Pac-12 Gymnastics Week 4 Preview: A packed conference dual slate

Conference dual meets are in full swing, with all eight Pac-12 gymnastics teams competing in duals this weekend.

Here’s a preview of all four matchups.

Arizona State @ #5 Utah

Week 4 Matchup: Friday, January 26 8 p.m. ET | Arizona State @ Utah – Live Stats | Video (Pac-12)

Arizona State

The Sun Devils are competing in their first conference dual of this season, with this one against the reigning Pac-12 champion Red Rocks. Though Arizona State has had a solid start to the year, they have yet to score a 197, which means it would be tricky for them to keep up with Utah unless the Red Rocks falter significantly.

However, it’s far from impossible. The Sun Devils upset the Red Rocks last season in a narrow 197.550-197.500 victory. If Arizona State can continue putting up high vault scores and stay clean on the other events, there’s always a chance.

Routine to watch:

• Halle Gregoire on vault: The freshman is part of an improved vault lineup for Arizona State and earned a 9.925 last Friday.

Utah

Utah returns to competition after taking last week off following a two meet weekend in Week 2. The Red Rocks will want to pick up where they left off at the Best of Utah meet, when they scored a season-high 197.725. That meet was also strong for Utah because the upperclassmen put in their most consistent high scores across the board, while the freshmen and sophomores continued to take steps forward.

Routine to watch:

• Amelie Morgan on bars: The last time the Red Rocks were competing, Morgan was fantastic, putting up a pair of 9.95s on bars and beam and winning Pac-12 Specialist of the Week. On bars, she closes with a unique stalder tuck-half dismount. Morgan has also been a subject of interest after the Brit announced this week that she’ll be competing at the English championships in March. She’ll be away from the Utah team for about a month as she sees if another Olympics may be in the cards, but she is expected to return to action for the Red Rocks in the postseason.

#16 Oregon State @ #2 California

Week 4 Matchup: Saturday, January 27 5 p.m. ET | Oregon State @ California – Live Stats | Video (Pac-12)

Oregon State

Though Cal is statistically ranked quite a bit higher than Oregon State, this could be one of the closer meets of the weekend, so long as the Beavers hit. Oregon State put together its most consistent meet of the season against Brown last weekend and finally hit on beam. With the way they’ve improved on bars, an upset wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.

Routines to watch:

• Sophia Esposito on beam: The freshman showed why she was recruited for beam after she put in a 9.9 and was named Pac-12 Newcomer of the Week last week.
• Ellie Weaver on beam: Weaver put in a near-flawless routine this past weekend with a 9.975. After not being in the beam lineup a season ago, Weaver is now one of their best on the event.

Cal

The Bears continue their reign atop the Pac-12 after winning their first conference dual over Washington. Cal has been so consistent throughout every meet this season, which is why the Bears still rank No. 2 in the country. This will be Cal’s first home meet of the year, and it’s a special one, as the Bears are celebrating the 50th year of Cal gymnastics.

Routine to watch:

• Andi Li on floor: Senior Andi Li made her floor debut on Sunday, earning a 9.9 thanks to her exquisite execution and dance.

Washington @ #15 UCLA

Week 4 Matchup: Saturday, January 27 9 p.m. ET | Washington @ UCLA – Video (Pac-12)

UCLA

UCLA is hosting its first meet of the year at Pauley Pavilion. After beginning the season with three straight quad meets on the road, the Bruins are ready for their first home floor party of the season. UCLA is known not just for having their teammates dance along with whoever is competing, but their fans in the stands as well.

The Bruins have been preparing their fans – The UCLA Den – for this home opener. UCLA invited The Den to practice last week, where choreographer BJ Das and the athletes taught their routines to group of energetic students. If the Bruins carry the energy we saw from practice to Pauley, it’s going to be one lively home opener.

Routine to watch:

• Emma Malabuyo on beam: There may be no gymnast who smiles and dance more on beam than Malabuyo. Malabuyo is known as a beam worker and just recorded a season-high 9.925.

Washington

If all goes to plan, UCLA won’t be the only team having a floor party at Pauley this Saturday. Washington set a season high on floor this past weekend with a 49.200. The Huskies will look to build off that performance in front of the UCLA crowd. Washington is becoming more consistent on floor, and while they may not be able to match UCLA, they have a great opportunity to earn another season best in front of an electric crowd.

Where Washington will want to get back on track this meet is beam. Beam was the Huskies’ best event in Week 2, but Washington had multiple balance checks throughout their lineup last week that they’ll want to fix.

Routine to watch:

• Emily Innes on floor: Innes has come into her own in her sophomore campaign, with a highlight 9.925 on floor last weekend. Her execution and floaty tumbling has made her floor one to watch.

Stanford @ #19 Arizona

Week 4 Matchup: Saturday, January 27 4 p.m. ET | Stanford @ Arizona – Live Stats | Video (Pac-12)

Arizona

Arizona has begun the year with back-to-back wins and will look to get its first over a conference rival. This is certainly doable against Stanford – especially with how the Wildcats have scored through two meets – but it should be far from an easy contest.

Arizona has plenty of room to improve on vault, where the Wildcats were unable to hit a total score of 49 last weekend. Ideally, the Wildcats can work on their landings to better those scores.

Routine to watch:

• Sophie Derr on bars: The freshman highlighted the GymCats bars rotation with a 9.9 in just her second meet. Derr’s toe point and low bar half pirouette allowed her routine to stand out and earn a top score.

Stanford

Stanford bounced back last weekend – especially on bars – but struggled on beam. The Cardinal will have the best shot at getting a win over Arizona – their first win of the season – if they can simply hit their routines. Plenty of mistakes on beam kept Stanford from being seriously competitive in Week 3, and they cannot afford to have three or four tenths of mistakes on multiple routines in a rotation if they want to score higher. It’s still early in the season, but hitting consistently is most important for Stanford right now.

Routine to watch:

• Chloe Widner on floor: This season, the fifth-year Widner is flourishing on floor with dramatic and detailed choreography throughout her routine.