Utah Red Rocks Gymnastics: 2026 Season Review

The Utah gymnastics program is shifting its focus toward the 2027 season following a challenging 2026 campaign that saw the Red Rocks snap a historic 49-year streak of national championship appearances.

Despite the disappointment of missing the national championships for the first time in nearly five decades, the team remains optimistic. Junior Ella Zirbes indicated that the absence of the streak’s pressure may actually serve as a catalyst for the program’s return to form.

I feel like this team next year is going be very dangerous because I feel like we know what it’s like now to just go all-out. We won’t have the pressure of the streak anymore, which obviously was great to have … but we won’t have the pressure in the back of our head anymore, so we’ll really know to just go all-out. And I think that will kind of be our theme the whole season.

Ella Zirbes, junior

A Season of Inconsistency

The 2026 season was characterized by significant volatility in performance. This inconsistency was evident early in the year at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad meet in January, where the team struggled with three falls on the balance beam while simultaneously producing one of the nation’s best team vault scores.

The Red Rocks recorded two of their lowest team scores in a decade during the 2026 campaign: 195.900 and 195.7250. However, the team demonstrated its ceiling in February when it surpassed the 198.0 mark, driven by a standout performance on the bars.

One of the definitive highlights of the year occurred on January 10, 2026, at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. Avery Neff earned the first 10.0 of her career on the vault, which marked the first perfect score recorded across the NCAA in 2026.

Factors Contributing to the Decline

Program leadership attributed the season’s struggles to a combination of factors rather than a single cause. These included the challenges of managing a young roster and the implementation of new routines within the lineups.

The coaching staff also faced transitions, notably the departure of bars lead Jimmy Pratt, who stepped away from the team during the year.

Despite these hurdles, Utah maintained a competitive presence in the national rankings, finishing the season in the top 10. The Red Rocks were the only team from the Big 12 to finish within the top 20, a distinction that highlighted the continued dominance of the SEC and Big Ten and the rise of the ACC.

Institutional Support and Legacy

The university has signaled its commitment to head coach Carly Dockendorf by extending her contract. The extension, announced on April 9, 2026, comes shortly after the program’s failure to advance to the national championships.

Dockendorf has emphasized that while the consecutive streak has ended, the historical achievement remains a permanent part of the program’s identity.

No one is ever going to take away 49 years of going to a national championship. I mean, that record will never be broken and even when we add to it next year, it will continue to grow. Just because the consecutive streak may have ended, that history is set in stone and it truly is untouchable.

Carly Dockendorf, head coach

The Red Rocks finished third in their regional final, narrowly missing the qualification spot required to advance to the national stage.