Avery Neff was still using a walker. Utah’s star freshman gymnast struggled to put weight on her two sprained ankles. She felt like her season was over. Her mannerisms reflected it, too. Neff was sulking,

According to Utah head coach Carly Dockendorf, Neff’s recovery is going well. Better than many may have thought possible with how severe her injuries appeared. “She is making really good progress,” Dockendorf said. “... I’m not going to put a date on it, but I will tell you she is going to be back pretty soon.”

This week, the star freshman was wearing a leotard on the floor at the Dumke Center. She wasn’t on a scooter. And there were no casts on her ankle. Neff sustained her injury against Iowa State on Jan.

The nearly capacity crowd in attendance at the Huntsman Center held their collective breath as freshman Avery Neff competed on uneven bars Friday night.