Utah Gymnastics Announces 2023 Schedule
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Gymnastics announced its 2023 schedule on Thursday afternoon, highlighted by two competitions on podium during the regular season, as well as non-conference matchups against LSU and reigning national champion Oklahoma. Two of Utah's home meets will be televised on ESPN2, while the Utes will air on the Pac-12 Networks six times this season. Additional television coverage will be announced at a later date.
"We believe this schedule will undoubtedly prepare us for the postseason," said head coach Tom Farden, who heads into his eighth season as head coach at Utah. "The caliber of programs on our schedule will test us week in and week out, and we are very excited to welcome five high quality teams to the Huntsman Center for our passionate fan base. Along with the difficult competition our schedule holds, the opportunity to compete on podium multiple times this year will be instrumental for our athletes."
Utah Gymnastics fans will get the first glimpse of this year's team on Friday, Dec. 9, with the annual Red Rocks Preview at the Huntsman Center. The intrasquad will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks to kick off television coverage for the Red Rocks.
Utah opens its 2023 season on the national stage as its home opener against LSU is set to air on ESPN2 on Friday, Jan. 6. The competition between the Utes and Tigers marks the first time LSU will visit the Huntsman Center during the regular season since 2003.
The Red Rocks will remain in town the following weekend to continue non-conference play as Utah heads to the Maverik Center to compete in the Rio Tinto Best of Utah on Friday, Jan. 13, in West Valley City. Utah will compete in the podium event against in-state foes BYU, Southern Utah and Utah State. Utah is then set for a trip to Norman, Okla., to take on last year's national champions in the Oklahoma Sooners. The two top-three finishers from a year ago will compete the weekend of Jan. 20-22 at Lloyd Noble Center with an exact date to be announced later.
Turning toward conference play, Utah will host the Washington Huskies and UCLA Bruins back-to-back weekends at the Huntsman Center. The Utes will first compete against the Huskies on Saturday, Jan. 28, before turning their attention to the matchup on ESPN2 the following week against the Bruins on Friday, Feb. 3.
The Utes will travel to Fort Worth the following weekend for its second competition of the regular season on podium. The Utes will compete at the Metroplex Challenge in the afternoon session on Saturday, Feb. 11, against Georgia and Illinois State at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Stanford will be competing in the evening session and due to scheduling conflicts, the Pac-12 Conference will use Utah and Stanford's scores from each session of the Metroplex Challenge to count toward this year's dual meet in the conference standings.
Utah remains on the road for a competition at Arizona State on Monday, Feb. 20, before returning home to host California on Friday, Feb. 24. The final home meet of the season will be on Friday, March 3, against Arizona. The Red Rocks close out the regular season at Oregon State on Saturday, March 11, in Corvallis, Ore.
The postseason begins at the Maverik Center, which will once again host the Pac-12 Championships in West Valley City, Utah. The conference championships will be held on podium on Saturday, March 18. NCAA Regionals will run March 29-Apr. 2, at the host sites of Denver, UCLA, Oklahoma and Pitt. The 2023 NCAA Gymnastics Championships will be held at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Thursday, Apr. 13, and Saturday, Apr. 15.
Utah returns a roster that contains seven All-Americans from the 2022 season, including the reigning vault national champion Jaedyn Rucker, and 21-of-24 routines from last year's third place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Red Rocks welcome Michigan transfer Abby Brenner, a national champion and vault All-American, along with freshmen Makenna Smith (former qualified elite gymnast and two-time Junior Olympic medalist) and Sarah Krump (Junior Olympic National Championships qualifier).
Fans can purchase season tickets here to catch all five home meets this season - LSU, UCLA, Cal, Washington and Arizona. Current season ticket holders can renew tickets by logging in to your account on am.ticketmaster.com/utahutes/ or by calling the Utah Ticket Office (801) 581-8849.
To view the entire 2023 Utah Gymnastics schedule with meet times and TV selections that have been announced, click here.