Red Rocks Rebound From Loss With Dominating Win Over Oregon State

Coming off an upset loss to Cal, the Red Rocks hosted the #13 Oregon State, the third highest-ranked team in the PAC-12, before taking off for a Monday night matchup against Washington on only two full days rest. What could have been a trap meet for the #4 Utes turned into a statement win.

Stuck landings were proving to be difficult early on for the Red Rocks with Sage Thompson and Cammy Hall failing to crack the 9.900 range due to poor dismounts until Lucy Stanhope’s run in the third spot with a perfectly executed Yurchenko full and a half...well, perfectly executed according to everyone except one judge who found a deduction down to 9.900, a fact that visibly upset head coach Tom Farden, who instantly bum-rushed the scoring table to voice his displeasure over what he felt was a consistent issue throughout the season. Ultimately, stuck landings improved throughout the first rotation, however, no one would surpass Stanhope’s 9.950 as Alani Sabado and Grace McCallum faced minor deductions, searching a 9.800 and 9.850 respectively following a fall from Jaedyn Rucker that resulted in a dropped score of 9.375

As the Red Rocks moved to the bars, the team opened up a wide lead over the Beavers thanks to beautifully executed routines from McCallum, Sage Thompson, Miley O’Keefe, and with McCallum’s 9.950 tying for first alongside Oregon State’s former Olympian, Jade Carrey. Utah’s 49.500 cumulative score on the bars was their second-highest score in that event of the season, after posting a 49.550 two weeks prior against UCLA.

Utah’s sheer domination over the Beavers continued as the team moved to the beam where Adrienne Randal posted a season-best 9.925, though that was eclipsed by Abbey Paulson, who tied her season-high with a 9.950 immediately following Randall. The string of highly successful routines culminated with a perfect 10.000 from Cristal Isa, leaving Amelie Morgan’s 9.825 as the dropped score, the only sub 9.900 Utah recorded after Mailie O’Keefe’s 9.950 in the anchor position.

Needing a 198.000 or better to keep pace with the rest of the nation’s top teams, Utah needed a 49.500, an attainable goal considering they had been averaging a 49.483 this season. A 9.925 from Paulson In the lead-off position helped Utah set the tone for a strong finish. Rucker’s 9.900 and McCallum’s 9.925 were enough to help elevate the team to 197.950, but it was anchor Sydney Soloski who delivered the final blow, scoring a 9.925 from the anchor position, giving Utah a 198.000, their highest score of the season.

Monday’s matchup in Seattle will be broadcast on the PAC-12 Network starting at 7:00 PM.