No. 5 Utah hosts Gym Devils as both teams start conference slate

(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)

Utah’s Jon M. Huntsman Center will be the host site of Friday’s dual meet between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the No. 5-ranked Utah Red Rocks. Coming into the meet, the two teams are in vastly different situations and phases in this young season.

After a dominant 197.300 to 194.350 win over Boise State to start the season – which Utah started as the second-ranked team in the nation – the Red Rocks quickly proved that they were truly a top program. Soon after, they faced an enormous test.

Utah was one of four teams invited to compete in the highly competitive Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad. This meet was stacked, with the Red Rocks competing against now-No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 LSU and No. 15 UCLA, and the hype was definitely deserved, as these three teams all scored above 197.000. Oklahoma obliterated the rest of the field, scoring a 197.900, outscoring second-place LSU by 0.75 points.

Utah, however, fell a little flat, as it was the only team to score below 197.000 in the meet and finished in third for every event except bars, where the Red Rocks finished dead last.

Even though there were signs of hope, such as having two of the top five vault scores thanks to freshman Camie Winger and sophomore Makenna Smith, Utah seemed to be a tier below the rest, being the only team not to finish top-two in a single event.

Utah was able to bounce back quickly though, as just two days later, it emerged victorious from the Best of Utah Meet, getting back to its 197-plus ways and beating second-place BYU by 1.950 points. The Red Rocks swept the podium on every event en route to the win.

The highlight of the meet was graduate gymnast Maile O’Keefe’s second perfect 10 of the season on the beam, as well as 9.900-plus scores on bars and floor. O’Keefe has notched a perfect score on the beam 12 times throughout her career and is picking up steam again this year.

The Red Rocks look to be entering mid-season form, as Smith has also started this season on a hot streak. She hasn’t scored below a 9.700 on any event while participating in the all-around in all three meets, earning a total of 39.525 in the Best of Utah Meet, good enough to be the 22nd best individual gymnast in the country.

ASU has also had a rollercoaster of a season up until this point. The Sun Devils eked out its home opening win 195.725 to 195.125 in a nerve-racking meet with Central Michigan before dropping their second meet to No. 12 Denver in a competition where they lost on every event except for vault, which the two sides tied on.

ASU stopped its short-lived slide last Friday in a tri-meet with Utah State and a Southern Utah team that was ranked 25th at the time. The Gym Devils gained some confidence, as they won by 0.825 points however, their performance still caused them to slip out of the top 25.

ASU has been efficient in the first half but has continued to struggle in the back half of meets. The Devils are ranked 13th on vault and 18th on bars, but they are ranked 30th on beam and 48th on floor.

If the Gym Devils wish to pull off the Pac-12 Conference upset, they will have to dial in on the second half and limit mistakes. Additionally, they will look for a season breakthrough from several gymnasts who are still working their way back up to last season’s numbers.

Senior Emily White has already found her groove in the back half of meets, having scored a 9.900 twice on floor, the event that has challenged ASU the most, but the Gym Devils are still looking for graduate gymnast Hannah Scharf to return to her previous excellence for support. Scharf, who in 2023 averaged a 9.900 on floor, has yet to hit that mark this season.

Friday’s meet will take place at 6:00 p.m. MST in Salt Lake and will be streamed live on Pac-12 Mountain. ASU will look to get the win over Utah in the pair’s final dual-meet as members of the Pac-12.