Women's Gymnastics Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics Weekly Rundown - February 14, 2024

SCHEDULE | STANDINGS | RECORD BOOK

Pac-12 women's gymnastics has reached the midway point of the 2024 campaign and the conference's three top-10 teams - No. 2 California, No. 4 Utah and No. 8 UCLA - are all unbeaten in their league duals, but that is about to change as the Utes will visit the Bruins in LA for a President's Day matinee on Monday, Feb. 19. The meet will be broadcast live in front of a national audience on ESPN2 beginning at 2:30 p.m. PT.

The busy weekend slate begins with a top-20 matchup between in-state rivals No. 20 Arizona State at No. 17 Arizona in Tucson on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network, while two squads - the second-ranked Bears and Washington - will compete alongside No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 16 Arkansas at the Metroplex Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Denton, Texas, a quad meet that annually features the best teams in the country.

Overall, the Pac-12 has six teams ranked in the top 20 of the latest Road to Nationals rankings with all eight sitting in the top 32 in the nation.

LAST WEEK

  • No. 2 California hosted then- No. 18 Arizona in Berkeley last weekend and needed a come-from-behind performance on the last rotation to take down the Wildcats and keep its conference record unblemished at 4-0. Arizona held a 147.725 - 147.525 heading into the final rotation, but clutch floor performances by all-around winner eMjae Frazier and freshman Kyen Mayhew , who each posted a 9.95 on the event, ultimately gave the Bears the 197.125 - 196.850 win. Frazier's 39.575 score to take first in the all-around included a first-place finish on the beam with a 9.950. Cal was without junior Mya Lauzon , who ranks second in the country in four different events (all-around, vault, beam and floor). The Wildcats were led by senior Malia Hargrove and junior Alysen Fears , with Hargrove tying her career-high on vault with a 9.975 and Fears recording a 9.950 on bars.
  • No. 4 Utah took care of business in Seattle, posting a season-high 197.775 in its win at Washington over the weekend, marking the best regular-season road score since 2022. The Utes' bars score of 49.525 was also a season high. Junior Grace McCallum earned the win in the all-around with a 39.550 to go along with a floor title (9.950) and a share of the bars title (9.925) with teammates Amelie Morgan and Maile O'Keefe . Washington senior Skylar Killough-Wilhelm finished third in the all-around (39.350), which included a team-high 9.900 on the floor. Earlier in the week in a dual meet against Stanford, Killough-Wilhelm set a new career-high in the all-around with a 39.575, earning her the Pac-12 Coaches' Choice award for the week.
  • After the two squads tied in the regular-season meeting last year, No. 8 UCLA made sure that wasn't repeated as the Bruins posted a season-high road score to beat No. 19 Oregon State , 197.425 - 196.700, in Corvallis. Reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Selena Harris picked up her second consecutive Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honor after another outstanding week that saw her win a third straight all-around title, highlighted by her second career 10.0 score on vault, the first perfect score for a Bruin on any event in 2024. In addition to winning the all-around and vault, Harris collected titles on the bars and beam with a 9.95 in both events. Oregon State junior and Olympian Jade Carey competed in the all-around for the first time this season and finished second behind Harris with a 39.625, while freshman Sophia Esposito earned her second Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week award after posting a 39.525 in her collegiate all-around debut.
  • No. 20 Arizona State and Stanford also came down to the wire last week with the Sun Devils leaving the Bay Area with a slim 196.975 to 196.875 margin, a season-high road score for ASU and 10th-highest road score in program history. The two teams traded leads after each rotation but it was the beam score on the final rotation that gave the Sun Devils their first conference victory of 2024. Senior Sarah Clark was key to the win, winning the bars with a 9.950 and scoring a 9.925 on beam to take a second event title at the meet en route to earning Pac-12 Specialist of the Week honors. Fellow senior Jada Mangahas won her second all-around title with a career-high score of 39.325. Despite the loss, the Cardinal recorded a season-high team score of 196.875, fueled by a season-best vault score of 49.200. Fifth-year senior Chloe Widner won a share of the bars title with a season-best tying 9.950, while sophomore Porsche Trinidad earned a share of the beam title with a career-best 9.925 on the event.

THIS WEEK

  • Nothing like a rivalry showdown to kick off the weekend as 20th-ranked Arizona State visits 17th-ranked Arizona on Thursday night at the McKale Center in Tucson. The meet will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks and Pac-12 Arizona beginning at 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT. The Gym Devils have won six straight in the in-state dual series dating back to 2016, but the Wildcats have posted consistently higher scores so far in 2024, giving them a good chance to end the ASU winning streak. Arizona will also head to Denton, Texas for a Monday, Feb. 19 quad meet at Texas Woman's University, which features No. 9 Alabama and No. 16 Arkansas. Action gets underway at 1 p.m. MT/12 p.m. PT.
  • No. 19 Oregon State has had a challenging start to its conference slate having to face No. 2 California, No. 4 Utah and No. 8 UCLA in three consecutive weeks. The Beavers will host Stanford at Gill Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. PT on Pac-12 Insider looking to get into the win column in the league standings. When the two teams went head-to-head a season ago, OSU set a program record with a 198.075 in the win over the Cardinal on the road and overall the Beavers have owned the dual series, winning every dual matchup since 2015.
  • The Pac-12 will see two squads compete in the annual elite Metroplex Challenge in Texas as No. 2 California and Washington joins the two-time defending national champion and the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners and No. 16 Arkansas on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT. The Bears and Huskies met earlier in the season in Seattle in a Pac-12 dual won by the Bears.
  • The Utes and Bruins dual-meet battle is sure to come down to the wire as only .521 points separates the NQS for the two sides. No. 4 Utah has won four straight in the dual series, but also got the best of No. 8 UCLA at both the Pac-12 Championships and the LA Regional last year so the Bruins are hoping to reverse that trend at home on Monday. This is the second straight year Utah and UCLA will meet on the national stage on ESPN2.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ( Full Schedule )

Thursday, Feb. 15 TV/Stream Time
No. 20 Arizona State at No. 17 Arizona Pac-12 Network/Arizona 5:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 17 TV/Stream Time
Stanford at No. 19 Oregon State Pac-12 Insider 11:00 a.m. PT
Metroplex Challenge (Fort Worth, Texas): No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 California , No. 16 Arkansas, No. 29 Washington 5:00 p.m. PT
Monday, Feb. 19
Texas Woman's Quad (Denton, Texas): Texas Woman's, No. 9 Alabama, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 17 Arizona 12:00 p.m. PT
No. 4 Utah at No. 8 UCLA ESPN2 2:30 p.m. PT

ROAD TO NATIONALS RANKINGS - FEB. 12

  • The Road to Nationals National Qualifying Scores (NQS) rankings, which track official NQS scores throughout the season, released its sixth rankings on Monday, February 12 but the first that officially track the National Qualifying Scores or NQS (six best regular-season meet scores of which three must be away). To obtain the NQS, the high score is eliminated and the remaining five scores are averaged. After the switch from straight average to the NQS, six of eight Pac-12 programs remained ranked in the top 20 with three - No. 2 California, No. 4 Utah and No. 8 UCLA in the top 10.
  • Team Overall
    • California stayed put in the No. 2 spot with a 197.604 NQS, trailing only Oklahoma's 198.113. The Bears have been at No. 2 for five straight weeks, marking their highest ranking in program history.
    • Utah also remained in the top five at No. 4 with its NQS at 197.533, just ahead of No. 5 Kentucky's 197.458.
    • The Bruins have climbed seven spots over the last three weeks and stayed at No. 8 with a NQS of 197.254, in front of No. 9 Alabama at 197.246.
    • Arizona also stood pat at at No. 17 (196.670), while Oregon State checked in at No. 19 this week (196.588) followed closely by No. 20 Arizona State (196.538). Washington sits at No. 29 (195.088) and Stanford climbed seven spots from No. 39 to No. 32 (195.895) to round it out.
  • Top-10 Event Rankings - Team
    • Vault: 4. California (49.354);  T6. UCLA (49.3235); 10. Utah (49.279).
    • Bars: 2. California (49.475); T6. Oregon State (49.342); 9. Utah (49.325).
    • Beam: 2. Utah (49.425); 4. California (49.321); 10. UCLA (49.196).
    • Floor: 3. UCLA (49.517); 4. Utah (49.504); 8. California (49.454).
  • Top-10 Event Rankings - Individual
    • All-Around: 2. Mya Lauzon, CAL (39.740); 7. Selena Harris, UCLA (39.638); 8. Jade Carey, OSU (39.625).
    • Vault: 2. Mya Lauzon, CAL (9.945); 6. Chae Campbell, UCLA (9.910); 8. Selena Harris (9.904).
    • Bars: T4. Selena Harris, UCLA (9.925); T4. Maddie Williams, CAL (9.925);  T6. Grace McCallum, UTAH (9.921).
    • Beam: 2. Mya Lauzon, CAL (9.945); T3. Abby Paulson, UTAH (9.933).
    • Floor: T 2. Mya Lauzon, CAL (9.945); 10. Nya Reed, UCLA (9.925).

PERFECT 10s

  • The Pac-12 has seen five Perfect 10s during the 2024 season so far.
    • UCLA's Selena Harris became the third Pac-12 gymnast and first Bruin this season to score a Perfect 10, which came on the vault on Friday, Feb. 9 at Oregon State as part of her all-around win at the dual meet. It marked her second career 10.0 vault after she posted the score in the LA Regional last spring.
    • Utah's fifth-year senior and reigning NCAA Beam Champion Maile O'Keefe earned her 11th career 10.0 on beam against the Broncos on Friday, Jan. 5. She added her 12th career 10.0 on beam in the Rio Tinto Best of Utah meet on Jan. 15 and added a 13th career 10.0 on beam in a dual meet win over Oregon State on Feb. 2. O'Keefe now has 14 perfect scores in her career, joining legendary Red Rock gymnast Theresa Kulikowski for most in a career.
    • Cal sophomore eMjae Frazier scored a 10.0 on beam on Saturday, Jan. 13 at ESPN's Collegiate Quad meet in Salt Lake City, just the second 10.0 on beam in Cal history. After earning a 10.0 on floor as a freshman last season, she is now the only Bear in Cal history to earn a Perfect 10 in two different events during a career.

198 CLUB

  • UCLA became the first Pac-12 team to break the 198 mark this year after posting a 198.075 in a dual meet win over then-No. 18 Arizona on Feb. 4. The Bruins are one of only six teams in the country to score 198 or above in 2024.

BY THE NUMBERS

  • Not only did did UCLA break the 198 mark with a 198.075 against Arizona on Feb. 4, the Bruins set season-bests on the bars (19.425), beam (49.525) and floor (49.750). Sophomore Selena Harris also won the all-around with a career-high of 39.775, which is the third-best mark in the country this year,
  • At the Feb. 2 Tri-meet at Arizona State, the Bears matched their season-high score of 197.950, which is the sixth-highest ranked score in program history, and came a week after they posted the score in a win at Oregon State on Jan. 27.
  • Then-No. 18 Arizona opened up its Pac-12 slate with the Wildcats' first win over Stanford since 2020 (197.000 - 196.000). The GymCats reached the 197 mark for the first time this year with the 197.000 flat marking the seventh-highest score in program history.
  • On Saturday, Jan. 13, No. 2 California finished first in the third session of ESPN's Collegiate Quad with a team score of 197.875, besting No. 14 Michigan State, No. 18 BYU and North Carolina State with the seventh-highest team score in program history. The Bears also set a program record on the vault with a 49.525 at the event while freshman eMjae Frazier set a program record for the all-around with a 39.775, breaking the old mark she set as a freshman a year ago. A week later in its conference opener at Washington, Cal matched its season-high team score of 197.875, which ranks fourth-highest in the country this season, while junior Mya Lauzon tied Frazier's mark in her all-around win.
  • Utah's 197.725 team score in winning the Rio Tinto Best of Utah meet on Monday 1/15 is tied for fifth-highest score in the nation this season.
  • Arizona began its 2024 winning the first session of ESPN's Collegiate Quad over No. 16 Nebraska, Boise State and North Carolina on Feb. 12 with a score of 196.475, the Wildcats' highest season-opening score in program history.

PRESEASON RANKINGS

  • For a second consecutive year, all 8 Pac-12 women's gymnastics teams are ranked in the top 25 of the 2024 Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Preseason Poll , voted on annually by Division I women's gymnastics coaches. The eight teams in the top 25 are tied for the most with the SEC.
  • Utah, which won its third consecutive Pac-12 title in 2023 and finished third at the National Championships for a third straight year, is the Conference's top-ranked team coming in at No. 4 with a pair of first-place votes.
  • Joining Utah in the top 10 is UCLA at No. 5 and California at No. 7. Oregon State checks in at No. 13, followed by Arizona State at No. 19, Stanford at No. 20, Washington at No. 21 and Arizona at No. 22.

KEY RETURNERS & NEWCOMERS

  • Utah senior Maile OKeefe is back for a fifth year looking to defend her NCAA titles in the All-Around and Beam from last spring, while Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Jade Carey returns for Oregon State. Carey will be simultaneously competing for the Beavers and preparing for next summers Paris Olympics.
  • UCLAs Selena Harris , the 2023 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, returns for the Bruins.
  • In all, 13 of 17 NCAA All-Americans from last season are back in 2024:
    • California: eMjae Frazier, Maya Lauzon, Andi Li, Maddie Williams; Oregon State: Jade Carey; Stanford: Chloe Widner; UCLA: Chae Campbell, Margzetta Frazier, Selena Harris, Emma Malabuyo; Utah: Maile OKeefe, Grace McCallum, Makenna Smith.
  • Four Pac-12 programs - Utah (No. 6) Oregon State (No. 8), Arizona (No. 9) and Washington (No. 10) - are ranked in the top 10 of College Gym News Freshman Class of 2024 Rankings. Classes are highlighted by Utahs trio of five stars Ella Zirbes, Elizabeth Gantner and Camie Winger; Oregon States Sophia Esposito, Arizonas Abigayle Martin and Washingtons five-star Kristin Lin.

PAC-12 PRESEASON POLL & WATCH LISTS

  • In a polling of the leagues eight womens gymnastics head coaches , defending Pac-12 champion Utah was selected as the preseason favorite to claim a fourth straight conference title in 2024.
  • Utah, who became the first team to win three straight Pac-12 titles since the league expanded in 2011 and won its sixth Pac-12 crown overall last spring, received 46 points, including five first-place votes, to edge out runner-up UCLA, who collected 43 total points and the other three first-place votes. The two programs have taken turns capturing conference titles since 2014, with Utah winning in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023 and UCLA winning in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
  • California finished third in the poll with 40 points, while Oregon State checked in at fourth with 30 points. Arizona State (22 points) came in fifth followed by Stanford (19 points) in sixth, Washington (14 points) in seventh and Arizona (10 points) in eighth to round it out.
  • The Pac-12 released its Preseason Watch List and Newcomer Watch List ahead of the 2024 campaign, which features 16 total student-athletes across the eight programs as nominated by the league's coaches.
    • The 2024 Preseason Watch List includes 11 returning student-athletes: Jade Carey, Oregon State; Chae Campbell, UCLA; Alysen Fears, Arizona; eMjae Frazier, California; Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Washington; Mya Lauzon, California; Jada Mangahas, Arizona State; Amelia Morgan, Utah; Lana Navarro, Washington; Hannah Scharf, Arizona State; Chloe Widner, Stanford.
    • The 2024 Newcomer Watch List features five freshmen: Sophia Esposito, Oregon State; Abigayle Martin, Arizona; Sienna Robinson, Stanford; Katelyn Rosen, UCLA; Ella Zirbes, Utah.

OLYMPIC STRENGTH

  • Pac-12 lineups this upcoming season will feature three Olympic medalists from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, all whom are training for a chance to again represent their countries at the upcoming Paris Olympics. In Tokyo, reigning two-time Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, Oregon State's Jade Carey (USA) won an individual gold medal in the floor exercise, Utah's Grace McCallum was a silver medalist 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 Emma Malabuyo , who was an alternate for the United States.
  • Of note: Former UCLA gymnast and Olympian Jordan Chiles , who won the 2023 NCAA titles in the uneven bars and floor exercise, has paused her collegiate career to exclusively train for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

BEST IN THE WEST

  • For the second consecutive year and second time in Pac-12 history, all eight Pac-12 Womens Gymnastics programs were selected to compete at the NCAA Womens Gymnastics Regionals last season.
  • Six of eight Pac-12 teams advanced to Regional Finals, which was the most of any conference in the nation. Utah and UCLA finished first and second at the LA Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships and California won the Pittsburgh Regional, its first regional title in program history, to advance to Nationals as well.
  • After winning its third consecutive Pac-12 Championship in 2023, Utah went on to its 47th-consecutive national championship meet after winning the LA Regional, and is the only program in the nation to qualify for every national championship, including all 41 NCAA Championships. The Utes advanced to the NCAA Finals and finished third overall for the third consecutive year in 2023.
  • All eight teams finished in the Top 21 in the final 2023 Road to Nationals rankings - No. 3 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, No. 7 California, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 16 Washington, No. 19 Stanford and No. 21 Arizona.

THE RISE OF COLLEGIATE GYMNASTICS

  • More eyes are on the sport than ever before:
    • Last years National Championship broke the 1 million viewer mark for the first time and viewership is only expected to rise, especially in the lead up to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
    • ESPN launched its own invitational meet that will feature 12 total teams, with the main session including four of the sports top teams and airing on ABC in its prime time slot. Called the "Collegiate Quad", the meet will take place at the Maverik Center - site of the last two Pac-12 Womens Gym Championships - on January 12-13, 2024 and include four Pac-12 programs - Utah and UCLA, California and Arizona - among 12 total teams competing over the two days, including defending national champion Oklahoma.

ON TV

  • A total of 20 womens gymnastics competitions are scheduled to air on Pac-12 Networks, including Oregon State at Utah on Friday, Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT . Two-time defending Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Jade Carey and the Beavers look to knock off the three-time defending Pac-12 Champion Utes in Salt Lake City.
  • Utah and UCLA will compete in EPSN's Collegiate Quad on Saturday, January 13th on ABC at 1 p.m. PT. The Utes and Bruins will also meet in their head-to-head Pac-12 competition on Monday, February 19 at 2:30 p.m. PT on ESPNU.

2024 PAC-12 WOMENS GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Tickets for the 2024 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.

2024 Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Weekly Awards

Gymnast Specialist Freshman/Newcomer Coaches' Choice
Jan. 9 Maile O'Keefe, UTAH Jade Carey, OSU Taylor DeVries, OSU Natalie Briones, OSU
Jan. 16 eMjae Frazier, CAL Jade Carey, OSU Camie Winger, UTAH Sage Thompson, OSU
Jan. 23 Mya Lauzon, CAL Amelie Morgan, UTAH Sophia Esposito, OSU Alysen Fears, ARIZ
Jan. 30 Mya Lauzon, CAL Chae Campbell, UCLA Katelyn Rosen, UCLA Porsche Trinidad, STAN
Feb. 6 Selena Harris, UCLA Nya Reed, UCLA Katelyn Rosen, UCLA Emily White, ASU
Feb. 13 Selena Harris, UCLA Sarah Clark, ASU Sophia Esposito, OSU Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, WASH