Why the Red Rocks see themselves as a ‘very dangerous’ team despite disappointing 2026 season

Utah is not dwelling on things. The team is choosing to learn from the experience both from an athlete and coaching perspective to fuel the fire for next year. Utah’s group also stressed that despite a tough season, they still finished in the top 10. They were the only team from the Big 12 to finish in the top 20, leaving much of the attention again on the SEC and Big Ten with a climbing ACC.

“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,” explained junior Ella Zirbes. “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.”

While losing the streak is not fun, the impressiveness of it shouldn’t be ignored now that it’s over.

“No one is ever going to take away 49 years of going to a national championship,” said Utah coach Carly Dockendorf. “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.”

Dockendorf gets contract extension

No one experienced the head scratching of the season more than Dockendorf, and she never shied away from owning that she and her coaching staff grew across meets as well.

Such forthcomingness, and faith from her athletes, earned Dockendorf an extension from the university through 2031.

Utah Red Rocks head coach Carly Dockendorf wears a shirt to support the graduating seniors before the senior day meet against BYU and the West Virginia Mountaineers at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 7, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News

“I’ve been here for three years, and we’ve already had two coaches go their separate ways, so just having that security and Carly staying has been really special for me,” Zirbes said. “I mean, I didn’t think it would go any other way, she’s a great coach and she’s a great leader for this program, and she’s done so many wonderful things. So, I’m just happy she gets to stay and I know she’s going to continue to do wonders for the program.”

Another key moment for Utah was realizing the new NQS formula is unforgiving. When you have lower scores, and especially lower road scores, it is nearly impossible to dig yourself out, as the Red Rocks experienced. That meant Utah was placed in the toughest postseason regional due to its ranking.

At regionals, Utah had a strong outing in its semifinal to advance to the final, but the final performance couldn’t muster the same results. The final was not a bad meet for Utah, but the squad came up against a red-hot Minnesota team and UCLA, both of which advanced to the NCAA semifinals, and Minnesota to the Final Four for the first time.

Disappointed but not undaunted

It was a crushing moment to not see their name in the top two at regionals, but the Red Rocks have moved on.

“That moment, I know none of us will ever forget, but I don’t think it was a defining moment. I think it was a moment for refinement moving forward,” noted Dockendorf.

Teammates cheer as Red Rocks’ Avery Neff competes on the floor during an NCAA gymnastics meet against Southern Utah held at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News

Dockendorf also credited her gymnasts for the way they showed up for each other amid the struggles all season. This included Utah’s final meet. “If you don’t truly care about the people around you, there can be a lot of blame and guilt, and, you know, finger pointing. And in that moment, when this team didn’t advance, all I saw was love and care for one another.”

The commitment to the team never faded for Utah during the highs and lows.

“I truly believe you have to break something down in order to build it back up stronger, and there was a lot of breaking down this year,” said Avery Neff. “There was a lot of hardships that we had to go through as a team with coaches and everything. Everybody had to endure a lot of hardships, and I think that’s one thing that’s really going to grow us as a team.”

Postseason highlights

Utah earned its second-straight regular season and championship Big 12 titles. Sophomore Avery Neff was named Big 12 Gymnast of the Year while senior Ana Padurariu received Big 12 Specialist of the Year honors. Neff added the WCGA north central region top gymnast award, and she, Padurariu and Zirbes all earned their way to the NCAA championship as individual qualifiers.

At the NCAA championship, Neff finished seventh in the all-around and fourth on floor, and both she and Zirbes received All-America nods.

Looking forward

On Thursday, the school announced it had hired a new coach to join Dockendorf’s staff — USA National Team coach Steve Arkell — who will serve as the team’s new bars coach. Arkell brings 40-plus years of coaching experience to the Red Rocks program.

“The addition of Steve Arkell marks a pivotal moment for Utah Gymnastics,” Dockendorf said in a released statement. “He is widely respected for his ability to develop elite athletes while fostering relationships and personal growth. We know with his technical expertise and leadership, Steve will elevate our performance, strengthen our culture, and position Utah Gymnastics for continued success at the highest level.”

On the mat, Utah will be led by Neff and Zirbes next season, along with freshman Abbi Ryssman. Ryssman was outstanding in her debut season on both bars and beam.

The Red Rocks will need to replace eight routines next year. The biggest loss is Makenna Smith, an All-American standout and fan favorite. As of now, Utah hasn’t seen any additions or losses with the transfer portal that has been as active as ever for gymnastics.

Utah has four incoming freshmen who could all make an immediate impact. The biggest name is Gabrielle Black, who is a five-star recruit from Canada. The Red Rocks also added four-star recruit Ayla Miller out of Minnesota, Madison Denlinger from North Carolina and Leonie Gervais from Canada.

Utah knows getting back to the national championship will not be easy as the field grows stronger each year.

“You’ve seen NCAA women’s gymnastics, the level and quality of women that are in these competitions, just elevated across the board, because before, it was you kind of had to pick and choose — are you going to do college or are you going to stay elite? Now you really have the option to do both,” said Dockendorf.

“It is continuing to increase and that’s what makes it exciting for fans. They want to see the best, they don’t want to be bored with the same routines.”

Utah will be favored to win Big 12 titles for a third-straight time next season, but it’s the push to get back to nationals that will be the focus.

Utah’s Ella Zirbes looks on after being announced as the all-around winner with a score of 39.35 during the tri-meet between the Utah Red Rocks, Iowa Hawkeyes and the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News