What to make of No. 4 Utah’s setback at No. 13 Oregon State?

byDuc Manh •
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Utah’s Jaylene Gilstrap does her beam routine.

FILE — Utah’s Jaylene Gilstrap does her beam routine throughout a gymnastics meet in opposition to Arizona on the Huntsman Middle in Salt Lake Metropolis on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret Information

The common season got here to an finish for Utah gymnastics Saturday night and never precisely in the way in which the No. 4-ranked Purple Rocks would have most well-liked.

On the highway in Corvallis, Oregon, taking over the No. 13 Oregon State Beavers, Utah misplaced solely its second convention meet this season, 197.950 to 197.700.

The setback meant that Utah didn’t win the Pac-12 common season title outright this yr, the Purple Rocks as an alternative sharing the title with Oregon State, No. 7 Cal and No. 5 UCLA.

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Outcomes


Crew scores — Oregon State, 197.950; Utah, 197.700

Occasion winners

All-around — Jade Carey (Oregon State); 39.825

Steadiness beam — Jade Carey (Oregon State); 9.975

Ground train — Jade Carey (Oregon State); 9.975

Uneven bars — Jade Carey (Oregon State), Jennifer McMillan (Oregon State), Cristal Isa (Utah), Sage Thompson (Utah); 9.950

Vault — Jade Carey (Oregon State); 9.925

Utah’s rating additionally wasn’t sufficient to carry off rival UCLA within the nationwide rankings. Come Monday, the Bruins will rank forward of Utah and can maintain the highest seed on the Pac-12 gymnastics championships subsequent weekend.

The Purple Rocks had their moments, although, together with a standout opening bars rotation (49.550).

“I assumed the meet began out rather well on bars,” Utah head coach Tom Farden stated. “A number of good landings tonight.”

There have been spectacular particular person outings too, together with event-winning performances on bars by Sage Thompson and Cristal Isa, a trio of scores of 9.9 or higher on ground by Jaylene Gilstrap, Abby Paulson and Maile O’Keefe, plus a notable meet-ending beam routine by Gilstrap.

Utah additionally improved its NQS, regardless of the loss.

It was that type of evening. One crammed with positives and negatives.

“The children didn’t cease preventing,” Farden stated. “We don’t have loads of time to show this factor round, so we have now to get again within the health club, work arduous and head off to Pac-12s and see what occurs.”

Defining second

Two issues determined the meet, one a rotation, the opposite a person routine.

After the primary rotation within the meet, Utah led and seemed to be en path to an enormous rating. Vault proved the Purple Rocks’ undoing, although.

Apart from Abby Brenner and Jaedyn Rucker, each of whom scored a 9.9 and caught their landings, Utah struggled on vault. Not as a lot because it did in earlier highway meets, such because the Metroplex Problem or at ASU, however nonetheless vault proved a significant problem.

The best rating after the aforementioned 9.9s was a 9.825, courtesy of Makenna Smith and Gilstrap. O’Keefe struggled along with her touchdown and scored a 9.775 and Lucy Stanhope returned to the lineup for the primary time in over a month and sat her vault.

Landings proved problematic, an ongoing theme on the occasion for a lot of this yr, and any and all momentum that Utah had disappeared, a minimum of for a time.

Utah managed to bounce again in an enormous means, although, with a strong ground rotation (49.475) after which went to beam to shut out the meet.

The No. 1-ranked beam group within the nation this season, Utah seemed to be in glorious form — with a real shot on the win — however an inexplicable fall by O’Keefe ended any hope of a Purple Rocks rally.

O’Keefe fell if you’d least count on, proper after she mounted the beam. It was, in a phrase, stunning.

“I really assume there may be an expectation for a ten each time she (Maile) touches that beam and that may weigh closely,” Farden stated. “However she continues to be an athlete and I’m nonetheless her coach.

“On the time, I assumed the very best factor was to place my arm round her and say, ‘You’re human.’ Nothing however her satisfaction was harm. I instructed her we're going to cost ahead and never take issues with no consideration from right here on out.”

Wants work

There was room for enchancment on three occasions — beam, ground and vault — although vault has confirmed the Purple Rocks’ biggest weak point this season, significantly within the weeks following Grace McCallum’s harm.

Landings particularly have been a battle and the 2 caught landings that had been managed Saturday weren’t precisely straightforward to get.

Rucker fought arduous for her stick, more durable than you normally see, and Brenner’s was held for however a short second.

Stanhope sitting her vault wasn’t best both, however she hadn’t competed in over a month and Farden felt the necessity to get her again on the competitors ground earlier than the postseason (she has missed important time this season with a bruised heel).

“We needed to get Lucy again on the market,” Farden stated.

Utah is aware of vault landings are a problem. It's a level of emphasis proper now.

“They should settle in somewhat extra with their landings,” Farden stated. “They're undoubtedly addressing that. We have to allow them to be somewhat extra affected person after they come to the touchdown portion of it. ... We're zeroing in on vault and we have to.”

That’s encouraging

Once more, it was a meet with loads of positives and negatives. And on the constructive facet was Gilstrap.

The junior has come into her personal this season and competed arguably her greatest ground routine of the yr (the identical is also argued of O’Keefe, who scored a 9.925 within the anchor spot on ground).

Farden was greater than happy with Gilstrap’s displaying on vault, nevertheless it was her meet-closing beam routine that drew rave evaluations.

Following O’Keefe’s fall on beam, Gilstrap delivered the very best beam routine of her profession, in essentially the most pressure-packed second of her Utah profession. At the very least for her as a person.

“One of many highlights was the final routine of the evening, with Jaylene hitting that lovely 9.9,” Farden stated. “She has proven unbelievable progress. She is absolutely having fun with her gymnastics. You'll be able to see the athlete we recruited, by way of elite high quality of motion, her artistry, the way in which she instructions.

“You're drawn in due to how clear her gymnastics is. Actually pleased with Jaylene. She is a quiet competitor however plugs away and works extraordinarily arduous.”

Gilstrap wasn’t the one standout. Brenner continues to be ever the strong veteran, with a number of 9.9s. Abby Paulson was proper there along with her as effectively, with a 9.925 on beam and a 9.9 on ground.

Isa had considered one of her greatest meets of the season as effectively, with a 9.950 on bars and a 9.925 on beam.

Subjective scoring

Maybe the most important speaking level throughout and after the meet was the scoring. The subjectivity of a judged sport like gymnastics can infuriate followers at instances and that was the case for a lot of Utah supporters Saturday, who felt Oregon State benefited from beneficiant residence scores.

(OSU followers little question would argue their scores had been truthful and the Beavers deserved to win the meet.)

Farden usually talks in regards to the subjectivity of gymnastics and did so once more following the meet with Oregon State.

“What I count on from the judges is that once we stroll in right here, whatever the leotard we're carrying, if it's a efficiency that deems a excessive rating, we must be rewarded a excessive rating,” Farden stated. “It's a subjective sport. There are liabilities to it, however I believe I ought to depart it at that.”

Whether or not overscored or underscored on Saturday, Farden and Utah are optimistic for the longer term, first with the Pac-12 championships after which the NCAA postseason.

“There's loads of hope. A number of hope,” Farden stated. “We improved our NQS immediately. This (meet) was an entire sellout and that speaks to the recognition of ladies’s gymnastics and the place it's going. It was utterly electrical in right here.

“After which the opposite factor is our group continues to seek out its identification with out two of our Olympians (McCallum and Kara Eaker). They don't seem to be quitting. They're nonetheless preventing. You'll be able to see it is a group of fighters, so that's encouraging.”

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