Completed Event: Gymnastics versus NCAA Championship Final on April 19, 2025 , , 4th of 4 (197.2375)
Final Score
Gymnastics
4th of 4 (197.2375)
vs NCAA Championship Final
Saturday, January 11
West Valley City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Brigham Young
Photo by: Russ Isabella
Utah Gymnastics To Compete at Rio Tinto Best of Utah
1/7/2020 11:52 AM | Gymnastics
Utes head to Maverik Center for podium event against in-state foes.
MEET WEEK
No. 4-ranked Utah will head to the inaugural Rio Tinto Best of Utah NCAA Gymnastics meet this Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The podium event will feature all four of Utah's Division I gymnastics programs – Utah, Brigham Young, Southern Utah, and Utah State. The neutral-site meet will begin at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
TUNING IN
The meet will not be live streamed, but will be broadcast on Utah's flagship radio station, ESPN 700. Mike Lageschulte will serve as the play-by-play announcer, while former Ute All-American Kyndal Pond will be on the call as the color analyst. The ESPN 700 app is available to download on your phone for easy access to tune into the meet. Tickets to see the action live are still available and can be found here. Live scoring will also be available.
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QUICK STICKS
• Competing on a podium surface, Utah will begin on vault and rotate in Olympic order. BYU will begin on bars, Utah State on beam, and Southern Utah on floor. Events will be performed in a shotgun format.Â
• The Rio Tinto Best of Utah event marks the second time in history that Utah, BYU, Southern Utah, and Utah State will participate at the same event. The only other gathering was the Smith's Challenge Cup in 1993 where Utah won the quad-meet, Utah State finished second, BYU placed third, and Southern Utah finished fourth.
• Utah competes in the Pac-12 Conference, while the other three in-state schools are members of the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference.
• There are 26 Utah natives on the 2020 rosters between the four schools (Utah-2, BYU-10, SUU-10, USU-4).
• Maverik Center hosted the 2019 Pac-12 Championships and drew a crowd of 8,621 in its inaugural podium event.
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IN THE RANKINGS
• Based on season average, Utah is ranked No. 4 in the latest Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) rankings following the opening week of competition. The Utes rank No. 4 on vault, No. 5 on beam, and No. 6 on bars and floor.
• Kim Tessen is tied for No. 2 on vault, No. 5 on bars, and No. 6 on floor.
• Cristal Isa is tied for No. 4 on beam.
• Sydney Soloski is tied for No. 6 on floor.
• Abby Paulson's first college beam routine ranked No. 7 in week one. Â
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TESSEN TIME
Kim Tessen recorded one of her best meets as a Ute in the season opener against Kentucky, claiming three event titles in all three events she competed on. Tessen started her senior season off by posting a 9.90 on vault and carried the momentum over to bars where she would go on to match her career-high of 9.925 as the bar anchor for Utah. The Orem, Utah native closed out her phenomenal night on floor and performed a 9.90-worthy routine, which would set a new career high on floor. Tessen's scores of 9.90 or above on all three events earned her the first bars and floor victories of her career, while tabbing her third vault title. Â
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FIERCE FRESHMEN
One of the best signing classes in history, Utah's four freshmen on the roster came in as the second-ranked recruiting class in the nation according to CollegeGymFans.com. Jillian Hoffman, Maile O'Keefe, Abby Paulson and Jaedyn Rucker boast numerous accolades from elite and international levels.
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O'Keefe was a three-year member of the U.S. National Team (2016-18) and was the first P&G national all-around champion to ever sign with the Utes. Paulson was a member of the 2017 U.S. Senior National Team and qualified for the prestigious P&G National Championships and U.S. Classic from 2013-17. Hoffman came to Utah as the 2017 Junior Olympic Champion in the all-around, bars and floor. Rounding out Utah's phenomenal signing class, Rucker was the 2018 J.O. national vault champion, while also finishing second in the all-around and on floor at the event.
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SERIES SHORTS
• Utah leads BYU 99-2 in the series and is undefeated on a neutral floor (25-0). With a win, Utah will record its 100th win against BYU dating back to when the series started in 1976.
• Utah leads the series with Utah State 89-3 and is 22-1 on a neutral floor. The Aggies and Utes have not met since the NCAA Regional in 2016, while the two have not had a regular season meeting since the 2012 season.
• Utah leads Southern Utah 24-0 in the series. The two teams have only met five times at a neutral site.
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SCOUTING BYU
Coach: Guard Young (5th season)
2020 Preseason Ranking: 23
2020Â Record: 1-0
Notes: Coming off a season-opening victory over then-ranked No. 15 Nebraska 195.750-195.600, which was the seventh-best opening week score … Junior Abbey Miner won the all-around against Nebraska with a career-high 39.325 … Junior Abby Boden Stainton placed second in the all-around with a score of 39.175 … Appeared at an NCAA Regional for the 10th straight year in 2019 … Shannon Evans was the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Gymnast of the Year last season.
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SCOUTING SUU
Coach: Scott Bauman (29th year)
2020 Preseason Ranking: 26
2020Â Record: 0-0
Notes: Qualified for its seventh-straight NCAA Regional appearance in 2019 … Returns five MRGC All-Conference Second Team selections … Karley McClain was named the 2019 MRGC Freshman of the Year and was SUU's sole all-arounder on the roster last season … Finished second at the MRGC Championships last season, finishing ahead of then-ranked No. 15 BYU and Utah State.
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SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Coach: Amy Smith (3rd year)
2020 Preseason Ranking: NR
2020 Record: 0-0
Notes: Returner Autumn DeHarde qualified as an individual for the NCAA Corvallis Regional last season … The Aggies placed fourth at the MRGC Championships in 2019 … DeHarde, who was the 2018 MRGC Freshman of the Year, earned second-team all-conference honors on floor last season … Leighton Varnadore earned second-team all-MRGC honors in the all-around.
UP NEXT
Utah will have a bye week before turning their attention to Arizona State on Friday, Jan. 24. The Utes will stay in Salt Lake City and take on the Sun Devils in the Huntsman Center at 7 p.m. to kick off the Pac-12 slate.
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No. 4-ranked Utah will head to the inaugural Rio Tinto Best of Utah NCAA Gymnastics meet this Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. The podium event will feature all four of Utah's Division I gymnastics programs – Utah, Brigham Young, Southern Utah, and Utah State. The neutral-site meet will begin at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
TUNING IN
The meet will not be live streamed, but will be broadcast on Utah's flagship radio station, ESPN 700. Mike Lageschulte will serve as the play-by-play announcer, while former Ute All-American Kyndal Pond will be on the call as the color analyst. The ESPN 700 app is available to download on your phone for easy access to tune into the meet. Tickets to see the action live are still available and can be found here. Live scoring will also be available.
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QUICK STICKS
• Competing on a podium surface, Utah will begin on vault and rotate in Olympic order. BYU will begin on bars, Utah State on beam, and Southern Utah on floor. Events will be performed in a shotgun format.Â
• The Rio Tinto Best of Utah event marks the second time in history that Utah, BYU, Southern Utah, and Utah State will participate at the same event. The only other gathering was the Smith's Challenge Cup in 1993 where Utah won the quad-meet, Utah State finished second, BYU placed third, and Southern Utah finished fourth.
• Utah competes in the Pac-12 Conference, while the other three in-state schools are members of the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference.
• There are 26 Utah natives on the 2020 rosters between the four schools (Utah-2, BYU-10, SUU-10, USU-4).
• Maverik Center hosted the 2019 Pac-12 Championships and drew a crowd of 8,621 in its inaugural podium event.
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IN THE RANKINGS
• Based on season average, Utah is ranked No. 4 in the latest Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) rankings following the opening week of competition. The Utes rank No. 4 on vault, No. 5 on beam, and No. 6 on bars and floor.
• Kim Tessen is tied for No. 2 on vault, No. 5 on bars, and No. 6 on floor.
• Cristal Isa is tied for No. 4 on beam.
• Sydney Soloski is tied for No. 6 on floor.
• Abby Paulson's first college beam routine ranked No. 7 in week one. Â
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TESSEN TIME
Kim Tessen recorded one of her best meets as a Ute in the season opener against Kentucky, claiming three event titles in all three events she competed on. Tessen started her senior season off by posting a 9.90 on vault and carried the momentum over to bars where she would go on to match her career-high of 9.925 as the bar anchor for Utah. The Orem, Utah native closed out her phenomenal night on floor and performed a 9.90-worthy routine, which would set a new career high on floor. Tessen's scores of 9.90 or above on all three events earned her the first bars and floor victories of her career, while tabbing her third vault title. Â
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FIERCE FRESHMEN
One of the best signing classes in history, Utah's four freshmen on the roster came in as the second-ranked recruiting class in the nation according to CollegeGymFans.com. Jillian Hoffman, Maile O'Keefe, Abby Paulson and Jaedyn Rucker boast numerous accolades from elite and international levels.
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O'Keefe was a three-year member of the U.S. National Team (2016-18) and was the first P&G national all-around champion to ever sign with the Utes. Paulson was a member of the 2017 U.S. Senior National Team and qualified for the prestigious P&G National Championships and U.S. Classic from 2013-17. Hoffman came to Utah as the 2017 Junior Olympic Champion in the all-around, bars and floor. Rounding out Utah's phenomenal signing class, Rucker was the 2018 J.O. national vault champion, while also finishing second in the all-around and on floor at the event.
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SERIES SHORTS
• Utah leads BYU 99-2 in the series and is undefeated on a neutral floor (25-0). With a win, Utah will record its 100th win against BYU dating back to when the series started in 1976.
• Utah leads the series with Utah State 89-3 and is 22-1 on a neutral floor. The Aggies and Utes have not met since the NCAA Regional in 2016, while the two have not had a regular season meeting since the 2012 season.
• Utah leads Southern Utah 24-0 in the series. The two teams have only met five times at a neutral site.
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SCOUTING BYU
Coach: Guard Young (5th season)
2020 Preseason Ranking: 23
2020Â Record: 1-0
Notes: Coming off a season-opening victory over then-ranked No. 15 Nebraska 195.750-195.600, which was the seventh-best opening week score … Junior Abbey Miner won the all-around against Nebraska with a career-high 39.325 … Junior Abby Boden Stainton placed second in the all-around with a score of 39.175 … Appeared at an NCAA Regional for the 10th straight year in 2019 … Shannon Evans was the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference Gymnast of the Year last season.
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SCOUTING SUU
Coach: Scott Bauman (29th year)
2020 Preseason Ranking: 26
2020Â Record: 0-0
Notes: Qualified for its seventh-straight NCAA Regional appearance in 2019 … Returns five MRGC All-Conference Second Team selections … Karley McClain was named the 2019 MRGC Freshman of the Year and was SUU's sole all-arounder on the roster last season … Finished second at the MRGC Championships last season, finishing ahead of then-ranked No. 15 BYU and Utah State.
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SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Coach: Amy Smith (3rd year)
2020 Preseason Ranking: NR
2020 Record: 0-0
Notes: Returner Autumn DeHarde qualified as an individual for the NCAA Corvallis Regional last season … The Aggies placed fourth at the MRGC Championships in 2019 … DeHarde, who was the 2018 MRGC Freshman of the Year, earned second-team all-conference honors on floor last season … Leighton Varnadore earned second-team all-MRGC honors in the all-around.
UP NEXT
Utah will have a bye week before turning their attention to Arizona State on Friday, Jan. 24. The Utes will stay in Salt Lake City and take on the Sun Devils in the Huntsman Center at 7 p.m. to kick off the Pac-12 slate.
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