to Berkeley to take on California (2 p.m. PT) at Haas Pavilion. Both squads will being kicking off their 2022 seasons with a televised meet on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Bay Area. 
• On Monday, UCLA hits the road as the Bruins are set to open their season at Minnesota at 10 a.m. PT on Big Ten Network. UCLA has won seven of its last nine season openers, but this is the Bruins first such competition in an opponent's home arena since 2015 and UCLA's first trip to Minnesota in 18 years. The last meeting between the two squads was in 2011, when UCLA won a tri-meet against Minnesota and Denver. 
• Currently, 21 meets are set for broadcast on Pac-12 Networks this season, including the 2022 Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Championships, while another two are slated to air nationally on ESPN. 
• All eight Pac-12 programs began the season in the 2022 WCGA Preseason Coaches Poll in No. 4 Utah, No. 7 California, No. 8 UCLA, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 17 Oregon State, No. 27 Arizona, No. 33 Stanford and No. 34 Washington. 
• Utah, UCLA and California went 1-2-3 in the Pac-12 preseason coaches poll, while Arizona State, Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford and Washington rounded out the league poll.

Olympians Made Here

• The 2022 Pac-12 gymnastics season will feature a strong connection to the recently-concluded 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with four Olympic medalists beginning their collegiate careers on Pac-12 campuses this year. Oregon State's Jade Carey (USA) won an individual gold medal in the floor exercise, UCLA's Jordan Chiles and Utah's Grace McCallum were silver medalists in the team competition with the United States, and Utah's Amelie Morgan helped Great Britain to team bronze, its first gymnastics medal since 1928.
• Rounding out the Pac-12 freshmen with Olympic ties are UCLA's Brooklyn Moors, who competed for Canada in Tokyo, and Utah's Kara Eaker and UCLA's Emma Malabuyo, who were alternates for the United States. 

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Full Schedule)