Utah Gymnastics Falls Short at 2025 NCAA Nationals Championships
Utah gymnastics showed up at the 2025 NCAA National Championships with high hopes, a wave of momentum, and a roster that could go toe-to-toe with anyone. What played out at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, was a meet decided by tiny margins and some mistakes you just don’t expect at this level.
The Red Rocks earned their spot among the sport’s elite, but with a fourth-place finish, their national title drought stretched to three decades. Fans are left wondering what exactly went sideways—and what’s next.
Utah Gymnastics and the Weight of Expectations
Table of Contents
Utah carries a heavy history in NCAA gymnastics. Heading into the 2025 championship, the Red Rocks made their fifth straight Four on the Floor appearance, which is a level of consistency nobody else can claim.
Still, being consistent without a championship win brings its own pressure, especially for fans itching for a return to the glory days of 1995. The national final featured Oklahoma, UCLA, Missouri, and Utah all chasing the title.
Utah’s 197.2375 landed them in fourth, right behind Oklahoma’s 198.0125, UCLA’s 197.6125, and Missouri’s 197.2500. Missouri’s score inquiry sealed the final results—a reminder of how tight things get at the top.
The Meet That Slipped Away
Utah’s title hopes never really caught fire after the first rotation. They started on uneven bars and trailed Oklahoma by two-tenths, which isn’t huge, but it set a cautious tone.
As they moved through beam, floor, and vault, the gap just kept creeping wider. What stung was how out-of-character some of the mistakes were. Veteran leaders struggled in ways we rarely saw all season, and the pressure just piled on.
Aside from a strong floor rotation late in the meet, Utah never really looked like they were about to take over.
Uncharacteristic Errors on the Biggest Stage
Championships often come down to who executes under pressure, not just who has the most difficult routines. For Utah, execution wobbled at the worst times. Some of the program’s most reliable athletes seemed to be fighting the moment instead of owning it.
Grace McCallum, an Olympian known for her steadiness, had a rough final meet in a Utah leotard. She fell on beam and stepped out of bounds on floor—mistakes you almost never see from her.
With struggles from Amelie Morgan and others, Utah’s margin for error just vanished.
Vault Troubles Seal the Final Outcome
Heading into the last rotation, Utah could still realistically finish second. A strong floor set had given them some momentum and hope.
But vault was a problem. A couple of under-rotated landings—gymnasts really pushing for those stuck finishes—plus a fall, wiped out any shot at climbing the standings.
In a meet where tenths matter, those vault mistakes were pretty much the nail in the coffin. Utah didn’t lack effort or preparation; they just ran into the brutal precision this sport demands at the highest level.
A Freshman Shines Under Championship Pressure
The team result stung, but the 2025 championships also spotlighted Utah’s future. Freshman Avery Neff put on a show, making it clear she’s a rising star on the national stage.
Neff finished third in the all-around and notched the best vault score of the championship. Maybe most impressive, she kept her cool after a teammate’s mistake, stepping up with poise and confidence that belied her age.
Rising Stars Across the Lineup
Neff wasn’t the only one stepping up. Several Red Rocks delivered routines that showed off Utah’s depth and promise for the future, including:
- Makenna Smith, who took sixth in the all-around and looks like a future leader
- Ella Zirbes, who finished fourth on bars with a steady routine
- Ana Padurariu, earning eighth on beam
- Ashley Glynn, turning in one of her best floor routines yet
- Elizabeth Gantner, jumping into the beam lineup for the first time this postseason and tying for Utah’s second-best beam score
Putting the Result in Historical Perspective
Context matters. Utah’s fourth-place finish hurts, but it’s hardly a disaster. Since their last national title in 1995, the Red Rocks have reached the championship 23 times in 29 seasons, not counting the canceled 2020 meet.
Eight Utah teams since then have finished lower than this year’s squad. Six didn’t even qualify for nationals. By that measure, 2025 lands somewhere in the middle of a pretty remarkable run.
Book Your Dream Vacation Today
Flights | Hotels | Vacation Rentals | Rental Cars | Experiences
Even the Best Programs Fall Short
This postseason just proved that nobody’s immune to disappointment. No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Florida both got bounced in the semifinals. Oklahoma didn’t even make the championship meet last year. The line between success and heartbreak at this level has never been thinner.
Utah keeps making the final four, and that’s not nothing. They’re still one of the sport’s gold standards, even if the title drought keeps dragging on.
Looking Ahead to a Hungry Future
Now, the program has to shift gears. With McCallum’s college career over, Neff and Smith are set to become the faces of Utah gymnastics. Both have made it clear that fourth place doesn’t cut it for them or the program.
The experience gained this postseason—especially for the underclassmen—could pay off in a big way. Now that they’ve felt the heat of a national championship, the returning roster heads into the offseason with a sharper sense of what needs to get better.
Motivation Fueled by Experience
The vibe from the locker room is more determined than defeated. The freshmen, now battle-tested, get what it takes to compete at the top. That knowledge, plus Utah’s recruiting and tradition, gives plenty of reason for optimism.
It’s worth noting—some of Utah’s all-time greats, like Theresa Kulikowski and Maile O’Keefe, had their share of heartbreak before tasting ultimate success. The 2025 team now joins that lineage of near-misses that keep shaping what Utah gymnastics means.
The Drought Continues, but So Does the Standard
Utah gymnastics just didn’t have enough this Saturday to win a national championship. That’s the same story for 28 other teams, honestly.
Still, the Red Rocks showed they deserve to be on college gymnastics’ biggest stage. The drought lingers, but belief sticks around too. Maybe that’s just how it goes sometimes.
For a detailed breakdown of the meet and individual performances, check out the original coverage from Deseret News’ report on Utah gymnastics finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships. In Salt Lake City, hope never really disappears—and another shot at perfection always feels close.