Pac-12 Gymnastics Week 6 Recap: Selena Harris gets her 10, depth tested across the conference

It was a week of testing depth and switching up lineups across Pac-12 gymnastics. With key gymnasts like Sydney Gonzalez, Nya Reed, Chae Campbell, and Mya Lauzon out of lineups, several teams either got wake-up calls or were pleasantly surprised by the new gymnasts in their lineups.

Here’s how the Week 6 matchups went.

#17 Arizona @ #2 Cal

Final score: Cal 197.125 – Arizona 196.850

Cal

Cal rested their top gymnast this season, Mya Lauzon, against Arizona. The absence of Lauzon was notable, as the Bears put in a 197.125 – their lowest score since Week 1.

Even with Lauzon resting, the primary reason for the Bears’ low team score was uncharacteristic mistakes across the board, including from some of their most experienced and best gymnasts. The Bears’ mistakes were especially present on beam, where there were wobbles across the lineup from upperclassmen Gabby Perea, Maddie Williams, and Ella Cesario. One of the top performances came from Miki Aderinto, who made her season debut on beam. Other than a stag ring that needs improvement, Aderinto nailed her routine under a ton of pressure as the anchor for a 9.825.

Ultimately, it took one heck of a floor rotation for Cal to keep their No. 2 ranking over LSU. The Bears notched a 49.600 on floor as Kyen Mayhew and eMjae Frazier won with 9.95s.

Other event winners for the Bears were Williams on bars (9.975) and Frazier on beam (9.95). Frazier won the all-around with a 39.575.

Arizona

The Wildcats almost came up with what would have been one of the biggest upsets of the season against Cal, but they ultimately fell short by a few tenths. Though they didn’t win or match their season high, this was still an impressive meet for the Wildcats on the road.

Throughout the meet, the Wildcats were consistent. They hit all but one routine, but a lack of standout scores kept them from getting the win. The top routine from the Wildcats came from Malia Hargrove, who nailed her vault for an event-winning 9.975 – the lone score above a 9.85 from either team.

The Wildcats also had a strong meet on bars, posting a 49.250. The final five gymnasts hit a 9.8 or better, and Alysen Fears closed the rotation with a stunning routine for a 9.95. Fears’ showcased gorgeous handstands and a stuck dismount to lead her team.

#4 Utah @ Washington

Final score: Utah: 197.775 – Washington: 196.425

Utah

It was a special meet for Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf, who returned to her alma mater for the first time as a head coach. Dockendorf, who was a Pac-12 bars champion during her time as a Husky, was warmly welcomed back to Washington.

The top event of the day was floor (49.575). Jaylene Gilstrap returned to her previous Bohemian Rhapsody floor routine and earned a 9.925. In addition, freshman Ella Zirbes made her floor debut with a lovely 9.925. Grace McCallum won the event with a 9.95. Jaedyn Rucker also managed to land her opening full-twisting double tuck pass this week. Look for her to continue to improve on this event moving forward.

The biggest area for improvement for the Red Rocks after this meet is vault. In a season where over-scoring is one of the main talking points across college gymnastics, vault was reasonable at this meet. That led to a 49.200 for the Red Rocks, as they were unable to nail their landings and had some areas to improve form-wise.

Other event winners were Zirbes and Rucker on vault (9.875), McCallum, Amelie Morgan, and Maile O’Keefe on bars (9.925), Morgan and Abby Paulson on beam (9.95), and McCallum in the all-around (39.55).

Washington

The GymDawgs had a weak first rotation on vault, posting just a 48.875. This score would cost them a chance at hitting another season-high team score. No Husky scored higher than a 9.8, and Washington had three scores in the 9.7 range (two counted). The positive, however, was Lana Navarro hitting her Yurchenko 1.5 for a second straight week, with a much more controlled landing this time around (9.8).

On bars, Taylor Russon stuck her double layout dismount for a career-high tying 9.9. Watch for Deiah Moody to earn a big score soon. Moody has lovely handstands and form. She’s just a stuck dismount away from those bigger scores.

The Huskies put up their best performance on floor, scoring a 49.325. Russon posted a 9.825 in her first floor lineup of the season, while Skylar Killough-Wilhelm and Emily Innes led the team with 9.9s. Killough-Wilhelm also earned a 39.35 in the all-around – only two-tenths back from Utah’s McCallum.

#8 UCLA @ #18 Oregon State

Final score: UCLA: 197.425 – Oregon State: 196.700

Both UCLA and Oregon State had their depth tested this meet with neither team at full strength. The Bruins rested both Nya Reed and Chae Campbell for precautionary measures, while the Beavers were without Sydney Gonzalez. Unfortunately, Gonzalez landed poorly on a double pike during the warmup and was seen on crutches.

UCLA

The Bruins managed to earned a solid 197.425 on the road, especially without two of their key gymnasts rested. This was good preparation and depth testing right before Emma Malabuyo leaves for the next two weeks to compete internationally in a bid for the Olympics.

UCLA notched a season-high 49.450 on bars, despite a fall from Alex Irvine. The rest of the Bruins’ lineup hit, with Margzetta Frazier (9.9) and Frida Esparza (9.925) each putting in their best routines of the season. Selena Harris tied for the event title with a 9.95.

Vault was one of the primary events UCLA was affected by the absence of Campbell and Reed, but Irvine and Maddie Anyimi did a solid job filling in. Irvine brings another 10.0 start value vault, which earned a 9.850, while Anyimi’s full-twisting Yurchenko scored a 9.8. Of course, the highlight of the rotation was Harris finally scoring a 10 – her first of the season after drilling the landing on her Yurchenko 1.5.

The floor party continued this week, with a 49.45 tying for the team’s top event score of the meet. Brooklyn Moors tied for the event title with a 9.95. Freshman Katelyn Rosen also put up a 9.925.

The Bruins were a bit shakier on beam. Though beam was the one event without any lineup changes, UCLA was missing beam coach Autumn Grable, who is integral to their success on the event. There were slight wobbles and breaks on dance, which should be corrected. The bright spot was once again Harris, who earned another 9.95 to win the event.

Harris won the all-around with a 39.75, and Rosen went 39.425 as she continues to get comfortable on all four.

Oregon State

For the first time all season, Jade Carey competed in the all-around for Oregon State. Carey did not perform her normal difficulty on vault and floor as she continues to gear up for another Olympic push; instead, she did a full-twisting Yurchenko on vault (9.875) and some simplified floor passes (9.925). Carey earned a 39.625 in the all-around.

Another Beaver making her all-around debut this season was freshman Sophia Esposito. Esposito was tremendous, earning a 39.525. The performance was highlighted by her stuck Yurchenko full (9.9) and a 9.95 to tie for the floor title. Esposito also made her bars debut, notching a 9.825.

Even with these efforts, the Beavers fell short of a victory against UCLA. The injuries were apparent for the Beavers, especially on beam, as they definitely missed Gonzalez and Ellie Weaver. The Beavers had to count a 9.425 on beam from Olivia Buckner after Sage Thompson fell on her jump series while filling in for Gonzalez.

Thompson tied for the bars title with Harris (9.95).

#20 Arizona State @ Stanford

Final score: Arizona State: 196.975 – Stanford: 196.875

Arizona State

In the tightest Pac-12 meet of the weekend, the Sun Devils defeated Stanford on the road thanks to strong performances on bars and beam.

The Sun Devils got off to a strong start in their first rotation on bars. Arizona State put in a season-high 49.375, highlighted by Sarah Clark’s event-winning 9.950. What stood out about the Sun Devils’ bars were their landings. Their gymnasts all seemed to stick or come close to that stick, helping seal their performance. They even showed some depth in the lineup with a lovely exhibition routine from Kimberly Smith.

Anaya Smith was tops on vault with a 9.925 as the team scored a collective 49.025. On floor, Hannah Scharf won with a 9.9 and put in a 39.325 in her first all-around performance of the season.

The Sun Devils were trailing entering the final even, but they rallied on beam to put up a 49.325. After a leadoff fall from Kayla Lee, the rest of the lineup hit for ASU, showing resilience. The team could have easily let that first performance get to them and cost them the win. Instead, the remaining five up hit 9.8s or higher, including a 9.925 from event-winner Sarah Clark and another 9.9 from Scharf.

Stanford

Star fifth-year Chloe Widner was still dealing with an ankle injury, so she was limited to just bars against Arizona State, but still, the Cardinal tied their best team score of the season, pushing the 197 mark for the second week in a row.

Thankfully for the Cardinal, Widner’s one bar routine was nearly perfect, hitting a 9.95. The Cardinal once again did their best on bars, as Brenna Neault got a 9.9 while Anapaula Gutierrez scored a 9.875.

The Cardinal also saw highlight routines from Porsche Trinidad and Taralyn Nguyen. Trinidad hit a 9.925 as the anchor on beam to tie for the event title, while Nguyen finally honed in on her vault landing for a 9.9.