March 15, 2013
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TEMPE, Ariz.--In a fitting senior day surprise, what was once thought to be a shade below the 196 mark with a 195.975, was adjusted to 196.025 after an inquiry into a score on floor. The adjusted score on freshman Stephanie Miceli's routine put the Sun Devils over the 196 mark for the first time since 2009 and helped the Arizona State women's gymnastics team top the Bridgeport Knights 196.025-195.75, Friday, in Wells Fargo Arena.
With two seniors competing in the line-up, it was the Gym Devil bar team that came out to compete. ASU left a previous season high of 48.975 in the dust with scores of 9.875 from grad Kahoku Palafox and sophomore Brianna Gades and a career-high 9.850 for both senior Amelia Rew and Miceli to record a new team high of 49.225 on the event.
For the second-straight week Arizona State was lights out on floor, counting five routines of 9.800 or above. Freshmen Allie Salas and Alex Cope hit back-to-back career-high 9.850's for ASU to start off the line-up. Sophomore Morgan Steigerwalt recorded a 9.800 and sophomore Natasha Sundby hit a 9.900 for the third time this season. The real cheer of the night for the Gym Devils came when Miceli's original score of 9.800 on floor was adjusted to a 9.850 after a judge inquiry. The five-hundredths of a point addition to the freshman's score was enough to bump ASU over the 196 mark.
Arizona State last scored an even 196.000 in 2009 in a quad-meet against CSU Fullerton, Nebraska and Ball State. ASU's score tonight of 196.025 is the highest point total the team has scored since the Gym Devils recorded a 196.150 in a loss to Oregon State in 2008.
ASU started off a little rocky on vault with its two-top vaulters falling short of their consistent 9.8-plus scores they had posted all season. One of the big highlights of the event, if not the meet, was the return of one of the Sun Devils' top gymnasts from 2012, Samantha Seaman. The junior had been sidelined with a partial ligament tear in her foot and had not competed for Arizona State all season. Returning to practice just this week and in her first vault of the 2013 season, Seaman scored a 9.850, just shy of her career high of 9.875.
In addition to the excitement of gymnastics, the Gym Devils held their first ever Green Meet where they promoted the use of zero waste through recycling and composte recepticles through out the building. The stands were filled with green shirts and fans were introduced to the zero waste concept. Rew and Palafox, along with the School of Sustainability and Applied Sustainability, were the instumental in bringing the concept of zero waste to the gymnastics meet. Both seniors wanted to leave a last mark on Arizona State and wanted to incorporate the zero waste concept into their final home meet.
Next up, the Sun Devils head to Corvallis, Ore. for the Pac-12 Championships on Mar. 23. The meet will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network, with the first session beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT.