UCLA at Utah

Recap

The Big Storyline: The Bruins led after the first rotation and closed their meet with a giant season high of 49.575 on beam, but it wasn’t enough to match the Utes, who set season bests on every event but vault to break 198 for the first time this season. Jordan Chiles stepped up—even more than she normally does—in the absence of Chae Campbell, who was out with a family emergency. However, it wasn’t enough, as Maile O’Keefe and Grace McCallum rallied Utah for the largest margin of victory in their now four-meet win streak in the series.

Implications: The Utes remain undefeated in Pac-12 conference action while the Bruins now have one win, one loss, and one tie. Utah will stay steady at fourth in the national rankings while UCLA will fall slightly.

Records: With a 49.775 on beam, Utah set a variety of marks. It’s the country’s top beam total of 2023, ties the Utes’ program record on beam, and matches their third-best total on any event behind 49.800, which it scored on both bars and floor.

Preview

Current Rankings: No. 5 UCLA at No. 4 Utah

Why You Should Cancel Plans for It: The annual Bruins-Utes clash is a must-watch meet every season, as it’s usually an instant classic. With this year’s edition also producing a top five showdown, it should be no different. Utah may be undefeated against UCLA in duals this decade, but it only has a combined 0.275 margin of victory from all three matchups. Plus, with three Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 10, this victory will be huge in the conference title race.

What We’re Watching: With the debut of Jillian Hoffman’s Yurchenko one and a half last week, the Utes can put up a full lineup of 10.0 start values when fully healthy. That would be a first for Utah since the devaluation of the Yurchenko full and would go a long way in establishing a second standout event to complement beam. The Bruins’ beam lineup has gone sub-49 the last two outings and lowered their team total significantly, so watch for a possible shakeup as Ana Padurariu hit an exhibition set last week after a strong 2022 on the event.