#4 Utah Travels To Washington For Monday Night Matchup
MEET WEEK
No. 4 Utah Gymnastics will have a quick turnaround as it heads to Seattle this Monday, Feb. 21, to continue Pac-12 play against Washington. The Utes and Huskies will compete at 7 p.m. MT at Alaska Airlines Arena on President's Day with the Pac-12 Networks set to televise the meet. Rich Burke and Alisa Mowe will be the announcers for the competition. Live stats will be available here.
IN THE RANKINGS
Utah slid a spot in the national rankings after seven weeks of competition, moving to fourth in the country with a 197.496 season average. With the 198.000 against Oregon State, Utah sits at a 197.568 season average now and a 197.515 NQS. Rankings will officially move to National Qualifying Score (NQS) the day of the competition against Washington. A team's NQS is calculated by taking the highest six scores of the season, three of which must be road scores, dropping the high score and averaging the remaining five. Utah is ranked third on vault and floor, sixth on bars, and eighth on beam prior to the weekend of competition. Maile O'Keefe was third in the nation on beam, while Jillian Hoffman and Sydney Soloski are tied for No. 20 on floor. Grace McCallum is tied for No. 23 on vault.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Utah reached the 198-mark for the first time this season against Oregon State, which was also the first time since Feb. 23, 2020.
• Utah has scored a 49.0 or better on every event in 19 consecutive meets, which is the nation's longest active streak. The second-longest streak is Michigan, which has posted 10 consecutive meets of 49-plus on every event.
• Utah holds the nation's highest beam score with a 49.725, which was recorded against Stanford and matched once again versus Oregon State.
• Maile O'Keefe and Cristal Isa have each scored a 9.90 or better in six of seven beam routines this year.
• Sydney Soloski has scored a 9.925 or better in five of seven floor routines this season.
CHALK TALK
• Utah has had 10 of the 15 gymnasts who have competed at least one routine this season earn an event title.
• Cristal Isa scored the first 10.0 of her career, which came on beam against Oregon State. The perfect score is Utah's second of the season on beam and third overall. The last time Utah had at least three 10s in a season was 2015, which saw eight perfect scores.
• Ten Red Rocks have competed at least one floor routine this year.
• Sage Thompson competed her first career vault against Oregon State, while Alani Sabado competed her first routine of the season, which was also on vault.
• Utah has hit 158-168 routines this season. Gymnasts who have hit every routine are Maile O'Keefe (21-21), Amelie Morgan (14-14), Lucy Stanhope (11-11), Jillian Hoffman (9-9), Thompson (8-8), Sydney Soloski (7-7), Cammy Hall (6-6), and Kara Eaker (2-2).
• Individual event winners this season are Grace McCallum (9), Isa (5), O'Keefe (4), Alexia Burch (2), Jaedyn Rucker (2), Soloski (2) Stanhope (2), Hoffman (1), Paulson (1), and Thompson (1).
• Pac-12 weekly award winners this season are: Gymnast of the Week: Isa (Jan. 11), O'Keefe (Feb. 1); Specialist of the Week: Rucker (Jan. 11, Feb. 15), Thompson (Jan. 18), Hoffman (Jan. 25), Isa (Feb. 1), O'Keefe (Feb. 8); Freshman of the Week: Morgan (Jan. 11), McCallum (Jan. 18); and Coaches Choice: Hoffman (Jan. 11, Feb. 15).
SERIES SHORTS
Utah has not dropped a contest against Washington in the series history and holds a 63-0-2 record all-time. The Utes have won 19 straight over the Huskies, including a 197.475-193.500 win in Salt Lake City last season and a win at the Pac-12 Championships. Utah is 16-0-2 all-time in Seattle with the last tie coming in 2013 (195.975-195.975), while the other tie in history was during the 2001 season.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
Head Coach: Jen Llewellyn
2022 Ranking: N/A
2021 Final Ranking: N/A
Notes: Washington is off to a 4-5 start this season, which includes wins over Denver and Stanford yesterday (Saturday) … The Huskies posted a season-high 196.825 to finish second at the Metroplex Challenge only behind Oklahoma … Washington also picked up a Pac-12 win over Arizona earlier this season 196.250-196.050 … The Huskies are led by all-arounder Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, who has posted a best of 39.425 in the all-around this season … Prior to the updated rankings on Monday, Feb. 21, Washington is No. 25 on vault and No. 28 on bars.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah pushed past a slow start on vault to break away from Oregon State and collect its first 198 of the season. Lucy Stanhope matched a career-high 9.95 on vault to lead the group, but it was bars the changed the momentum and then saw the balance beam team put on an elite performance. Grace McCallum scored a 9.95 on bars, while Sage Thompson added a 9.925 and Maile O'Keefe added a 9.90 to highlight the 49.500. On beam, Adrienne Randall earned a season-high 9.925, and Utah added 9.95s from O'Keefe and Abby Paulson. Cristal Isa posted the first 10.0 of her career in the fifth spot and with McCallum's 9.90, the Utes combined for a massive 49.725. The floor squad put on a show as well, scoring a 49.550 that was highlighted by 9.925s from Paulson, McCallum and Sydney Soloski to win the floor title.
UP NEXT
Utah finishes off its stretch of road competition during the month of February with its Pac-12 finale next Friday, Feb. 25, against Arizona. The Utes and Wildcats will compete at 6:30 p.m. MT at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. The meet will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.