Pac-12 Gymnastics Week 9 Recap: Cal holds off Utah to win share of regular season title, Washington hits 197
In Week 9 of Pac-12 gymnastics, Cal sealed a share of the Pac-12 regular season title by defeating Utah. Washington also had a big week, winning a quad meet on the road with a season high 197.200.
#4 Utah @ #3 Cal
Final score: Cal: 198.100 – Utah: 197.700
In one of the most anticipated matchups of the weekend, Cal defeated Utah to take the sole lead of the Pac-12. No matter what, Cal has clinched a share of the Pac-12 regular season title. At their home of Haas Pavilion, the Bears secured their second 198 of the season and took down the reigning Pac-12 champions.
Utah and Cal were tied following the first rotation, before Cal jumped into the lead after their bars rotation. Heading into the meet, bars seemed to be the primary place Cal had the advantage. The Bears capitalized, with eMjae Frazier, Gabby Perea, and Maddie Williams each scoring a 9.975 to close out the rotation.
However, Cal opened the door for Utah in the third rotation. The Bears notched a 49.400 on beam but had some shaky moments and bobbles that kept them from increasing their lead. Utah excelled on floor again for a 49.575, inching at Cal’s lead.
The Bears did manage to hold onto their lead in the final rotation and earn the win, tying Utah’s 49.575 on floor. Utah is normally great on beam, but only did 0.025 better than Cal for a 49.425, which would not be enough to comeback.
Cal
Even with the Bears not at the peak they hit the week before, they still crossed the 198 and clinched a Pac-12 regular season title win. Frazier was phenomenal for the second week in a row, with a 39.750 to win the all-around.
Cal remains in the Bay as they head to rival Stanford next week.
Utah
Utah fell short of the win but still remained solid with a road score in the high 197s. This is especially impressive since the absence of Amelie Morgan felt more notable in this meet. Morgan frequently gives Utah a 9.9 or better on bars and beam, which they could have used.
Another notable change was the absence of Makenna Smith on beam and floor. Smith was initially in the all-around but was taken out of the final two events after landing short on her vault. According to Carly Dockendorf, Smith’s back had flared up during the week and she missed most of practice during the week, so they pulled her for precautionary measures.
Utah remains on the road next week to face Arizona.
#10 UCLA @ #24 Stanford
Final score: UCLA: 197.175 – Stanford 196.725
Stanford
Sporting their fan-favorite “Angry Tree” leotards, the Cardinal showed off in front of the home crowd with another high 196 score and their second-highest team total of the season. The Cardinal had fun in their return home, with teammates carrying Victoria Cluck off the floor after her routine.
A huge boost for the Cardinal was the return of Anna Roberts, who competed on vault and bars. Roberts has been injured since the beginning of the season and finally made her debut here. Her contributions were already noticeable with both a 9.825 on vault and bars.
The other highlight of the day was Ira Alexeeva on beam. Mounting with the beam with a controlled press handstand, Alexeeva nailed the rest of her routine for a 9.950, winning the title.
Stanford remains home next week to take on rival Cal.
UCLA
Are the vault yips returning for UCLA? The Bruins scored an underwhelming 49.100 in this matchup. Though Chae Campbell returned to her usual machine-like yurchenko full with a 9.9, Selena Harris and Nya Reed struggled with their landings. Katelyn Rosen was also out of the vault and floor lineup, pulling herself out after being unable to find her stepping during warmup.
The Bruins also had a low floor total with a 49.275. Emma Malabuyo, Brooklyn Moors, and Rosen were all out of the floor lineup. After Moors had gone out of bounds on her opening pass the last two weeks and Rosen took herself out, Chloe Lashbrooke filled in. Lashbrooke, who has struggled with injuries for the last couple seasons, flourished in her Barbie routine for a 9.825.
Though UCLA could have done better, the good news is this score should drop a prior 196.550 the Bruins had earlier in the season on the road.
The Bruins next head to the desert to take on Arizona State.
Washington @ Boise State quad
Final score: Washington: 197.200, Boise State: 196.825, Minnesota: 196.425, UC Davis: 195.425
What a meet for the GymDawgs. Washington garnered a huge win over Boise State, Minnesota, and UC Davis while recording their first 197 of the season – a season-high 197.200.
They finally put together a whole meet, scoring at least a 49.200 on every rotation. The other factor that stood out is Washington consistently got those 9.8+ scores throughout the meet. One reason they have yet to break through is they often have to count a handful of scores in the 9.7s.
Getting this win, especially over a top-25 ranked Minnesota, is huge for Washington. Not only did they outperform the No. 16 team, but they beat a future conference rival when the Huskies transfer to the Big Ten. This win also officially placed Washington back in the top 25.
The Huskies especially hit on floor, with a season-high 49.475. Skylar Killough-Wilhelm (9.95) and Emily Innes (9.925) led the team. Caitlin McWilliams set a career high as well with a 9.875.
#18 Arizona State @ #17 Oregon State
Final score: Oregon State: 197.400 – Arizona State: 196.625
Oregon State
The Beavers came away with a solid home win against the Sun Devils, with particularly strong scores on bars and floor in this meet.
On bars, the Beavers returned to their early season strengths on the event. Sophia Esposito is rapidly improving on the event and earned a 9.875. Her fellow freshman Taylor DeVries also hit big for a 9.950 and the event title. Moving to floor, Sage Thompson (9.9), Esposito (9.925), and Jade Carey (9.975) each scored a 9.9 or better, allowing the Beavers to hit a 49.525 on the event.
In addition, Carey once again starred, with a 39.725 all-around score. Carey started perfect on vault with a 9.95 on her full-twisting Yurchenko. Carey also stunned on floor with a 9.975.
Oregon State remains home to take on Washington next week.
Arizona State
The Sun Devils broke their three-game win streak versus Pac-12 opponents with a loss to the Beavers.
Arizona State started the day with their best rotation on bars with a 49.300. The landings looked more dialed in, and the Sun Devils saw Jada Mangahas and Sarah Clark each secure a 9.90. These would be the only 9.90 or better scores of the day for ASU.
The Sun Devils’ next few rotations would each hit 49, but not reach the same score as they saw on bars. Vault was particularly a struggle. With Alex Theodorou out, ASU was missing one of their key vaults. In addition, some unusual difficulties from Mangahas and normally strong Anaya Smith cost them a chance to use the event to their advantage.
The Sun Devils return home to take on UCLA next week.
#19 Arizona @ Washington
Final score: Arizona: 196.675 – Washington: 196.550
Washington competed for the second time in a week and looked like they were about to earn their second win of the weekend. Washington had the lead after three rotations, but Arizona competed the beam rotation of their lives to come out with the win.
Washington
Washington was unable to hold onto their lead, and instead, some floor mistakes cost them a shot at the win.
However, there were some bright spots throughout the meet. Skylar Killough-Wilhelm was stunning on bars and almost earned a ten with a career-high 9.975. Lilly Tubbs also nailed her bars landing to tie her career high of a 9.95, giving Washington a season-high 49.275 on bars.
Next up, Washington heads next door to take on Oregon State.
Arizona
The GymCats were having far from their best day through the first three rotations. They didn’t score a single score of 9.90 or better and barely crossed the 49 mark on vault, bars, and floor.
That all changed when Arizona hit beam and recorded the best score in program history on the event with a 49.625. All five counting scores were a 9.90 or better, and the GymCats were completely dialed in.
Arizona earned stick after stick and piled up career highs on beam to secure the clutch comeback. Look no further than Emily Mueller’s career-high 9.925 to describe the beam rotation. Mueller flourished in every part of her routine, commanding each of her landings from a beat jump to a much more difficult side aerial to back layout stepout series. Elena Deets finished the event in near-perfect fashion, sticking her unique switch leap to gainer full for a career-high 9.975.
Arizona returns home to face Utah next week.
