Feb. 2, 2001
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TEMPE, Ariz. - In front of 1,108 fans at Wells Fargo Arena, Arizona State's women's gymnastics team hit 20-of-24 routines to defeat No. 12 Washington 195.575-193.075 Friday night.
The win moved ASU to 3-2 on the season and improved its home winning streak to 23 meets against 35 opponents, while knocking the Huskies to 4-3 on the season. More importantly, the Sun Devils provided evidence that its upset win of No. 1 UCLA a week ago was not a fluke.
"I really thought this would be the toughest meet of the season for us," ASU head coach John Spini said. "Coming off the big win over UCLA, it was going to be tough to stay focused and keep up that emotional energy.
"We were flat in a few areas out there, but for the most part we came through. A score of 195.575 is nothing to sneeze at."
In fact, the Sun Devils' topped that mark only three times all last season, and will certainly improve their 2001 season-average, which was 19th-best nationally going into the meet.
Ironically, the Sun Devils got some of their best scores Friday from athletes who endured falls. Junior Laura Moon put up a 9.7 on vault, a 9.875 on bars and an ASU season-high 9.0 on beam, but suffered a 9.45 on floor that ruined her hopes of an all-around victory (38.85).
Even worse for ASU, it left Moon hobbled by a sore foot that could limit her contribution next week against Stanford.
Freshman Maggie Germaine had some of the best numbers of her young career with a 9.8 on vault, a 9.825 on bars and a 9.85 on floor, but a fall on beam dampened her all-around total to 38.6.
Taking medalist honors in the all-around was Washington's Lanna Apisukh with 38.95 that was boosted by her team-high 9.825 on floor.
The Huskies were hit with a serious blow when their leader Stacy Wong aggravated her Achilles tendon midway through the meet. Although expected to recover, her injury left her unable to score on floor and scratched her from the beam line-up.
Wong had been off to an excellent start with a 9.875 on bars and a 9.85 on vault.
"This was a big night for us," said Kelly Cowley, who combined to win the floor with fellow senior Kristin Fanning with scores of 9.875. "We needed to get another good home score in so that we can feel good going into Stanford next week. It could have been harder to focus this week after facing UCLA last week, but this is our home and we wanted to protect it."
Although they rallied in the final rotation to defeat UCLA, against Washington the Sun Devils were out ahead early. While the Huskies suffered two falls on beam, ASU performed to a 48.7 on vault. Germaine's 9.8 led the way for the Sun Devils, with Cowley and Ashley Stewart adding scores of 9.75.
Meanwhile, Washington's falls on the bars spoiled strong performances from Wong (9.875) and Emily Pritchard (9.85) as the Huskies totaled 48.25.
On the second rotation, Fanning led off the bars with a fall, but the Sun Devils rallied with four scores at 9.8 or better. Germaine continued her strong start with her second personal-best of the night, this time a 9.825, and Moon closed the event with a 9.875 to give ASU a 49.05 total for the apparatus.
Meanwhile, on vault, the Huskies demonstrated signs that they were coming together. Molly Seaman earned a 9.775 before Wong added an event-high 9.85, as Washington combined for a 48.625 to trail 97.75-96.875 at the midway point.
A fall from Germaine on beam not only derailed her hopes for a career night, but also cracked the door open for a possible Husky comeback as ASU was forced to endure Cassidy Vreeke's event-opening score of 9.3. But as one freshman slipped, another stepped up with Amber Giorgianni recording a 9.875.
"I really thought that was the clutch performance of the night," Spini said of Giorgianni's season-best. "It would have been so easy for us to fold on beam, but Amber watched the girl in front of her go down and still pulled it together to give us a great score. That was the huge lift we needed."
As Moon was adding her 9.9 on beam to close out the rotation for ASU, Washington was taking a hit in what is arguably their best event. Having already suffered a score of 9.1 on floor from Sidney Field, Wong's aggravated Achilles kept her from completing her routine and earning a score.
Down one of its top guns, Washington finished with a season-low 48.2 and watched as ASU went into the final event with a 146.425-145.075 advantage.
Bringing it home on floor, the Sun Devils accumulated their highest team total of the night - 49.15 - to slam the door on Washington. The Huskies, down to five competitors after Wong's injury-induced scratch, gathered an evening-low of 48 points on beam.
Arizona State will next be in action in the Bay Area when it visits current No. 7 Stanford, Friday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The Sun Devils' next home affair is Feb. 23, when they host the UNO's Classic and challenge Boise State, California and UC Santa Barbara.
Complete box score/results available above in PDF format.
ASU 195.575, UW 193.075
Vault - ASU 48.7, UW 48.625
Bars - ASU 49.05, UW 48.25
Beam - ASU 48.675, UW 48.0
Floor - ASU 49.15, UW 48.2
Individual Top-Three/Other Sun Devil Scores
Vault -
1. Wong (UW) 9.85, 2. Germaine (ASU) 9.8, 3. Seaman (UW) 9.775.
Stewart 9.75, Cowley 9.75, Moon 9.7, Giorgianni 9.7, Vreeke 9.6
Bars -
1. Moon (ASU) 9.875, Wong (UW) 9.875, 3. Pritchard (UW) 9.85.
Germaine 9.825, Skinner 9.8, Robinette 9.8, Cowley 9.75, Fanning 9.225
Beam -
1. Moon (ASU) 9.9, 2. Giorgianni (ASU) 9.875, 3. Robinette (ASU) 9.8, Ellsberry (ASU) 9.8
Vreeke 9.3, Germaine 9.125
Floor -
1. Fanning (ASU) 9.875, Cowley (ASU) 9.875, 3. Germaine (ASU) 9.85
Ellsberry 9.8, Acker 9.75, Moon 9.375
All-Around -
1. Apisukh (UW) 38.950, 2. Moon (ASU) 38.850, 3. Germaine (ASU) 38.6