In lower-scoring affair, Red Rocks get road win over BYU in first-ever conference meet

PROVO — The week was a bookend of scores for the Red Rocks.

Coming off a then-nation-leading score on Monday in the Best of Utah quad meet — where Utah and BYU already competed — the Red Rocks found themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum Friday night in Provo.

It wasn't the team's lowest score of the season, but it was in clear contrast to the meet four days prior.

The Red Rocks finished the night with a 196.975 to beat rival BYU, who scored a 195.325, in the first-ever conference meet between the two teams separated by approximately 50 miles.

It was a night filled with great gymnastic performances but a much lower scoring result from the judges in attendance at the Marriott Center. But at least for the Red Rocks, it was another conference win.

And considering it was the Red Rocks' third meet in seven days, it was a strong result to closeout the stretch of days with little extra time to train.

"Three meets in seven days is a lot, and I felt like they did a really good job of just bringing energy today," Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf said. "I definitely was wondering what it was going to look like on the seventh day of our third meet, and I thought they did an excellent job of just bringing in good focus, good energy, good attitude.

"For them to keep that mindset three meets in a row in a week is, I think, it's just huge," she added. "And then I feel like their quality of their gymnastics tonight was excellent, and so it just shows their conditioning and their fitness and where they're at to be able to do that this early in the season."

For it being the third meet in seven days, it didn't show for the gymnasts — even if the scores didn't always reflect that.

Grace McCallum and Makenna Smith tied in the all-around competition with a 39.425 score, with each going their own way to get the tie.

McCallum scored a team-high 9.925 on bars and beam, while earning a 9.900 on floor. She scored a 9.675 on vault after landing with too much power and taking a big step on her landing.

Smith was a little more even in her scoring, with a high on vault of 9.900 on a perfect stick — she got a 9.950/9.850 split from the judges. It was arguably a better stick than what she got on Monday when she scored a 9.950, but it was a strong tell-tale sign for how the scoring would go Friday night.

"Makenna started off with a really nice routine," Dockendorf said. "I think it was clear, kind of, how the scoring was going to be, and we just stayed focused on us, and we just kept doing our job and didn't even think about the scores. Just wasn't something we really focused on."

And the lower scores didn't dampen the mood of the gymnasts.

"I thought our meet was great tonight," McCallum said. "I think everybody did a beautiful job, like, just really making slow, steady progress. And I know the scores didn't necessarily reflect that, but that's out of our control. But I think we should walk away from this meet feeling really proud of what we put out there on the floor today."

The Cougars also had lower scoring from Monday's meet, but Brynlee Andersen managed a team-high 9.900 on beam that sent the Marriott Center crowd into a frenzy.

For much of the night, BYU lived with event scores being in the 48's, but finished out the night with a 49.025 after earning three straight 9.775 scores, followed by three straight 9.825 scores on floor.

Team scores

No. 5 Utah

• Bars: 49.250
• Vault: 98.450 (49.200)
• Floor: 147.625 (49.175)
• Beam: 196.975 (49.350)

BYU

• Vault: 48.775
• Bars: 97.325 (48.550)
• Beam: 146.300 (48.975)
• Floor: 195.325 (49.025)

Red Rocks scores

1st Rotation: Bars (49.250)

• Makenna Smith: 9.800
• Ana Padurariu: 9.800
• Ashley Glynn: 9.775
• Amelie Morgan: 9.850
• Ella Zirbes: 9.875
• Grace McCallum: 9.925

2nd Rotation: Vault (49.200)

• Ella Zirbes: 9.825
• Grace McCallum: 9.675
• Camie Winger: 9.875
• Makenna Smith: 9.900
• Ashley Glynn: 9.800
• Amelie Morgan: 9.800

3rd Rotation: Floor (49.175)

• Makenna Smith: 9.850
• Camie Winger: 9.800
• Ashley Glynn: 9.800
• Jaylene Gilstrap: 9.800
• Grace McCallum: 9.900
• Sarah Krump: 9.825

4th Rotation: Beam (49.350)

• Ana Padurariu: 9.825
• Camie Winger: 9.875
• Makenna Smith: 9.875
• Amelie Morgan: 9.825
• Grace McCallum: 9.925
• Elizabeth Gantner: 9.850

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