McCallum scores 10.0, Red Rocks hold on for win over ASU despite rare stumble on beam

TEMPE, Ariz. — The fourth-ranked Red Rocks were well on their way to earning a great road score on a night that could have helped the team move up in the NQS rankings.

Three rotations into a road meet against Arizona State and the Red Rocks needed just their average score on beam to presumably move up in the rankings. And considering the team recorded a season-high 49.600 on bars to open the meet — including a perfect 10.0 — the momentum was in Utah's favor.

That is until Red Rocks leadoff gymnast Ana Padurariu fell off the beam on her acro series.

It was the first fall from the Red Rocks this season, and with five gymnasts to go there was still room for a strong finish — especially considering the beam has been the most consistent event for Utah all season.

But gymnast after gymnast struggled to shake the early fall from one of their teammates. Camie Winger had a large balance check that forced her to limit her top score by not connecting tricks, and three other gymnasts had smaller balance checks before Grace McCallum also fell of the beam in the anchor spot, cementing a disappointing finish to an otherwise strong night as a team.

The event foibles earned the visiting team a low 48.200 score — the lowest event score for the Red Rocks since 2016 at nationals when the beam team scored a 48.1375.

The Red Rocks held on to top Arizona State with a 196.600 score — narrowly edging out the home team's 196.475 — but the mood of the night was dampened by the team's finish.

"Honestly, I think tonight just proved that they were human a little bit," head coach Carly Dockendorf said. "And yes, the NQS is definitely important and it would have been great for us to get a big score tonight, but it doesn't always happen the way that you envision it to happen.

"Sometimes the most important lesson is the hardest lessons, and that's really what I'm going to take away from tonight."

Dockendorf said she was disappointed in how her team responded after Padurariu fell, but added that she was happy to have the lesson during the season and not when it mattered more in postseason competition.

"We clearly didn't know how to handle that kind of extra pressure on beam," Dockendorf said. "And it's probably going to happen again, not necessarily on beam, but first person up, like they could fall; it's part of the sport. We definitely have to learn how to handle that kind of pressure and to be able to remind ourselves that we still know how to do our gymnastics and we don't need to focus on the added pressure of the importance of still making our routine."

But in no way does Friday night's performance change Dockendorf's opinion on "how good we are on that event."

"I know we're still incredible on that event," she said. "And moving forward, we're going to have to handle it better. If someone has a wobble or a fall, we're gonna have to be a lot stronger mentally to be able to keep going and doing the routines we know how to do."

Despite the finish, the Red Rocks couldn't have started out the meet much better.

Makenna Smith brought the positive vibes early and got a 9.875 with a stuck landing on her bars routine to open up the meet, and was followed by a 9.90 by Ashley Glynn.

Amelie Morgan added a 9.90 score of her own in the fourth spot, followed by Ella Zirbes' 9.925. But it was McCallum that rounded out the event in perfection.

The senior all-arounder — who took the night off on floor — has flirted with a perfect score on bars several times this season, but when her feet perfectly stuck the mat Friday night, it was undeniably. Immediately, her teammates started flashing 10's with their fingers, and it was only a couple minutes later the judges affirmed their assessment.

"I think she is just so dynamic and explosive in her elements, and she just has this kind of fluid movement throughout the whole routine," Dockendorf said of McCallum. "And it's just, it's so satisfying to watch. That's a big dismount, and she just sticks it so consistently."

The Red Rocks added to the night scores with a 49.275 on vault, with Glynn earning a team-high 9.950 in the fifth spot, before a strong continuation on floor with a 49.525.

Zirbes added to her previous 9.925 on bars with another 9.925 on floor, and was followed by Smith's 9.925 and Jaylene Gilstrap and Zoe Johnson's 9.90 scores to closeout the event.

Team scores

No. 4 Utah

• Bars: 49.600
• Vault: 98.875 (49.275)
• Floor: 148.400 (49.525)
• Beam: 196.600 (48.200)

Arizona State

• Vault: 48.950
• Bars: 98.200 (49.250)
• Beam: 147.425 (49.225)
• Floor: 196.475 (49.050)

Red Rocks scores

1st Rotation: Bars (49.600)

• Makenna Smith: 9.875
• Ashley Glynn: 9.900
• Avery Neff: 9.800
• Amelie Morgan: 9.900
• Ella Zirbes: 9.925
• Grace McCallum: 10.0

2nd Rotation: Vault (49.275)

• Ella Zirbes: 9.875
• Grace McCallum: 9.800
• Camie Winger: 9.800
• Makenna Smith: 9.850
• Ashley Glynn: 9.950
• Amelie Morgan: 9.775

3rd Rotation: Floor (49.525)

• Ashley Glynn: 9.725
• Ella Zirbes: 9.925
• Camie Winger: 9.875
• Makenna Smith: 9.925
• Jaylene Gilstrap: 9.900
• Zoe Johnson: 9.900

4th Rotation: Beam (48.200)

• Ana Padurariu: 8.900
• Camie Winger: 9.400
• Makenna Smith: 9.850
• Elizabeth Gantner: 9.700
• Amelie Morgan: 9.850
• Grace McCallum: 9.400

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