TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State gymnastics team and head coach Dr. René Lyst announced on Tuesday the signings of five student-athletes to the 2016 incoming class.
The Sun Devils will welcome Heather Udowitch (Allen, Texas/Metroplex Gymnastics), Ashley Szafranski (Orfield, Pa./Parkettes Gymnastics), Jessica Ginn (Chandler, Ariz./Desert Light Gymnastics), Morgan Hart (Las Vegas, Nev./Brown’s Gymnastics), and Grace Kramer (San Clemente, Calif./Wildfire Gymnastics).
Udowitch, who will join the Sun Devils in time for the 2016 season, comes from Metroplex Gymnastics, where she was a four-time level 10 state and regional qualifier. In 2015 she finished 16th all-around at the Junior Olympic National Championships with a 9th place finish on beam as well as 10th on floor.
In high school, Udowitch boasts a 3.87 GPA and was a part of the National Honor Society. Udowitch was also a member of the Rebel Athletic focus group for designing, fitting, and manufacturing a new line of gymnastics leotards and workout wear.
“I am really looking forward to Heather joining the team, and we get to see her in action right away,” Lyst said. “She is definitely going to help us on bars, beam, and floor. She is a beautiful gymnast. She has great form, good dance, good artistry, and she will obviously add some depth this year moving forward.”
Szafranski, who hails from Orfield, Pa., is a three-time regional bar champion and a three-time national qualifier. She will be a strong competitor for the Gym Devils on bars and beam.
"Ashley Szafranski comes to us from Parkettes in Pennsylvania, and ASU has a long standing relationship with that club,” Lyst said. “She has a beautiful line, and is outstanding in every event. She is an amazing bar worker, an exceptional beam worker, and she is good on floor and continuing to improve on vault. She will definitely shine on bars and beam. We can't wait for her to get here.”
Szafranski qualified to the U.S. Classic in 2011 as a junior international elite before returning to the Junior Olympic level. At the 2014 National Championships she finished 5th on beam and 6th on bars.
Ginn, an Arizona native, joins the Gym Devils from Desert Light Gymnastics in Chandler where, and was coached by former ASU head coach John Spini. She is a powerful gymnast and is expected to bring huge upgrades in the vault and floor line-up.”
“Jessica Ginn is a local kid, and vault and floor will definitely be the events she will shines for us,” Lyst said. “We are excited to get her a part of the program and immediately help us in those two power events.”
Hart, of Las Vegas, Nev., and Brown’s Gymnastics, is expected to help the Gym Devils on all four events, especially on bars and floor.
“She is on the upswing,” Lyst said. “She is really improving dramatically every day, learning new skills. She is exceptionally powerful, very athletic, and she has a great attitude and work ethic.”
Hart has competed as a Junior Olympic gymnast, including qualifying to nationals as a level 10 in 2015 and finishing 4th all-around at the 2014 Western National Championship competition.
At the Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy, Hart was on the honor roll from 2012-2015.
Kramer’s strongest events are vault, floor, and bars, in which she is expected to make an impact on for the Gym Devils. In 2014, Kramer won both the vault and the floor competition at the Level 10 National Invitational Tournament. In 2015 she finished second at the NIT on beam, floor, and in the all-around.
"Grace is a super powerful athlete,” Lyst said. “She is dynamic; she has a lot of great skills that she is going to bring with her. She is also just a great person, leader, motivator and teammate, and we expect a lot of her. She will definitely contribute to the program on vault. Her floor is exceptionally strong and she very good on bars, so those will be her top three events. We are looking forward to getting her on campus, she has wanted to be a Sun Devil for quite a while so it was nice to be able to make that dream come true for her."
The Sun Devil gymnastics team will open the 2016 season on Friday, Jan. 8, hosting Nebraska and Bowling Green at Wells Fargo Arena at 7 p.m. MT.
Signee Notes
Heather Udowitch (Allen, Texas/Spring Creek Academy/Metroplex Gymnastics)
- 4x level 10 regional qualifier
- 16th all-around, 9th beam, and 10th floor at the 2015 JO National Championship
- 1st all-around and bars, 2nd beam and floor at the 2015 Rose City Classic.
- 2014 state beam champion
Ashley Szafranski (Orfield, Pa./Commonwealth Connections Academy/Parkettes Gymnastics)
- 3x national qualifier
- 5th place beam and 6th place bars at the 2014 JO National championship
- 2013 and 2014 regional bar champion
Jessica Ginn (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton HS/Desert Light Gymnastics)
- State vault champion every year from 2009-2014
- 2012 Level 9 Western National Championship vault champion
- NIT qualifier in 2015
Morgan Hart (Las Vegas, Nev./Brown’s Gymnastics)
- 5th all-around at the 2015 level 10 regional championship
- 2015 JO National championship qualifier
- 4th all-around, 3rd bars, and 5th beam at the 2014 Level 9 Western National championship
Grace Kramer (San Clemente, Calif./JSerra Catholic HS/Wildfire Gymnastics)
- 2014 level 10 NIT floor and vault champion
- 2015 regional vault champion
- 2nd place beam, floor, and all-around at the 2015 NIT championship