Pac-12 Gymnastics Week 1 Recap: Utah on top, beam woes hit Super 16

Week 1 kicked off with four of the eight Pac-12 gymnastics teams competing at the Mean Girls Super 16 in Las Vegas. Washington, Oregon State, Cal, and UCLA all participated, while Arizona State and Utah hosted meets. Stanford and Arizona did not compete this week.

Here’s how each of the six teams looked in their 2024 debut:

#21 Washington @ Mean Girls Super 16

Washington finished in third during Session 1, with a total score of 195.000. Denver finished first with a 196.850, Illinois finished second with a 195.825, and San Jose State finished fourth with a 194.950

The GymDawgs got off to a good start on vault, led by sophomore Emily Innes sticking her Yurchenko full to earn a career-high 9.875. Lana Navarro also stuck her vault (9.8250), and the Huskies put up their best event score of the day with a 49.025.

Washington then went to bars, where things unraveled as both seniors Taylor Russon and Skylar Killough-Wilhelm fell during their routines. After having few mistakes during their preseason intrasquads, head coach Jen Llewellyn referred to the two seniors falling as a “complete fluke.”

Llewellyn also noted that there was a difference between competing on podium bars, but no excuses.

“The biggest difference for our current athletes is the bounce of the bars, because the podium’s taller and the way that they set up this bar set compared to last year or normal podium is it doesn’t go through the podium, it’s weighted on top,” Llewellyn told Gymnastics Now. “That can kind of affect everyone a little bit differently, but we’re all competing on the same equipment, so that’s not an excuse.”

The GymDawgs rebounded on beam, starting with freshman Chelsea Hallinan putting up a 9.875 in her debut and leading all Huskies on the event. Washington hit on all five of their counting scores for a combined 48.900 before finishing with a 48.925 on floor.

#13 Oregon State @ Mean Girls Super 16

Oregon State finished Session 3 of the Mean Girls Super 16 in second with a 196.525. Minnesota finished first with a 196.850, while Southern Utah came in third (196.025) and BYU finished fourth (195.900).

The story of the day for the Beavers was their success on bars, where they put up a 49.625, tied for first on the event in the nation with Oklahoma through one week. All of their counted scores on bars were at least a 9.90, highlighted by Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey anchoring the event with a 9.975. The additions of Utah transfer Sage Thompson and freshman Taylor DeVries to the bars lineup paid off immediately as both gymnasts posted a 9.90.

Unfortunately for the Beavers, their success on bars did not carry over to beam. The Beavers were one of several teams to go through beam woes during their appearance in Vegas as two gymnasts fell, causing the team to count a fall. On the bright side, the four other counting scores were all 9.825+, including freshman Sophia Esposito leading off with a 9.825. Esposito also added a 9.850 on vault and a 9.625 on floor in her debut meet.

Notably, Jade Carey stuck to her initial preseason plan in which she would primarily compete bars and beam to avoid overdoing it as she continues to train for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Though Carey is no longer doing the all-around weekly, her 9.975 on bars and 9.90 on beam are still welcomed contributions for the Beavers.

#5 UCLA & #7 Cal @ Mean Girls Super 16

Cal finished second during Session 4 of the Mean Girls Super 16 with a 196.850, behind Alabama (197.125) and ahead of Auburn (196.600) and UCLA (196.550).

Cal

Cal got off to a phenomenal start on their best event: bars. The bars scoring at the Mean Girls Super 16 combined with the Bears’ pristine form, technique and handstands were a perfect match. Four of the Bears’ five counting scores were 9.9+, and the team is clearly deep when they’re able to drop a 9.825 and exhibition another competitive routine in the first meet of the season. Overall, Cal posted the third highest bars score of the weekend with a 49.550, after Oklahoma and Oregon State both put up a 49.625.

Though the Bears began the meet in midseason form on bars, the same can’t be said for beam. Like Oregon State, beam got to the Bears on Saturday. The Bears were able to avoid any falls but had three routines with balance breaks that caused them to count two sub-9.7 scores. For a team that ranked sixth on beam a season ago, the ensuing 48.850 was not ideal, but it’s a score the Bears should be more than able to improve upon.

After beam dropped Cal to third, the Bears put in a 49.125 on floor and a 49.325 on vault to close out the meet in second. Individually, Mya Lauzon starred on her way to winning the Session 4 all-around title with a 39.600 after posting a 9.9+ on three events. Lauzon also tied Chae Champbell (UCLA) for first on vault after sticking her Yurchenko 1.5. Gabby Perea and Maddie Williams were part of a four-way tie for the bars title with Selena Harris (UCLA) and Luisa Blanco (Alabama).

UCLA

At first glance, UCLA’s season-opening 196.550 doesn’t look too great. The Bruins finished fourth in Session 4 of the Mean Girls Super 16 and posted only the second sub-197 score since Janelle McDonald took over. However, there were a good amount of positive takeaways from this opening meet.

UCLA began the season with a 49.325 on vault. All five of their counting scores received at least a 9.825, highlighted by Chae Campbell earning a perfect 9.950 on her Yurchenko full. Freshmen Paige Anastasi and Katelyn Rosen made their debuts as Anastasi scored a 9.825 and Rosen went 9.725 in her exhibition routine. The Bruins’ vault total was the third best mark of the week nationally. Given all that has been made about vault for UCLA this offseason, this is a win in and of itself.

UCLA also got off to a good start on bars, starting with a 9.800 from Campbell. Emma Malabuyo made her competitive return to bars with clean handstands and a 9.850, just 0.25 behind her NCAA career-high on the event. The highlight of the event was easily Selena Harris, who hit beautiful handstands and nailed her dismount for a 9.950, tying for the highest score of the session.

After two, UCLA was in the lead. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they lost that lead shortly after two on falls on balance beam. Ciena Alipio fell on her side aerial to layout step out acro series – a change from her previous front aerial to back tuck, and Campbell fell as well. Outside of those falls, the Bruins saw Malabuyo and Harris uncharacteristically falter on their dismounts to cost them from hitting what otherwise were likely 9.9+ routines. 

The Bruins then rebounded with their typical floor party, posting a 49.500 – the second-highest score in Week 1 behind LSU. Florida transfer Nya Reed fit seamlessly into the rotation with a 9.9, and Brooklyn Moors scored a career-high 9.950 with her signature front tumbling and passionate expression through powerful choreography.

Boise State vs. #4 Utah

Utah should be pleased after putting up the second-highest overall score of opening weekend with their 197.300-194.350 win over Boise State. The Red Rocks got the win in Carly Dockendorf’s first meet as head coach and finished only behind Oklahoma, nationally, for the top score of the weekend. Despite all the upheavals, newcomers, and departures over the offseason, Utah managed to hit every routine to start their season.

Reigning NCAA all-around champion Maile O’Keefe picked up right where she left off last year, earning the first perfect 10 of the year with a perfect beam set. O’Keefe also added a win on floor with a 9.950 and tied for first on bars as she and teammate Grace McCallum posted 9.925s.

The Red Rocks’ weakest event of the night was vault, where they finished with a score of 49.150. Utah lost several vault starters after the 2023 season, but they did welcome freshmen Ella Zirbes, Camie Winger, and Temple transfer Ashley Glynn. Zirbes, Winger, and Glynn all performed Yurchenko 1.5s, adding to the depth Utah has with 10.0 start value vaults. Sophomore Makenna Smith, the lone gymnast to compete in the all-around at this meet, won vault with the sole 9.9 on the event.

Utah posted their highest score of the night on floor, where they tied for third in the NCAA with a 49.450. After O’Keefe, McCallum posted a 9.90 and both Smith and Jaylene Gilstrap added 9.875s.

Central Michigan vs. #19 Arizona State

Arizona State opened its season with a home win – 195.725-195.125 over Central Michigan on Monday night. No Sun Devil gymnast competed in the all-around, though both Emily White and Jada Manhagas competed on three events and performed an exhibition routine on the fourth.

The Sun Devils started the meet on vault, where they put up their second highest event score of the night with a 49.125. Freshman Halle Gregoire made her debut and posted a 9.775. Fifth-year Hannah Scharf tied with teammate Anaya Smith for the event win as both recorded a 9.850.

After vault, Arizona State saw three of their first four gymnasts stick their bars dismounts en route to a 49.175. However, the highlight of bars was the return of Cassi Barbanente, who competed on the event for the first time since 2021. Barbanente has dealt with injuries and has only competed one vault over the last two seasons. She returned by tying her career-best with a 9.875 – good for second.

The Sun Devils then hit all of their beam routines, led by Sarah Clark’s 9.875, before they had some stumbles on floor. Freshman Lilia Purler made her debut with a good 9.750, but falls from both Emily White and Alex Theodorou meant Arizona State had to count a fall in their total. Ultimately, they were able to hold off Chippewas and notch their first win.