Utah Gymnastics Set For 2023 NCAA Championships
MEET WEEK
Utah Gymnastics is set to compete for a national championship beginning Thursday, Apr. 13, in the evening semifinal of the 2023 NCAA Championships. Utah competes at 7 p.m. MT against top-ranked Oklahoma, #4 UCLA, and #9 Kentucky in its semifinal at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The first semifinal at 1 p.m. MT on Thursday features #2 Florida, #6 LSU, #7 California, and #14 Denver. The top-two teams from each semifinal will advance to the NCAA Championship final on Saturday, Apr. 15. The competition for the NCAA title will begin at 2 p.m. MT on Saturday.
TIME TO TUNE IN
The two semifinal competitions on Thursday will be aired on ESPN2, while Saturday's NCAA final will be televised on ABC. Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson Clarke will serve as the talent, and will be joined by Samantha Peszek as the reporter. There will be a live pre-show for the NCAA Championship on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT as well for the first time ever on ABC.
Along with the main broadcast for the NCAA Championships, ESPN will also provide individual apparatus streams on ESPN+ for both the semifinals and championship. Kennedy Baker (vault), Bridget Sloan (bars), Ashley Miles Greig (beam) and John Roethlisberger (floor) will commentate the streams. Utah fans can also tune into ESPN 700 Radio during the Red Rocks' competition to hear live commentary from Mike Lageschulte and former Ute All-American Kyndal (Robarts) Pond.
QUICK STICKS
• Utah is the only team in the nation to qualify for all 47 national championships.
• Utah recorded consecutive 198s for the first time in program history last week.
• Utah was the only team in the nation to hit the 198-mark twice at regionals.
• Utah has won nine NCAA Championships and 10 total national titles (1981 AIAW), while finishing as the NCAA runner-up eight times.
• Utah will begin its semifinal competition on floor, while Kentucky begins on vault, Oklahoma on bars, and UCLA on beam.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
• Utah has had four different gymnasts earn at least one perfect score this season.
• Jaedyn Rucker scored two consecutive 10.0s on vault at the NCAA Los Angeles Regional. It is the first time a Utah gymnast has scored a 10.0 on vault in NCAA postseason history.
• Rucker is now tied for the school record for most 10.0s on vault in a single season (3) and in a career (3).
• Maile O'Keefe recorded her fourth 10.0 of the season on beam at the NCAA Regional Second Round. She improved her own school record for most 10.0s on beam in a single season (4) and in a career (8).
• It is the second year in a row a pair of Utah gymnasts have recorded a Perfect 10 in the same meet at the NCAA Regionals.
• Five different Utes have scored at least two Perfect 10s in their careers.
CHALK TALK
• Utah has had 10 of the 13 gymnasts that have competed this season earn at least one event title.
• Utah has hit 303-312 routines this season. Gymnasts who have hit every routine are Makenna Smith 43-43), Abby Brenner (36-36), Jaylene Gilstrap (27-27), Cristal Isa (26-26), Amelie Morgan (24-24), and Jillian Hoffman (12-12).
• Individual event winners this season are Maile O'Keefe (14), Grace McCallum (8), Jaedyn Rucker (7), Isa (4), Smith (3), Kara Eaker (3), Brenner (2), Hoffman (2), Abby Paulson (2), and Sage Thompson (1).
• O'Keefe was the Regional Beam Champion, while Rucker was the Regional Vault Champion. Abby Brenner was also the Pac-12 Vault Champion.
STANDOUT STATS
• Maile O'Keefe and Kara Eaker have scored a 9.90 or better on beam all but one routine this season. O'Keefe has also scored a 9.875 or better on floor her last seven routines.
• Cristal Isa has scored a 9.90 or better on 16 of her last 19 routines.
• Jaylene Gilstrap has scored a 9.90 or better on floor her last eight routines.
• Abby Paulson has scored a 9.875 or better on beam on nine of her last 11 routines, and has had six-straight floor routines at a 9.90 or better.
• Jaedyn Rucker has scored a 9.875 or better on vault the past six routines, which includes three Perfect 10s.
• Amelie Morgan has scored a 9.875 or better on bars seven of her last nine routines as the leadoff.
TOP OF THE PAC
• Utah is coming off its third consecutive Pac-12 Championship, which marks the first time a team has won three consecutive titles since the league expanded in 2012.
• Since Utah joined the Pac-12 Conference, the Utes lead the league with six Pac-12 Championships (2014-15, 2017, 2021-23).
• Utah earned a share of the Pac-12 Regular Season title for the second-straight year and has now won the title outright or at least a share every season since its inception in 2020.
• Utah is the only team in the conference that has finished in the top-3 at every conference championship.