Utah’s gymnastics team just can’t find any consistency this season.
The 12th-ranked Red Rocks walked away with a 195.725-192.300 win at Iowa State Sunday, but a second team score in the 195.000 range has Utah fans continuing to scratch their heads in 2026.
The challenge for the Red Rocks is that even their mistakes have no consistency right now, so pinpointing how to get the team back on track after its lowest output of the year isn’t clearcut.
On Sunday, Utah had issues from the start as senior Makenna Smith hit her feet on the ground in her bars routine, leaving Utah with a 9.325 to set the stage.
After the great bars set Utah had in its last meet, which resulted in a nation-high score of 49.625, the Red Rocks didn’t seem frazzled.
Maybe they weren’t, but the challenge with a leadoff mistake is that it puts the pressure on everyone else to hit.
That didn’t happen for Utah Sunday as freshman Bailey Stroud fell later in the lineup, meaning Smith’s score had to count.
The result was a 48.750 bars total.
Vault was a nice rebound for Smith and for the team, as the senior won the event with a 9.925 and the Red Rocks seemed to be back on track, recording a 49.350 as Avery Neff and Ella Zirbes added 9.875s to the total.
The rebound was short-lived though, as the Red Rocks’ floor set was all over the place before wrapping up with a meager score of 48.125.
Camie Winger fell in the leadoff spot, and then Neff also fell on a pass later in the lineup. The mishmash from the other routines also highlighted the inconsistency, with a 9.7, 9.85, 9.625 and a 9.875 on the score sheet.
Then, there was beam. Utah’s best event in recent years, but its most up and down this season, the Red Rocks were simply stunning Sunday.
They were so stunning that the 49.500 reminded fans of the moments of greatness Utah has had this season across events. The effort also made Sunday’s meet sting a little less.
Abbi Ryssman, fresh off her Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors, recorded a career-best 9.925, while Winger earned a 9.9.
It was Ana Padurariu, though, who outpaced everyone on beam, tying her career-high of 9.95 with a beautiful showing.
Scoring
Utah only had one score above the 9.90 plane over the first three events. It had three on beam.
Scoring is a continual debate across gymnastics with inconsistencies under a microscope this past week, and a possible reason Utah’s stronger routines across those first three events didn’t score higher.
Road woes
Utah was competing in the Hilton Coliseum for the first time. It took the Red Rocks several hours to get to Ames, Iowa, which included multiple transfers.
Utah will need to address its flat start for its next road meet.
Next up
Utah is back in action Friday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Big 12 foe Arizona State in the Huntsman Center.
Event winners
- All-Around: Makenna Smith (Utah); 39.000
- Vault: Makenna Smith (Utah); 9.925
- Bars: Avery Neff (Utah); 9.875
- Beam: Ana Padurariu (Utah); 9.95
- Floor: Haylee Hardin (ISU); 9.925