#4 Utah Gymnastics Wraps Up Regular Season With Top-10 Matchup At #7 LSU
MEET WEEK
No. 4 Utah Gymnastics heads across the country for its regular season finale as the team travels to No. 7 LSU this Friday, March 11. The second-straight top-10 matchup for Utah will begin at 6:30 p.m. MT at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. The meet between the Utes and Tigers will be streamed on the SEC Network+, while live stats can be found here.
IN THE RANKINGS
Utah remains ranked fourth in the nation for the fourth week in a row heading into the regular season finale. The Red Rocks are ranked second on floor, third on beam, fifth on vault and sixth on bars. Individually, Grace McCallum leads Utah as she is ranked in the top-20 on every event and eighth in the all-around. She is tied for No. 10 on floor, No. 12 on beam, No. 13 on bars, and No. 19 on vault. Sydney Soloski is tied for second in the country on floor, Maile O'Keefe is fourth on beam, and Cristal Isa is tied for ninth on beam. Lucy Stanhope and Jaedyn Rucker rank No. 13 and No. 19 on vault, respectively, while Abby Paulson is No. 20 on beam and Sage Thompson is No. 25 on bars.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
• Utah earned a share of the 2022 Pac-12 Regular Season Championship after finishing in a four-way tie for first place with California, Oregon State and Arizona State this season. It is Utah's third consecutive regular season title and seventh conference title overall.
• Utah tied for the nation's highest score of the season last week with a 198.575, which marked the program's second-best score all-time. The 198.575 is also tied for the fourth-best score in NCAA history.
• Utah posted a 49.800 on the uneven bars against Minnesota to break its previous school record (49.700) that had stood since the 1993 season.
• Maile O'Keefe and Sage Thompson posted their first career 10.0s on bars last week. The duo recorded back-to-back 10.0s on bars, which were the first consecutive perfect scores on bars in program history and the first consecutive 10s on any event since 2015.
• Maile O'Keefe also scored a 10.0 on beam to mark her second of the season and the third of her career on beam, which ties for the second-most in a career in school history.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Utah has hit the 198-mark in two competitions this season. It is the first time since the 2015 that the Red Rocks have scored a 198 or better in at least two outings.
• Utah scored a 9.90 or better in 16 of 24 routines against Minnesota, which included a 9.90-plus in 10 of the final 12 routines.
• In the Pac-12, Utah has five gymnasts ranked in the top seven on beam, while the Red Rocks hold the top-three spots.
• Maile O'Keefe has scored a 9.925 or better in eight of 10 beam routines this year, which includes two 10s and two 9.975s.
• Sydney Soloski has recorded a 9.925 or better on floor in seven of 10 meets, which includes three 9.975s.
• Grace McCallum has scored a 9.90 or better in 12 of her last 16 routines.
CHALK TALK
• Utah has had 10 of the 16 gymnasts who have competed at least one routine this season earn an event title.
• The floor lineup has seen 11 gymnasts compete at least one routine this season.
• Against Minnesota, Utah earned a season high and school record 49.800 on bars, a season-high tying 49.725 on beam, and a season-high tying 49.675 on floor.
• Kara Eaker returned to the beam lineup against Minnesota, marking her first competition since Jan. 7 after she suffered a sprained ankle.
• Utah has hit 226-240 routines this season. Gymnasts who have hit every routine are Maile O'Keefe (29-29), Amelie Morgan (20-20), Lucy Stanhope (15-15), Sage Thompson (14-14), Sydney Soloski (10-10), Jillian Hoffman (9-9), Eaker (3-3), Jaylene Gilstrap (3-3) and Alani Sabado (1-1).
• Individual event winners this season are Grace McCallum (15), O'Keefe (8), Cristal Isa (5), Soloski (4), Alexia Burch (3), Jaedyn Rucker (3), Thompson (3), Stanhope (2), Hoffman (1), and Abby Paulson (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, Feb. 22), O'Keefe (Feb. 8); Freshman of the Week: Morgan (Jan. 11), McCallum (Jan. 18); and Coaches Choice: Hoffman (Jan. 11, Feb. 15).
SERIES SHORTS
Although Utah leads the series with LSU 34-7 all-time, the Utes hold a 1-3 record while competing in Baton Rouge. The last time the teams met in Baton Rouge was at the 2019 NCAA Regional, while the last time the Utes competed at LSU during the regular season was in 2002. Utah is on a two-meet winning streak over LSU after the two teams met twice last season. Utah and LSU first met in the Salt Lake City Regional Final where Utah (197.925) and LSU (197.750) both went on to advance to the NCAA Championships. Then at the NCAA semifinals, Utah bested the Tigers 197.600-197.5625 to advance to the program's first final four.
SCOUTING LSU
Head Coach: Jay Clark
2022 Ranking: 7
2021 Final Ranking: 6
Notes: LSU is 8-3 overall this season and 4-3 in SEC action, with notable wins over Auburn and Alabama … The Tigers have posted a season-best 198.050, which was recorded against Alabama at home, and are most recently coming off a 197.500-197.450 upset from Kentucky … LSU is ranked third on vault in the country, sixth on beam, seventh on bars, and tenth on floor … Haleigh Bryant, the reigning NCAA vault champion, leads the team as the top all-arounder and is coming off a 39.750 performance vs. Kentucky, which included three 9.95s … Bryant is ranked fourth on vault and No. 11 on bars.
UP NEXT
Utah will head to the Pac-12 Championships next Saturday, March 19, to begin the postseason. The Red Rocks will compete in the night session at 6 p.m. MT at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The competition will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. Tickets can be purchased here.