Utah Stays In The Game; Ashley Glynn Celebrates Senior Season

Utah has entered the chat. 

After a challenging start to their 2026 season, which saw a tough opening weekend at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, the Utah Red Rocks found themselves in 15th place in the national rankings. A stunning place for a team used to being in the run for the NCAA National Championship every season.

Steadily building their way back through a season of ups and downs, tuning out the noise, and rising to the challenge as postseason approaches, the Utes now sit No. 12 in the country. They’re 5-0 in Big 12 competition after wins over Iowa State, Arizona State, Arizona, BYU, and Denver—clinching their second-straight Big 12 Regular Season Title with their 197.200 – 196.100 win over the Pioneers last weekend. They’re also currently ranked third in the country on vault.

On February 13 in dual with BYU, they hit a 198.025, while posting 19 season-high or career-high scores individually. As a team, they join perennial powerhouses Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, and UCLA, along with a strong Stanford team on the rise, as the only teams to hit 198 so far this season.

The mark proves once again that the Utah legacy and program is strong, and that as the race for Regionals and the National Championship heats up, no one should ever sleep on the Red Rocks.

“I’m extremely proud of the team tonight, but this is consistent with what we’ve been seeing in the gym,” said head coach Carly Dockendorf following the team’s effort against BYU. “They’ve been making really good improvements—making the adjustments we need. I think one of the things that makes me so proud of what they did tonight wasn’t necessarily the score, but through the start of the season that we had the adversity that they’ve been going through, it would have been so easy to shut down and just kind of give up and listen to the noise, people being like, ‘this is the worst team in history of Utah Gymnastics’. No one ever stopped believing in this team. We never stopped believing in this team. The women never stopped believing in what they were capable of. They just kept showing up and putting the work in and making adjustments, and that takes a lot to be able to do that.”

Utah has been to every National Championship since the competition’s inception—49 times —and has won 10 national titles (nine NCAA, one AIAW). With history and momentum on their side, no one should be surprised to see this team in Fort Worth striving for their 11th national title.

Senior Night

On Saturday at 3 p.m. MT, the Red Rocks will wrap up Big 12 regular season competition in a tri-meet against West Virginia and No. 24 BYU, and honor its four departing seniors: Makenna Smith, Ana Padurariu, Ashley Glynn, and Sarah Krump in their final home meet at the Huntsman Center. 

For Ashley Glynn, competing for Utah went from a longtime dream to reality in an NCAA gymnastics journey she’s cherished from day one. Coming out of First State Gymnastics, as a freshman, Glynn competed for Temple University. But being a Red Rock was always in the back of her mind. Looking back now, she especially believes everything was meant to be.

“I committed to Temple University for my freshman year, and I had an amazing season there. My parents are Temple alumni, so I grew up going to the meets, and it was fun to carry on their legacy. But, I always felt like I wanted something greater,” she said. “I was originally being recruited by Utah, and I’d come out to Utah camps and always watch them on TV, and that was always my dream, but I didn’t know if I was ever good enough. I peaked a little bit later in level 10, and in my first year in college, I had a great season. I was able to enter the transfer portal and get an opportunity here, and I just jumped on it because I was like, this is my dream.”

Being on campus with the team, seeing their day-to-day, and being immersed in the legacy changed everything for Glynn’s confidence, both on and off the floor.

“Watching them growing up, I always knew that was where I wanted to be. But when it actually came down to it, I was really scared to come out here, even for my visit,” she said. “Once I met the girls, and the coaches, and just the atmosphere of being here, I truly never felt anything like it. It was just so genuine. I just loved it. I felt a lot more comfortable coming here and moving across the country, which was what I was so afraid of. It’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Glynn sees the pressure of being part of the Utah legacy as a privilege and says it’s made her a better person and student athlete.

“I think the pressure of being at a top-level program definitely hits you, like, you feel it for sure,” she said. “Being able to manage that pressure, we work a lot on different things on our team to be able to do that. All of the tools and resources that we have have helped me become a better athlete.”

Shining especially on vault and floor (she’s been in every vault lineup so far this season and was a starter on vault and floor in 16-of-16 competitions in 2025), Glynn is the closest to a sure thing on vault as you can get. In 2025, she captured the Big 12 vault championship, sharing the title with her teammate Grace McCallum.

“I do love vault,” she said. “It’s my favorite. So whatever I can do to make it even better. Last year, winning Big 12 co-champion with Grace, that was amazing. Getting to share with her. Little things like that, those are fun goals to achieve as well.”

After posting only a 47.775 team score on beam at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, it was Glynn who helped get the momentum going again on vault with an incredible career-high 9.975. The team’s ability to rise to the challenge following such a tough start that day is something Glynn sees as a positive, and the team learned from it quickly as they regrouped and shifted their focus.

“Beam definitely wasn’t the rotation that we were hoping for, but after that, we just circled up and said this meet isn’t over yet, so we’re going to fight until the end. Going into vault, Mike (Hunger), our vault coach, told us, “This is great. You guys can take all your anger out right now.” And that’s what we did. We went in with our game face on, and we were just ready to go. I think my teammates and I knew what we were going to do before we even went out there.

“I definitely think it’s an advantage to have that meet early. Going against the top schools is a very high-pressure situation, and it’s very similar to how you think about it. So, especially for the freshmen and people who haven’t been in that position before, to feel that, especially early on, when you do get to those meets, it makes it a little bit easier. You feel like you’ve already done it. It’s a learning experience, and can only go up after that.”

Finding her stride in her senior season started with the realization that it really was her senior year, and that a leadership role had also shifted to Glynn’s class in the process. 

“I can’t even believe this is my senior year,” she said. “Because I came in as a sophomore, sometimes I still feel like a junior! I struggled preseason with the realization that this is my last season, and I have to achieve all of these goals I haven’t accomplished yet. I talked with my coaches about it. I honestly just want to enjoy my senior year and go out there and have fun, just live in the moment and spend this last year with my teammates. That’s my number one goal. I’ve love being in a position to help a teammate out. The older girls were always someone I looked up to, and they were always there for me. I just try my best to be there for my teammates and whatever they need, just being there to support them and lift them up if they need it. I’m usually someone who tries to lead by example, so I try to set a good example of doing that as well.”

Heading into Saturday, Glynn, together with her senior teammates, will celebrate for the last time during the regular season in the Huntsman Center. They’ll be cherishing the moments, reliving the memories together with their teammates, families, and incredible fans, all with one eye on what’s yet to come for this team in 2026. 

Being with her teammates and representing her dream school has meant everything to Glynn, especially the friendships she’s built, which she knows will last a lifetime.

“I love most just being a part of the team. I don’t really know what I would do without those girls. So that’s definitely, I would say, what I love most about being here and being on this team. On those hard days, they’re always there to pick me up or always know the right things to say. It definitely makes it easier to come back after a hard day or a hard meet. They’re just always there for me. They’re literally my best friends.

“We have so much potential. And my number one goal is to win with them.”

Fans that can’t attend live can catch all the action on ESPN+ with Alisa Mowe and Nick Koop on the call.

For an inside look at the Utah Gymnastics program, including tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Red Rocks on social media (TikTok: @utahgymnastics |Instagram: @utahgymnastics).

Photos: Utah Gymnastics

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