Women's Gymnastics Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics Weekly Rundown - February 8, 2023

STANDINGS | SCHEDULE | RECORD BOOK

SAN FRANCISCO - Pac-12 womens gymnastics kicked off month two of the regular season in a big way last weekend with a top-five matchup between Utah and UCLA in front of a national audience on ESPN2 and two other top 25 showdowns in Conference duals, headlined by No. 7 California staying unbeaten in 2023. Six teams remain ranked in the top 25 of the Road to Nationals rankings, led by No. 4 Utah, while all eight programs sit in the top 28 in the country. Week six features three Conference duals as well as two squads traveling to Texas to compete in the Metroplex Challenge. The slate begins Friday night with two head-to-head meets - No. 26 Washington at No. 28 Arizona and No. 7 California at No. 13 Oregon State - and concludes with No. 24 Stanford hosting the Huskies for a non-conference Monday afternoon meet at Maples Pavilion.

THIS WEEK

  • No. 26 Washington travels to Tucson to take on No. 28 Arizona on Friday, Feb. 10 with both the Huskies and Wildcats looking for their first conference win of the season. UW has had the upper hand in the series as of late, winning the last six straight Pac-12 meetings between the squads. The action begins at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT live on Pac-12 Insider.
  • Friday night will also feature the first of two top-25 Pac-12 duals, starting with a big one in No. 7 California heading north to Corvallis to take on No. 13 Oregon State . At 9-0 overall and 3-0 in conference duals, the Bears have cruised to the top of the league standings, but their schedule will get significantly harder as they face the Beavers, No. 6 UCLA and No. 4 Utah over the next three weeks. The Bears and Beavers competed earlier in the season in the night session at the Wasatch Classic on Jan. 14 in Salt Lake City, with Cal finishing first in the session and the Beavers second. OSU will be looking to knock off Cal for the first time since 2019, which was also in Corvallis. The meet is set for 7 p.m. PT and will be available to watch on the Oregon State Live Stream.
  • The second top-25 battle of the weekend will take place on Saturday, Feb. 11 with No. 6 UCLA welcoming No. 20 Arizona State to Pauley Pavilion at 2 p.m. PT live on Pac-12 Insider. Last year the Sun Devils were able to snap a 21-year UCLA winning streak that dated back to 2001 with a win in Tempe. Both teams are trying to get back into the win column after the Bruins fell at No. 4 Utah and ASU couldnt take down the seventh-ranked Bears in Berkeley.
  • Saturday will also have two squads - No. 4 Utah and No. 24 Stanford - competing at the Metroplex Challenge at the Fort Worth Convention Center Fort Worth, Texas. The Utes (afternoon) and Cardinal (evening) will be in different sessions, but due to scheduling conflicts the scores will be counted as the regular season dual meet between the schools for this year. In addition to Utah, the afternoon quad session features No. 18 Georgia, #22 Illinois and Illinois State and starts at 12:30 p.m. PT, while Stanford will be joined by top-ranked Oklahoma, No. 11 Alabama and No. 16 Arkansas in the evening session beginning at 5:30 p.m. PT. Live stream is not available for the event.
  • Week six wraps up with the Huskies making a stop in the Bay Area on their way home from Arizona, competing against Stanford on Monday at 4 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion live on Pac-12 Insider. The meet will not count towards conference standings as the two are scheduled to go head-to-head the following Monday in Seattle in the dual that will count for 2023 standings. UW and Stanford have not met in a regular season dual since 2020 with the Huskies winning the last three duals in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

WEEK FOUR ROUNDUP

  • In front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN2, No. 4 Utah became the third team in 2023 to score over 198, taking down the then-No. 5 Bruins in Salt Lake City (198.200-197.450). Behind Pac-12 Specialist of the Week Maile OKeefes Perfect 10 on beam, the Utes matched a school record in the event (49.775) and also posted a season-high on bars (49.575). The Bruins had some highlights of their own as Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles turned in a score of 39.775 in the all-around, which was 0.025 off her career best, to win the all-around along with titles on the floor and bars as she earned her second Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award this season.
  • No. 7 California got some revenge on Arizona State after the Sun Devils upset the Bears a year ago to hand them their first loss of the season. History did not repeat itself this time around as Cal took down then-No. 21 Arizona State with a season-high score of 197.600-196.800. Its the ninth consecutive win to start the year for the Bears, marking its second-best start in program history. Sophomore Maya Lauzon also made some history, tying the programs all-around record with a 39.700 to capture her first AA title. While ASU fell short, the Gym Devils did post their best road score and recorded a 49-plus in all four events for the first time this year.
  • No. 24 Stanford rebounded nicely from its first defeat of the season with a win at home over Arizona (196.275-195.700) last weekend. The Cardinal posted its best beam score since 2015 to lead the way after Stanfords Ira Alexeeva , Isabela Onyshko and Chloe Wider all scored 9.925s to share the title in the event. Freshman Anna Roberts continued a strong start to her collegiate career, sharing the bars title and capturing the floor and all-around titles, the latter with a season-best 39.400. The Wildcats best performance came from senior Malia Hargrove , who won the vault (9.90) and finished second in the all-around (39.350).
  • No. 13 Oregon State captured its fifth straight regular season dual win over Washington behind a season-high 197.300 team score at Alaska Airlines Arena on Saturday. The Beavers recorded a season-best score on bars (49.300) and matched a season-high on vault (49.300) to post the highest score ever by OSU in a dual meet in Seattle, while they matched the 15th-best team score in program history. Sophomore All-American Jade Carey collected three more individual victories on bars, vault and beam, but did not compete in the all-around after resting on the floor rotation. Despite the loss, the Huskies posted a season-best on floor (49.275) to best OSU in that event.

BY THE NUMBERS

  • No. 4 Utahs 198.200 in the win over then-No. 5 UCLA on Feb. 3 is the third-highest team score in the country this season, while they join No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Michigan as one of just three teams to score over 198 this year. The Utes have scored 197.275 or better in all five meets this year with their only defeat coming against top-ranked Oklahoma. The 198.200 is tied for fifth-best score in program history.
  • Against UCLA on Feb. 3, Utah matched its school record on beam, a 49.775, which they previously set against UCLA in 2020.
  • Cals score of 197.600 in the win over Arizona State on Feb. 4 is the sixth-highest score in program history, while its 9-0 mark to start the year is one win shy of matching the record of 10, which was set back in 2015.
  • The Conference has seen four Perfect 10s during the 2023 season. Utah senior Maile OKeefe , posted her first 10.0 of the season on beam and fifth overall of her career against UCLA on Feb. 3 to win the event. Earlier in the season there were three perfect 10s on the weekend of January 13 - one by Utahs Kara Eaker in the beam (second of her career in just nine beam routines) and two by Oregon States Jade Carey - her third career 10 on floor and her first on vault. Carey was the first OSU gymnast to record a pair of perfect scores in a meet since former Beaver Chari Knight accomplished the feat in 1993, while the Olympic Gold Medalist is the only gymnast in the country this year to capture two 10s in the same meet.
  • The tie between Oregon State and UCLA on January 29 in LA was the first tie in a regular season Conference dual since Feb. 23, 2020 when Arizona State and Washington tied before the season was eventually canceled due to Covid.
  • Oregon States 197.275 in the tie at UCLA on Jan. 29 was their highest score at UCLA in program history.
  • OSUs Carey, a three-time Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honoree this season, is the only Pac-12 gymnast to win all four event titles and the all-around in a meet this season (Beaver Quad Meet). Her top all-around score this season of 39.825 ties her own mark for second-best all-around score in program history.
  • In the Oregon State and UCLA tie on Jan. 29, Olympic Team teammates Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles placed first on every event with Chiles winning bars, the pair tying for first on the floor and Carey taking the vault and beam titles and the all-around title just ahead of Chiles in second.
  • Cal matched its season-high of 197.525 in the win over Stanford on Feb. 4, which ranks tied for ninth-best score in program history, and continued its recent dominance in the series, winning the regular season rivalry meet every year since 2014.
  • Arizona State made it seven straight dual wins over in-state rival Arizona on Feb. 4 as the GymDevils edged the GymCats 196.800-196.475 in Tempe.
  • UCLA freshman Selena Harris, the No. 1 ranked recruit in the nation last year, has lived up to her billing. Harris has earned all five Freshman/Newcomer of the Week awards, winning the all-around twice (at Wasatch Classic, at Washington) and scoring a 9.9 or better in 17 of her first 20 collegiate events, which has included six individual events titles. Her latest weekly honor matched the Pac-12 record for most consecutive weekly awards, held by Toni-Ann Williams from California in 2015. The all-time record for most honors in a season since the award was introduced in 2013 is six, held by Williams, Utahs MyKayla Skinner (2017) and Oregon States Jade Carey (2022).
  • On week three (Jan 17-19), the Conference saw two gymnasts reach milestones - UCLAs Margzetta Frazier and Washingtons Amara Cunningham each completed 100 consecutive career routines without a single fall during competition.
  • Utahs 49.675 on beam at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah meet on Jan. 13 is the best mark on beam in the country this season and highest score on any event overall.
  • No. 4 UCLA nabbed the first career win for first-time head coach Janelle McDonald on Jan. 14 as the Bruins impressed in the night session over Washington (196.550), Minnesota (196.325) and Boise State (195.050) at the Wasatch Classic in Salt Lake City. Winning all four events, UCLAs 197.850 was its highest score on the road since 2019.
  • Through five weekends, team and individual titles are as follows:
    • TEAM: California, 5 (Session 3 Super 16; Session 2, Wasatch Classic, at Arizona; vs. Stanford; vs. Arizona State); Utah, 4 (vs. LSU; Rio Tinto Best of Utah; vs. Washington, vs. UCLA); Stanford, 4 (Session 2 Super 16; vs. San Jose State, at Arizona State; vs. Arizona); Oregon State 3 (Beaver Quad Meet; vs. Rutgers; at Washington); UCLA 2 (Session 1, Wasatch Classic; at Washington); 1 Arizona State (vs. Arizona).
    • INDIVIDUAL : Alysen Fears, ARIZ - UB; Malia Hargrove, ARIZ - VA (x4); Sirena Linton, ARIZ - BB; Emily Mueller, ARIZ - FL; Sarah Clark, ASU - UB (x3); Jordan Jaslow, ASU - FL; Jada Mangahas, ASU - FL (x2); Hannah Scharf, ASU - FL (x2), UB, AA; Anaya Smith, ASU - VA; Emily White, ASU - VA, FL, UB, BB, AA; Ella Cesario, CAL - UB; eMjae Frazier, CAL - FL (x2), BB, VA; Nevaeh DeSouza, CAL - AA, VA (x2); Mya Lauzon, CAL - AA, FL (x2), VA (x2), BB (x2); Andi Li, CAL - FL, AA (x2), UB (x3), BB; Maddie Williams, CAL - UB (x2); Jade Carey, OSU - AA (x3), FL (x3), VA (x5); UB (x3), BB (x4); Ira Alexeeva, STAN - BB; Clair Dean, STAN - FL; Isabela Onyshko, STAN - BB; Anna Roberts, STAN - AA (x2), FL (x3), VA (x3), UB; Chloe Widner, STAN - AA, BB (x4), FL; Amara Cunningham, WASH - FL (x2); Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, WASH - BB; Chae Campbell, UCLA - FL (x2); Jordan Chiles, UCLA - UB (x4), VA (x2), BB, FL (x2), AA (x2); Selena Harris, UCLA - UB (x2), BB (x2), VA, AA (x2); Kara Eaker, UTAH - BB; Jillian Hoffman, UTAH - VA (x2); Cristal Isa, UTAH - UB; Grace McCallum, UTAH - AA, UB (x3), FL (x2); Maile OKeefe, UTAH - BB (x4), UB; Jaedyn Rucker, UTAH - VA (x2); Mckenna Smith, UTAH - VA.
  • Utah opened the season taking down the then-No.6 LSU Tigers (197.275-196.775) in front of a packed house of over 11,000 fans at the Huntsman Center in an event that aired live on ESPN2. It was Utahs highest season-opening score since 2005 and the third-best in program history. The Utes improved to 62-6 all-time in season openers.
  • California kicked off its season with a historical performance, posting its best overall score in a season-opening meet in program history. The Bears 197.457 was the 11th-best team score all-time and secured them the first-place finish in their session at the Super 16 event in Vegas. Cals No. 3 Road to Nationals ranking after week one was its highest in the ranking system in program history.
  • The Huskies and the Bruins also recorded their highest opening scores in more than a decade as Washington posted its best since 2004 and UCLA its best since 2005 as they competed at different sessions of the Super 16 event in Las Vegas.

ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS

  • The Road to Nationals rankings serve as the official rankings for NCAA gymnastics as it tracks team and individual scores and averages on the events throughout the season. Through five weeks of competition, six of eight Pac-12 programs posted scores that landed them in the top 25 in the country and all eight sit in the top 28, including three in the top 10 - No. 4 Utah (197.695), No. 6 UCLA (197.350) and No. 7 California (197.305).
  • Oregon State has made the biggest jump of any team in the country in 2023, moving up 13 spots - No. 26 to now No. 13 - from week one to week five with a 196.892 average. Arizona State moved up a spot to No. 20 (196.360) and Stanford stayed steady at No. 24 (196.170). Washington dropped out of the top 25 for the first time this season but only fell one spot to No. 26 (195.885). Arizona remained at No. 28 for a third straight week (195.820).
  • On team events scores - Utah holds the nations best average (49.590) and best overall score (49.775) on the beam this year with California in fourth (49.395) and Oregon State in fifth (49.371); Utah (49.405) is No. 3 and UCLA (49.260) is No. 9 on vault; On bars, California is tied for third (49.460) followed by UCLA (49.440) in fifth and Utah in sixth (49.350); UCLA has the Pac-12s top floor average of 49.485, which ranks tied second in the country while Utah is in eighth at 49.350.
  • Several individual gymnasts rank among the top-10 performers in the country on individual events:
    • In the all-around, OSUs Carey is tied for third with a 39.675 average. UCLA freshman phenom Selena Harris is fifth overall at 39.650 with her reigning Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week Jordan Chiles in eighth overall at 39.615.
    • In vault, Carey is tied for second with a 9.942 average.
    • On bars, UCLAs Chiles is tied for third at 9.955, followed by Cals Andi Li in fifth at 9.940 and UCLAs Harris in seventh at 9.930.
    • On the floor, UCLAs Chae Campbell and OSUs Carey are tied for third at 9.944 with UCLAs Chiles in a tie for sixth at 9.935.
    • On the balance beam, Utahs Maile OKeefe and Kara Eaker hold the top two averages this season with OKeefe at  9.970 and Eaker at 9.935. OSUs Carey is eighth at 9.921.

PRESEASON RANKINGS

  • All 8 Pac-12 women's gymnastics teams were ranked in the top 25 of the 2023 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Preseason Poll . The annual preseason poll, which is voted on by Division I women's gymnastics coaches, featured every Pac-12 program in the top 25 for the first time since 2014. The eight teams in the top 25 were tied for the most with the SEC.
  • Utah, which finished third at the national championships and won its second consecutive Pac-12 title in 2022, was the Conference's top-ranked team coming in at No. 3 with a pair of first-place votes. It was the Utes' highest preseason ranking since they were picked second overall in the national poll in 2010.
  • Joining Utah in the top 10 was California at No. 8 and UCLA at No. 10. Oregon State checks in at No. 14, followed by Stanford at No. 17, Washington at No. 21, Arizona State at No. 24 and Arizona at No. 25.

OLYMPIC STRENGTH

  • Pac-12 lineups this season feature four Olympic medalists from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Reigning Pac-12 Gymnast and Freshman of the Year, Oregon State's Jade Carey (USA) won an individual gold medal in the floor exercise, All-American, 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, which was its first gymnastics medal since 1928.
  • Rounding out the Pac-12 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.
  • Carey and Chiles recently also won individual medals at the recent 2022 World Championships and a silver medal team championship. Bruin freshman Ciena Alipio also competed at the World Championships, winning a silver medal on the balance beam.

ALL-AMERICAN PARTY

  • The Pac-12 has 17 All-Americans returning that have won over 50 career All-American honors, including reigning USA Gymnastics Athlete of the Year Jade Carey , who was an eight-time All-American during her freshman campaign at Oregon State last year.
  • Other returning All-Americans include: Abby Brenner , UTAH; Chae Campbell (4-time), UCLA; Jordan Chiles , UCLA; Kara Eaker , UTAH; Margzetta Frazier (3-time), UCLA; Madi Dagen , OSU; Nevaeh DeSouza (3-time), CAL; Cristal Isa (5-time), UTAH; Andi Li (3-time), CAL; Sirena Linton , ARIZ; Grace McCallum (5-time), UTAH; Maile O'Keefe (11-time), UTAH; Abby Paulson (4-time), UTAH; Jaedyn Rucker , UTAH; Hannah Scharf (3-time) ASU; Sage Thompson , UTAH.

PAC-12 PRESEASON POLL & WATCH LISTS

  • In the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll defending Pac-12 champion Utah was selected as the preseason favorite to claim a third straight Conference title in 2023. UCLA checked in at second place in the poll. The two teams have taken turns capturing Conference titles since 2014, with UCLA winning in 2016, 2018 and 2019, and Utah in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022. California finished third in the poll followed by Oregon State in fourth, Stanford in fifth, Washington in sixth, Arizona State in seventh and Arizona in eighth.
  • In December, the Pac-12 introduced the inaugural preseason watch lists for the 2023 season , which were nominated by the eight Pac-12 coaches. The 12-member Preseason Watch List included: Brenna Brooks , WASH; Jade Carey , OSU; Jordan Chiles , UCLA; Madi Dagen , OSU; Malia Hargrove , ARIZ; Caroline Herry , ARIZ; Skylar Killough-Wilhelm , WASH; Andi Li , CAL; Grace McCallum , UTAH; Hannah Scharf , ASU; Emily White , ASU; and Chloe Widner , STAN. The 4-member Newcomer Watch List included: eMjae Frazier , CAL; Selena Harris , UCLA; Anna Roberts , STAN; and Makenna Smith , UTAH.

BEST IN THE WEST

  • For the first time in Pac-12 history, every Pac-12 Womens Gymnastics program was selected to compete at the NCAA Womens Gymnastics Regionals last season. (All eight current programs were selected).
  • Utah advanced to its 46th-consecutive national championship after winning the Seattle Regional and is the only program in the nation to qualify to every national championship, including all 40 NCAA Championships (began in 1982). Several individuals from the conference also advanced to compete at nationals.
  • Utah advanced to the NCAA Finals and finished third overall for the second consecutive year.
  • All eight teams finished in the Top 26 in the final rankings - #3 Utah, #11 California, #12 UCLA, #14 Stanford, #17 Oregon State, #21 Washington, #22 Arizona State, #26 Arizona.

ON TV

  • Pac-12 Networks will broadcast 22 womens gymnastics meets this season as well as the 2023 Pac-12 Womens Gymnastics Championships, presented by Sprouts, on Saturday, March 18. Utahs battle with LSU on Friday, Jan. 6 aired live on ESPN2 and ESPN also carried Utahs non-conference meet at No. 1 Oklahoma on Sunday, Jan. 22. The league matchup between Utah and UCLA on Friday, Feb. 3 was the final Pac-12 regular season meet airing on ESPN.

2023 PAC-12 WOMENS GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIP

  • Tickets for the 2023 Pac-12 Womens Gymnastics Championships, presented by Sprouts, are on sale now at Pac-12.com/tickets . The one-day, two-session event returns to the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah on Saturday, March 18.

2023 PAC-12 GYMNASTS OF THE WEEK

Gymnast Specialist Freshman/Newcomer Coaches Choice
Jan. 10 Jordan Chiles, UCLA Mya Lauzon, CAL Selena Harris, UCLA Ella Cesario, CAL
Jan. 17 Jade Carey, OSU Kara Eaker, UTAH Selena Harris, UCLA Ira Alexeeva, STAN
Jan. 24 Jade Carey, OSU Amara Cunningham, WASH Selena Harris, UCLA Chloe Lashbrooke, UCLA
Jan. 31 Jade Carey, OSU eMjae Frazier, CAL Selena Harris, UCLA Elizabeth LaRusso, ARIZ
Feb. 7 Jordan Chiles, UCLA Maile OKeefe, UTAH Selena Harris, UCLA Emily White, ASU

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ( Full Schedule )

Friday, Feb. 10 TV/Stream Time
No. 26 Washington at No. 28 Arizona Pac-12 Insider 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT
No. 7 California at No. 13 Oregon State OSU Live Stream 7 p.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 11
Metroplex Challenge - Fort Worth, Texas (Afternoon Session): No. 4 Utah, No. 18 Georgia, No. 22 Illinois, Illinois State 12:30 p.m. PT
No. 20 Arizona State at No. 6 UCLA Pac-12 Insider 2 p.m. PT
Metroplex Challenge - Fort Worth, Texas (Evening Session): No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 11 Alabama, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 24 Stanford 5:30 p.m. PT
Monday, Feb. 13 TV/Stream Time
No. 26 Washington at No. 24 Stanford Pac-12 Insider 4 p.m. PT