Courtesy Nicole Praga, SDA Communications
TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State gymnastics team will compete at the 2016 Pac-12 Championships on Saturday at Alaska Airlines Arena on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle.
The No. 8 seed Sun Devils will compete in the first session, slated for a 1 p.m. PT start. Also in the opening session is No. 5 Washington, No. 6 Stanford, and No. 7 Arizona. The second session will follow, featuring No. 1 Utah, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 California, and No. 4 Oregon State.
The Gym Devils will start the meet on floor, the Huskies on Beam, Cardinal on vault, and Wildcats on bars. In the second session, the Utes will start on Beam, Bruins on vault, Bears on bars and Beavers on floor.
Fans can also follow along on Twitter by following @ASUGymnastics. Fans are encouraged to tweet with #EmbraceExcellence in support of the 2016 Gym Devils.
LAST SEASON AT THE PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Utah took home the team title last season, scoring a 198.150, while ASU posted a score of 192.700.
Taylor Allex led Arizona State in the all-around with a four event score of 38.950, good for fifth best in the first session of competition.
The Gym Devils started off the meet on floor where the team scored a total of 48.425. Allex led the team with a score of 9.825, followed by Sundby who scored 9.675 on floor after stepping out of bounds on her final pass.
On vault the Sun Devils had three gymnasts with scores of 9.775 or above. Again, Sundby and Allex proved to be strong competitors with the gymnasts scoring 9.825 and 9.775, respectively. Allie Salas also added a score of 9.775 on the event.
ABOUT THE UTES
The fifth-ranked Utes closed their season last Saturday, defeating No. 8 Georgia, 197.675-197.125. Breanna Hughes scored a perfect 10.0 on floor to lead the Utes, as well as being the top scorer on vault with a 9.875. On bars Baely Rowe took the title with a 9.950, followed by Sabrina Schwab and Hughes pair of 9.925s. Kassandra Lopez hit a career-high 9.950 on beam to win. Hughes won the all-around with a career-best 39.650, followed by Rowe’s career-best 39.525. Hughes is ranked 10th in the nation in the all-around and on vault. On bars, Hughes is ranked 13th and Rowe and Lopez are both tied at 14th. Maddy Stover is tied for ninth in the nation on beam, and Hughes pulls in one final ranking on floor, tied for 12th. As a team, the Utes are ranked in the top 10 in the nation on every event, including eighth on vault, third on bars, tying for fourth on beam, and fifth on floor. The Utes have scored a 197+ seven consecutive weeks, the most previous being their season best. They will receive the No. 1 seed in the championship, going in as the two-time defending Pac-12 champions.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
In a tough match-up with No. 1 Oklahoma, the No. 9 UCLA Bruins hit their second-highest score of the season with a 197.200 on Sunday, short of Oklahoma’s 197.950. Madison Preston led the way on vault with a 9.875. On bars, JaNay Honest recorded a career-best 9.950, grabbing her second bars win of the season. Five Bruins scored 9.8+ on beam, led by Katelyn Ohashi’s third consecutive 9.900. Danusia Francis, Sadiqua Bynum, and Angi Cipra all hit 9.950s on floor. The Bruins are ranked in the top 15 in the nation on every event, including 10th on vault, 13th on bars, ninth on beam, and seventh on floor. Francis is ranked second on beam, and on floor, Bynum is tied for seventh while Cipra is tied for ninth. The Bruins are the co-regular season champions along with the Utes. Last season the Bruins finished second in the championship.
ABOUT THE BEARS
The No. 11 California Bears recorded their highest team score in school history, hitting a 197.500 against UC Davis (195.975) and Sacramento State (195.425) on the road Friday. The new record also featured season-highs on every event, including another record-breaking 49.350 on beam. The Bears swept every event title with Toni-Ann Williams’ 9.925 on bars and 9.950 on floor, Arianna Robinson’s career-best 9.900 on vault, and Jessica Howe’s career-best 9.950 on beam. The Bears are ranked ninth in the nation on vault, 19th on bars and beam, and 12th on floor. Williams is tied for ninth in the nation on floor. Last season the Bears finished sixth in the championship.
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
The No. 14 Oregon State Beavers posted their highest road score of the season, hitting a 196.550 Saturday. The Beavers finished second to No. 3 LSU (197.825), but beat New Hampshire (193.800) and Texas Women’s University (193.000) to lock-in the fourth seed in the Pac-12 Championships. Madeline Gardiner scored a 9.850 on vault to lead the Beavers. On bars, Kaytianna McMillan tied for first with a career-best score of 9.950. Risa Perez and Gardiner posted a pair of 9.850s on beam, tying for second. McMillan led the way on floor with a 9.850, along with teammate Jamie Radermacher. The Beavers highest team score of the season is a 196.850, helping lead to a 10th place national ranking on bars and 17th on beam. Gardiner is ranked 19th in the all-around and tied for 18th on beam, and McMillan is ranked sixth on bars. Last year the Beavers finished fourth in the championship.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
The No. 17 Washington Huskies upset No. 10 Denver on Saturday, posting a season-best 196.650 to close out the regular season. Denver posted a 196.325 on the evening, and Seattle Pacific scored a 193.950. Allison Northey won her fifth all-around title of the season with a 39.500. She led the way for the Huskies on vault with a 9.900 and on floor with a 9.875. On bars Kaitlyn Duranczyk led the way with a 9.900, leading to her fourth straight bars title. On beam Joslyn Goings won with a 9.875. The Huskies are ranked 20th in the nation on vault and they are tied for 15th on beam. Northey is ranked 15th in the nation in the all-around. Last season the Huskies finished seventh in the championship.
ABOUT THE CARDINAL
The No. 19 Stanford Cardinal finished their regular season with a season-best 197.400 on March 6, defeating No. 9 UCLA (196.825) and No. 8 Georgia (197.025). The Cardinal hit scores of 49.25+ on every event, leading to the highest team score since March 2, 2015. Elizabeth Price won the all-around, tying her career-best of 39.675. On vault, Price won with a nearly perfect 9.975. All six gymnasts scored a 9.850 or better on bars, led by Price’s second 9.975 of the meet. Ivana Hong followed with a 9.925. A 49.375 was a season-best on beam, led by Melissa Chuang and Rachel Daum’s pair of 9.925s. Price again led the Cardinal on floor with a 9.900. Price is ranked as the third-best all-around gymnast in the nation. She also is ranked third on bars and is tied for sixth on vault. The Cardinal are tied for 12th in the nation on vault and bars, along with an 11th place national ranking on beam. Last year the Cardinal finished third in the championship.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
The No. 21 Arizona Wildcats finished the regular season Friday with a win over BYU and a new team best, 196.850-195.400. On vault, four Wildcats tied for first place with their scores of 9.850. Lexi Mills and Gabrielle Laub finished bars with a pair of 9.875s. On beam, Mills, along with fellow senior Jessie Sisler both hit a 9.875. Finishing the meet on floor, the Wildcats recorded two 9.900s from Sisler and Krysten Howard, a career-best for Howard. The Wildcats are tied for 11th in the nation on beam. Last season the Wildcats finished fifth in the championship.
LAST TIME OUT
The Sun Devils rounded out the regular season last week at Auburn, falling to the then-No.7 Tigers, 197.175 to 193.725.
Leading the way for the Gym Devils was senior Taylor Allex, who scored a 9.900 on vault for the fourth time this season, tying for first in the event. This marks the sixth time she’s finished in or tied for first on vault, and the 10th time overall this season.
Also on vault, freshman Heather Udowitch led off for the Gym Devils, posting a 9.575, a new season high. Senior Allie Salas posted a 9.825 on vault for the second straight week.
Udowitch also posted a new season high on beam, posting a 9.800 and surpassing her previous best of 9.775, which she initially set at Stanford on Feb. 8, repeated against California, and also scored last week at Penn State.
UP NEXT
The Sun Devil individuals who qualify for NCAA Regional competition will learn their fates on Monday, March 21.
ASU’S 2016 EVENT LEADERS
Vault
In ASU’s Pac-12 opener, at home against Washington, Taylor Allex matched her career best score on vault, winning the event with a 9.900. The score marked the first time Allex has won vault this season. Allex has scored 9.900 three other times, against Arizona, Penn State and at Auburn.
Bars
Carissa Kraus owns three of ASU’s highest bars scores this season, scoring a 9.850 twice, once against California on Feb. 15 and most recently at Auburn on March 11. Kraus also scored a 9.800 at UCLA.
Beam
Freshman Katelyn Lentz tied her season best score on beam against Arizona with a 9.825, which she also scored at Oregon State. Junior Beka Conrad scored a career high 9.825 against California, and matched that score again against Arizona. Also against the Bears, Corinne Belkoff posted the No. 3 mark at 9.800, which Lentz also scored against Washington. Freshman Heather Udowitch also hit the 9.800 mark at Auburn on March 11.
Floor
Taylor Allex set a new career high on floor with a 9.950, tying for first place in the event in the meet against Cal. Against Arizona, Allex hit a 9.925, and also posted the same score against Penn State on March 4.
All Around
Corinne Belkoff and Allie Salas lead the Sun Devil all-arounders this season with their scores of 39.100. Belkoff scored her new high in the Penn State meet, as did Salas, who used that score to win her first all-around title in the meet against Arizona. Salas also scored a 39.050, the second-highest ASU score this season, to win the all-around competition at the meet at UCLA.
Gym Devils Post All-Time High Team GPA In Fall 2015
The Fall 2015 semester was a time of academic success for the GymDevils as the team achieved its all-time highest cumulative and semester GPA, it was announced this week.
Last spring, the team ended with a GPA of 3.27 for the semester, which improved after the 2015 fall semester to a GPA of 3.51. In addition to the team’s collective achievements, seniors Taylor Allex (3.65 GPA) and Kristine Levin (3.27 GPA) and junior Beka Conrad (3.67 GPA) all earned their highest semester GPA.
Freshman Corinne Belkoff had the team’s highest semester GPA at 3.93. Belkoff, as well as freshmen Katelyn Lentz, Heather Udowitch and Eileen Imbus are all students in Barrett, the Honors College.
THE 2015 CAMPAIGN
Despite being plagued by injuries throughout most of the 2015 season, the Sun Devils bounced back in their regular season finale with a 195.175-191.050 victory over Air Force.
Following competition at the Pac-12 Championships, then-senior Natasha Sundby (floor) and then-junior Taylor Allex (all-around) qualified to compete at the NCAA Regional championships.