No. 12 Utah Gymnastics Flourished Against No. 23 BYU

Friday, February 13

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

198.025

196.025

BYU

Photo by: University of Utah Athletics

No. 12 Utah Gymnastics Flourished Against No. 23 BYU

2/13/2026 10:44 PM | Gymnastics

Final Results

Red Rocks posted 19 season and career-highs during rivalry win

SALT LAKE CITY— No. 12 Utah Gymnastics flourished against No. 23 BYU at the Jon M. Huntsman Center Friday night, beating the Cougars 198.025 – 196.025, while posting 19 season-high or career-high scores individually and as a team.

"Extremely proud of the team tonight, but this is consistent with what we've been seeing in the gym," said head coach Carly Dockendorf. "They've been making really good improvements-- making the adjustments we need. I think one of the things that makes me so proud of what they did tonight wasn't necessarily the score, but through the start of the season that we had the adversity that they've been going through, it would have been so easy to shut down and just kind of give up and listen to the noise, people being like, 'this is the worst team in history of Utah Gymnastics'. No one ever stopped believing in this team. We never stopped believing in this team. The women never stopped believing in what they were capable of. They just kept showing up and putting the work in and making adjustments, and that takes a lot to be able to do that."

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The Red Rocks took the lead over the Cougars early, posting a 49.225 team score on vault to BYU's 48.975 on bars.

Clara Raposo started things off posting a 9.80 with Ella Zirbes following up with a 9.825. Makenna Smith and Ashley Glynn notched back-to-back 9.90s, while Avery Neff put a bow on the event with one more 9.80.

Utah went crazy in rotation two, posting a 49.750 team score on bars- their highest of the season to date and just shy of the program record of 49.800 set in 2022. The Red Rocks kept a solid lead with the effort over BYU, 98.975-98.000.

"The vault routine wasn't exactly what we hoped for our first rotation, but something we've really learned is we just leave it and we move on," said Dockendorf. "We were here to have a big night tonight. Makenna started us off, and we've talked a lot about how important that lead off position is, and for her to do that, I was just like, 'let's go'. Let's just build the energy have fun. I mean, the crowd was incredible giving us that energy as well, but I really think they were just enjoying going out and doing big routines. Whether they were on the sideline or they were actually competing, they were all in it together."

Smith started things off matching her season-high of 9.90, followed by a career-high 9.875 by Raposo. Abbi Ryssman matched her career-high of 9.925, as Zirbes set a career-high of 9.975 with one judge giving her a 10.0. Ana Padurariu matched her career-high of 9.95, and Neff brought the house down with her second career perfect 10.0 with her first coming on vault at Sprouts earlier in the year.

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The Red Rocks kept the momentum going on beam, posting a 49.500 to stay ahead of BYU, 148.475 – 147.200.

Elizabeth Gantner led off matching her season high of 9.875, with Smith and Ryssman following up with 9.85s. Ana Padurariu added one more 9.875 before Neff and Winger matched their career highs of 9.95 to send the Utes off to floor for the final rotation of the night.

Utah saved their best effort of the season on floor for last, earning a 49.550 as a team to take the victory over BYU, 198.025 – 196. 025.

Glynn got the Red Rocks started right with a season-high 9.80, teeing Neff up for a career-high 9.95 after. Not to be outdone, Zirbes matched her career-high of 9.95, while Smith earned her highest score of the season on floor, also 9.95. Sage Curtis was the cherry on top of a strong rotation, earning a career-high 9.90 to push the Red Rocks to their first 198 score of the 2026 season.

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Neff's outstanding night resulted in her third straight all-around win with a personal best score of 39.700, while Smith took second with a season-high all-around score of 39.600.
"I think you can get to that point when you feel confident in what you're doing, and the intrasquads in the gym-- it's hard to get up for an intrasquad in the gym, you don't have any fans there, you don't have anybody there," said Dockendorf. "We talk about how our training is much harder than competition day, and I think they're really starting to feel that when they come out there and we have 15,000 people here. Our teammates are hyped. I really do think that that vibe is helping to our results."

UTAH EVENT-BY-EVENT RESULTS

Vault– 49.225
1. Clara Raposo– 9.800
2. Ella Zirbes– 9.825
3. Zoe Johnson-- 9.275
4. Makenna Smith– 9.900
5. Ashley Glynn- 9.900
6. Avery Neff – 9.800

Bars– 49.750 (98.975)
1. Makenna Smith– 9.900
2. Clara Raposo– 9.875
3. Abbi Ryssman– 9.925
4. Ella Zirbes-- 9.975
5. Ana Padurariu- 9.950
6. Avery Neff- 10.00

Beam – 49.500 (148.475)
1. Elizabeth Gantner– 9.875
2. Makenna Smith—9.850
3. Abbi Ryssman – 9.850
4. Ana Padurariu– 9.875
5. Avery Neff– 9.950
6. Camie Winger—9.950

Floor – 49.550 (198.025)
1. Ashley Glynn– 9.800
2. Avery Neff– 9.950
3. Zoe Johnson – 9.750
4. Ella Zirbes– 9.950
5. Makenna Smith– 9.950
6. Sage Curtis – 9.900

UP NEXT
The Red Rocks stay home one more week to host Southern Utah on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. MT for Character Day at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Fans can catch the meet on ESPN+ with Alisa Mowe and Nick Koop on the call.

FOLLOW THE RED ROCKS
For an inside look at the Utah Gymnastics program, including tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Red Rocks on social media (TikTok: @utahgymnastics |Instagram: @utahgymnastics).

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