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Why Utah gymnasts were frustrated with the judges following a 4th-place finish in Oklahoma City

The Red Rocks struggled in their highly-anticipated meet against three of the top teams in the country.

Carly Dockendorf’s frustrations with scoring continued for the second week in a row.

After No. 4 Utah placed fourth (196.800) in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad against No. 1 Oklahoma (197.950), No. 2 LSU (197.650) and No. 6 California (197.275) on Saturday afternoon, the Red Rocks' head coach shared she used all six of her routine summaries after the meet.

NCAA judges use routine summaries to detail the elements performed by a gymnast during a routine, which includes any deductions for errors that may have occurred.

“The scoring was interesting today,” Dockendorf said. “Welcome to women’s college gymnastics. We used all six of our routine summaries, which I’ve never done yet in my coaching career, because we just felt that there were some routines that I had no idea how we got those (scores).

“But, that’s our sport, and that’s the great thing about routine summaries. At this time of year we can get some feedback on some deductions that judges are seeing.”

While Dockendorf encouraged Utah’s gymnasts to have high expectations heading into the nationally televised meet, she also recognizes that it’s early in the season.

There’s still several months to go until the NCAA Championship.

But, that doesn’t mean some of her gymnasts left this weekend’s meet feeling discouraged about their scores.

“Ultimately we can’t control what the judges do,” Dockendorf said. “I’m not going to lie, though. It is really hard to do a beautiful routine, and then not feel like you’re getting rewarded for it.

“There were just some routines that we were shaking our head a little. But, again, it’s ultimately up to us to not focus on that. ... We’re just going to have to get back in the gym and keep working.”

A standout for Utah

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah's Avery Neff on vault at Utah Gymnastics' Red Rocks Preview, NCAA gymnastics in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.

Avery Neff’s smile is hard to miss.

After each of her routines, the former five-star recruit will stare into the crowd with a wide grin and embrace the adulation of her Red Rock teammates.

It’s clear she loves what she’s doing.

But it’s also evident that Neff is extremely talented.

And, in just the second meet of her entire college career, she showed off why she’s primed to make an impact with the Utes in 2025. Neff finished the afternoon with an all-around score of 39.600.

Her performance was the highlight of a Red Rock’s meet which was filled with missteps, mistakes and inconsistent performances from Utah’s veterans.

“She was just exceptional,” Dockendorf said of Neff. “You can tell she truly enjoys what she’s doing. She loves competing. She loves going out there and being the best she can be, but there’s a lot of enjoyment in it.”

Neff scored above a 9.9000 on each of her routines except for her 9.8750 score on bars. Her best performance of the meet came on the vault, where she finished with a 9.9250 score.

If Neff can continue the performance she had in Oklahoma City, the Red Rocks will be in good shape for the rest of 2025.

“She was the No. 1 recruit in the country for a reason,” Dockendorf said. “I think she showcased that today.”

Ella Zirbes loses breath during floor routine

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah coach Carly Dockendorf and Utah's Ella Zirbes at Utah Gymnastics' Red Rocks Preview, NCAA gymnastics in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.

Ella Zirbes appeared to lose her breath before the final tumbling pass on floor.

Utah’s head coach said the sophomore, uncharacteristically, had the wind knocked out of her during the routine. The good news for the Utes is that she’ll be OK moving forward.

“Yeah, she is fine,” Dockendorf said. “She just felt like she lost her breath there for a second and just kind of bent over and stood back up before doing her last pass.

“It was just something out of the ordinary.”

Zirbes' mistake left her with a team-low 9.7250 score on floor.

When is Utah’s next meet?

The Red Rocks will return to the Beehive State.

Utah hosts Iowa State on Jan. 17 at the Huntsman Center (7 p.m. on ESPN+).

After that, the Utes take on BYU, Utah State and Southern Utah in the Les Olsen IT Best of Utah event at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, in West Valley City.