Red Rocks Prove They Can Come From Behind In Victory Over No. 16 Arizona State
The last time the Red Rocks found themselves trailing after two rotations, the Utes were on the road and unable to overcome the deficit — suffering a brutal loss to No. 5 Oklahoma.
But following the loss three weeks ago, head coach Tom Farden and his gymnasts believed that the lessons learned from that defeat would pay dividends later in the year.
They were right.
Needing a rally over to stay undefeated in Pac-12 competition, the Red Rocks showed they're capable of overcoming a solid deficit as near flawless routines on the vault and floor led Utah to a 197.450-197.150 victory over No. 16 Arizona State
“It is hard to win on the road,” Farden said. “You are in a different bed, sleep in a hotel and have different food, plus all the travel restrictions we have now. You have to be really impressive to win at somebody else’s arena. Hats off to Arizona State. I thought they came out swinging. We definitely could tell they were bringing some energy and had nothing to lose against us, but we felt that our athletes responded really well.”
Maile O'Keefe continued her run of greatness when she won her third all-around title of the season after scoring her second-straight 39.525, narrowly edging out Arizona State's Hannah Scharf’s 39.475. O'Keefe finished with career-highs in vault (9.900) and floor (9.925).
“Maile was stunning on floor exercise,” Farden said. “I think her performance quality continues to get more confident as the season goes on.”
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows as Utah found itself trailing big following the first rotation in which the Red Rocks competed on bars and the Sun Devils on vault.
Abby Paulson got things started with a sensational routine that had the Red Rocks feeling good, but an uncharacteristic fall from Alani Sabado put pressure on the four remaining gymnasts. After three consecutive 9.825's, Cristal Isa might've saved the match when she stuck her landing for a 9.900.
That gave the Red Rocks, although trailing 49.350-49.225, some massive momentum heading into vault which they did not waste. They scored a season-high 49.475 as Alexia Burch posted a career-high 9.975, leading four other teammates to season-highs.
“Lexi knew as soon as she hit that table that she let that one loose,” he said. “I thought it was going to be a 10. That is how impressed we were.”
Despite the the great rotation, the Red Rocks still found themselves trailing 98.725-98.700 at the halfway point.
But it was another season-high rotation score when Utah posted a 49.425 on floor to take the lead heading into the final rotation.
Paulson stepped out of bounds in the leadoff spot, putting pressure on the five remaining competitors. Adrienne Randall got them back on track with a 9.825 before Lucy Stanhope and Jaedyn Rucker really shifted the momentum with a season-highs 9.875 and 9.90 respectively.
O'Keefe then added her career-high while the unflappable Sydney Soloski finished things off with a 9.900, giving Utah a 148.125-147.750 lead entering the final rotation.
After the Red Rocks had five consecutive scores in the 9.8 range, they needed a big performance from Paulson in the anchor spot. She delivered with her second consecutive 9.950, making the comeback complete.
“They showed a lot of fight coming back,” Farden said. “It was incredibly important for us. We knew we had a mid-196 on our tab still, and it is in the back of your mind.”
Utah will now have nearly two weeks off before returning to face No. 9 UCLA in what is expected to be the Red Rocks toughest competitors to bring home a conference title. Both teams will meet on Friday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
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