Abby Paulson Earns Pac-12 Specialist Of The Week For Second Time

SALT LAKE CITY – Abby Paulson has had quite the final season for the Red Rocks, but perhaps her best moment yet came on Senior Night earning her Pac-12 Specialist of the Week for a second time.

Paulson has been flirting with perfect 10s on beam since she first earned one as a freshman against UCLA. They’ve always alluded her, that is until last Friday night.

It was pretty clear once Paulson dismounted the apparatus something special was going to happen and Utah gymnastics was there to get everyone’s reaction.

For the 2nd time this season, @AbbyPaulson is the @pac12 Specialist of the Week!

🔗 https://t.co/dZo4ieDiU7#RedRocks | #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/9YMkZNDqSd

— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) March 19, 2024

Farewell Season For Abby Paulson

Paulson has been a keystone in Utah’s success since she came on campus back in 2020 as a freshman with clutch performance after clutch performance.

In her final season, Paulson may be having her best overall year yet as demonstrated by her performance a few weeks back against Stanford that yielded 9.775 on bars (the first time she’s competed the event since 2022), a 9.975 on beam, and a 9.925 for floor to earn her first Pac-12 Specialist of the Week award this year.

During last week’s performance, in addition to the perfect 10 on beam, Paulson also added a 9.925 on floor.

 

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In the 2024 season, Paulson has scored a 9.9 or above in eight of 11 competitions.

“Honestly, I’m just really grateful,” Paulson said after last Friday’s meet. “I’ve just had a really emotional week. I came in today trying to not put too much pressure on myself to hit and Carly [Dockendorf] was like, ‘what are you going to do?’ I was like, ‘I’m going to be calm and confident’ like I do every single time. When I was up on the beam I was trying to focus on my routine, focus on singing my song instead of focusing on the fact it was my last beam routine in the Huntsman. I couldn’t really hold it together- I’m just really grateful for the fans and my teammates.”

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

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