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SALT LAKE CITY — Sophomore Ella Zirbes didn't feel well going into the final rotation, where she was expected to compete in the third spot on floor.
So Red Rocks head coach Carly Dockendorf made a change. The second-year head coach replaced Zirbes with junior Sarah Krump, who to that point in career had never performed a scored routine.
But Krump's patience and continual practice — and three previous exhibitions over the last two seasons — paid off in the first meet of the 2025 season. The Las Vegas native took the opportunity and performed a stellar first-ever scored routine.
When her routine concluded, her teammates quickly surrounded her, sharing hugs and congratulations while the nearly sold-out Huntsman Center rang down their own praises as she scored a 9.825.
But her night was not finished there.
After the Red Rocks won the meet over Utah State with a 196.775 all-around score, Krump was awarded Utah's MVP of the night, sending Krump into an instant emotional scene, one filled with shock and tears.
"Sarah Krump was definitely the MVP of the night," Dockendorf said. "Things always happen in meets, and I talked about that yesterday with the team, and the best teams have to be really good at adapting. ... You don't know when your name is going to be called, but when it is you better be ready.
"And she's the perfect example of someone that has worked and worked, and has not had an opportunity to compete floor ever for our program. And she stepped up and did exactly what we needed her to do. So that was huge tonight for her and for our program."
It was a night Krump will always remember as she finally got her chance to compete.
"It's so special to see," said gymnast Ashley Glynn, who had arguably her best performance as a member of the Red Rocks. "I was so happy to see her finally have her moment. She's been working so hard, like, all around. So for her to finally get in and shine was very exciting."
"She is just our No. 1 supporter, always rooting for us," senior Grace McCallum said. "And so I was so happy to see her have her moment to shine out there, and us be the ones that had her back while she was out on the floor doing her thing. And she did it beautifully, and I couldn't be more proud. It almost brought me to tears."
It was a night, though, Dockendorf said she'd be "lying if I was sitting here saying I definitely wasn't a little bit disappointed from tonight's performance," while adding that the night's performance had "uncharacteristic" mistakes that "we haven't seen in practice ever."
Outside of beam, where the Red Rocks scored an event-high 49.475, and to some extent bars, Utah had some occasional slips, falls and missteps that kept the team from breaking the 197 barrier in its opening meet.
"When we see those kinds of mistakes, that really means that our mind isn't in the same place, because those aren't things that we see often," she said. "And so for them to come out and do some uncharacteristic things, that means that where our mind is at, it's not in the right place."
But the first meet of the year is generally scored lower — especially as judges are now being graded this season — and the nerves and mistakes are more apparent as the gymnasts return to action for the season.
Though the scores don't matter in relation to how the team felt about their individual performances, Dockendorf said there's plenty to take away from the first meet as it prepares for an immediate step up in competition next week against California, LSU and Oklahoma in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad in Oklahoma City (2 p.m. MST, ABC).
"The good thing is, last year we came out a little bit better in our first meet, and then our second meet against some of the best teams in the country looked like it did tonight," Dockendorf said. "I think that there's a lot that we can learn from tonight, areas that we can just improve mentally, really, and with our confidence going into next weekend.
"I would much rather prefer to make those mistakes tonight than next weekend when we go to Oklahoma against the best teams in the country."
Outside of Krump's special night, the Red Rocks were also highlighted by Camie Winger's beam routine, in which she scored a night- and career-high 9.950, and Ashley Glynn's 9.925 on vault and 9.80 on floor (while also scoring an unofficial 9.825 on bars in an exhibition).
Winger's 9.950 beat her previous career-high set last year of 9.850.
"I think, really tonight for me, it was the little girl inside me was very proud, just because growing up I always watched Utah on beam, and that's always something that I wanted to do, but not just do, but do very well; and tonight just really showed that for me," Winger said.
Team scores
No. 5 Utah
- Vault (48.925)
- Bars (98.300, 49.375)
- Beam (147.775, 49.475)
- Floor (196.775, 49.000)
Utah State
- Bars (48.875)
- Vault (97.200, 48.325)
- Floor (145.600, 48.450)
- Beam (194.450, 48.750)
Red Rocks scores
1st Rotation: Vault (48.925)
- Ella Zirbes: 9.750
- Grace McCallum: 9.625
- Camie Winger: 9.575
- Avery Neff: 9.775
- Makenna Smith: 9.850
- Ashley Glynn: 9.925
2nd Rotation: Bars (49.375)
- Makenna Smith: 9.875
- Ana Padurariu: 9.850
- Avery Neff: 9.850
- Amelie Morgan: 9.900
- Ella Zirbes: 9.775
- Grace McCallum: 9.900
3rd Rotation: Beam (49.475)
- Ana Padurariu: 9.850
- Camie Winger: 9.950
- Makenna Smith: 9.900
- Avery Neff: 9.875
- Amelie Morgan: 9.850
- Grace McCallum: 9.900
4th Rotation: Floor (49.000)
- Makenna Smith: 9.875
- Ashley Glynn: 9.800
- Sarah Krump: 9.825
- Avery Neff: 9.225
- Jaylene Gilstrap: 9.700
- Grace McCallum: 9.800
