Arizona State University Athletics

TEMPE, Ariz.—The Arizona State women's gymnastics team (3-10, 1-5 Pac-12) will compete at the 2017 Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships on Saturday in Maples Pavilion on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
 
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 California, No. 6 Arizona and No. 7 Stanford. The second session will follow at 6 p.m. PT featuring No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Utah, No. 3 Oregon State and No. 4 Washington.
 
The Gym Devils will start the meet on floor, the Bears on vault, the Wildcats on beam, and the Cardinal on bars. In the second session the Bruins will start on vault, the Utes on bars, the Beavers on floor, and the Huskies on beam.
 
Both sessions will be broadcasted live on the Pac-12 Network.
 
Fans can follow along on Twitter by following @ASUGymnastics. Fans are encouraged to tweet with #WeWill in support of the 2017 Gym Devils.
 
ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA closed out the regular season with a pair of perfect 10s on senior night to beat North Carolina with their second highest score of the season, 197.800-195.400. Senior Christine Peng-Peng Lee scored her second 10 of the year on bars and sophomore Katelyn Ohashi scored her second consecutive 10 on beam. The Bruins have now totaled eight 10s on the season. Additionally the Bruins had nine scores of 9.900 or better, including five on floor alone. UCLA hit a season best 49.650 on floor, led by senior Hallie Mossett's 9.975 and redshirt freshman Macy Toronjo's career high 9.950. The Bruins totaled 49.450 and 49.425 on bars and beam, respectively. Kyla Ross recorded a 9.950 on bars and Stella Savvidou tied her career high with a 9.900, while Lee hit a 9.925 on beam and Mossett tied her career best with a 9.900. UCLA posted a 49.275 on vault, led by Madison Preston's 9.900. The Bruins are the regular season co-champs with Utah and are the No. 1 seed headed into the championship. They look to defend their 2016 title.
 
ABOUT THE UTES
The Utes fell short on the road in their last regular season match-up with No. 7 Georgia, 197.250-196.650. Freshman MyKayla Skinner saw her string of all-around and vault wins halted as teammate Kari Lee won the all-around with a career high 39.450. The Utes totaled a 49.025 on bars and a 49.125 on vault. Utah recorded a 49.250 event total on both floor and beam, led by Lee's 9.875 season debut on floor and Skinner's 9.925, and a 9.900 from Lee on beam. The Utes are the regular season co-champs with UCLA and are the No. 2 seed headed into the championship. Last year in the championship they tied for second with Oregon State.
 
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
The Beavers recorded a third consecutive 197+ on the season with a 197.475-193.550 win over Illinois-Chicago. The score was a season best and the fifth-highest score in school history. Senior Kaytianna McMillan achieved perfection with a 10.0 on bars, the first perfect 10 by an OSU gymnast since Feb. 22, 2008 and the first perfect 10 on bars since March 29, 2003. She is just the 12th OSU gymnast in program history to score a 10. The Beavers hit a season high 49.500 obviously led by McMillan's 10 and followed by sophomore McKenna Singley's personal best 9.900. On beam the Beavers hit a 49.325, paced by Madeline Gardiner's 9.925. McMillan won floor with a 9.950, contributing to the Beaver's 49.450. Junior Dani Dessaints tied her career high 9.950 on vault, adding to OSU's total 49.200. McMillan also won the all-around with a career best 39.650. Last year in the championship the Beavers tied with the Utes for second.
 
ABOUT THE HUSKIES
Washington scored their second highest score of a 196.925 to top Seattle Pacific in the regular season finale. The Huskies tied a season high on beam with a 49.425, led by Joslyn Goings and Hailey Burleson's pair of 9.925s, tying their career highs. On bars, senior Kaitlyn Duranczyk posted a 9.875 to share the title with teammate Alexandra Yacalis. The duo contributed to the event total 49.250. Yacalis recorded a career high 9.925 on floor to pace the Huskies to a 49.350. A 48.900 vault total was led by Yacalis and Burleson's 9.825s. Last year the Huskies finished seventh at the championships.
 
ABOUT THE BEARS
The Golden Bears had a tough regular season finale, finishing second with a 196.775 to No. 1 Oklahoma's 197.800. For the second week in a row Cal scored the second highest beam score in school history with a 49.325. Senior Emily Richardson's career high 9.900 earned her a share of the title while Chelsea Shu added her own career high 9.875. On vault, Cal totaled a 49.175, led by senior Amber Takara's season best 9.800 and Richardson's and Adrianna Robinson's 9.875s. The Bears went 49.125 on bars with a pair of 9.850s from Yuleen Sternberg and Richardson. Senior Zoe Draghi anchored floor to lift Cal to a 49.150 with her career high 9.925. Last year the Bears finished fourth in the championships.
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats fell to BYU in the final meet of the regular season, 196.350-195.525. Arizona posted a 49.050 on bars, led by Selynna Felix-Terrazas career high 9.900. On vault the Wildcats scored a 48.775, paced by Lauryn Mattson's 9.825 to tie her career high. Krysten Howard and Madison Cindric helped the Wildcats earn a 49.050 on floor with their pair of 9.850s. Howard and Cindric also posted a pair of 9.925s on beam. Last year Arizona finished sixth in the championships.
 
ABOUT THE CARDINAL
The Cardinal had a rough competition to close the regular season as they fell in a quad-meet in Washington, D.C. Stanford finished fourth with a 193.275 while No. 18 George Washington finished first with a 196.500, and NC State (194.575) and Yale (194.575) finished second and third respectively. Elizabeth Price won bars with a 9.925 and Ashley Tai and Nicolette McNair tied for the individual victory on beam with scores of 9.875. Price paced the team on floor and vault with a 9.850 on both. Last year Stanford finished fifth in the championships.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gym Devils closed out the 2017 home slate Friday night in Wells Fargo Arena, honoring senior and team leader Beka Conrad in her final home meet as a Sun Devil. ASU fell in a tri-meet set-up, totaling a 194.925 to Bridgeport's 195.050 and Sacramento State's 195.275.
 
Conrad finished her Sun Devil career thanking her teammates and coaches in an emotional ceremony at the conclusion of the meet with her parents and sister by her side. The senior posted a 9.625 on beam in her final routine in Tempe.
 
The Gym Devils recorded a 48.975 on bars, led by junior Nichelle Christopherson's 9.875, tying her season high and hitting her third consecutive 9.8+ on the season. She also had the highest bar score of the meet. Sophomores Morgan Wilson and Eileen Imbus both added a pair of 9.800s while the rest of the line-up contributed scores of 9.750.
 
On beam, four Gym Devils posted scores of 9.8+, including Christopherson's 9.850 for third place. Sophomore Katelyn Lentz and freshman Ashley Szafranski contributed scores of 9.825 to ASU's total 48.925 on the event. Sophomore Justine Callis scored a career high 9.800 in the lead-off spot.
 
Lentz, Wilson and freshman Jessica Ginn all posted scores of 9.800 on vault to pace the Gym Devils to a 48.800 event total.
 
Lentz hit a 9.850 on floor for her fifth consecutive 9.825+ on the season. Ginn and fellow freshman Mekayla Jones scored a pair of 9.775s, a career high for Ginn.
 
Lentz won the all-around for the first time this season with a career high 39.225.
 
UP NEXT
The individuals who qualify for NCAA Regionals will learn their fates on Monday, March 20.  
 
ASU'S 2017 EVENT LEADERS
Vault
Sophomore Morgan Wilson hit a career high 9.850 at Arizona to put herself in the leader spot on vault for the Gym Devils. Freshman Jessica Ginn and sophomore Katelyn Lentz both have career highs of 9.825 for the number two spot.
 
Bars
Freshman Ashley Szafranski and junior Nichelle Christopherson hold the highest bar scores for the Gym Devils with a pair of 9.875s, a career high for Szafranski and a season high for Christopherson. Sophomore Morgan Wilson added a career high 9.850 at Arizona for the second best score, while Szafranski has also hit that score two times this season.
 
Beam
Junior Nichelle Christopherson holds the highest beam score for the Gym Devils, with a career high 9.900 at Arizona. She has also posted a 9.875 this season, as has sophomore Katelyn Lentz. Senior Beka Conrad hit a career high 9.850 against Stanford.
 
Floor
Sophomores Corinne Belkoff, Justine Callis and Katelyn Lentz hold the highest floor scores for the Gym Devils each with a 9.850. Lentz also has scored a 9.825 against Stanford for the number-two spot. Freshman Morgan Hart, junior transfer Nichelle Christopherson, and freshman Mekayla Jones all share scores of 9.800 for the third best scores.
 
THE 2017 RETURNERS
ASU returns seven gymnasts from last year's lineup, with senior Beka Conrad ready to lead the program. Also back are six sophomores who made immediate impact in last season's squad: Corinne Belkoff, Justine Callis, Eileen Imbus, Katelyn Lentz, Heather Udowitch, and Morgan Wilson.
 
THE 2017 NEWCOMERS
The Gym Devils will field another young roster in 2017 with seven freshman expected to contribute to the lineup: Averie Brook (Houston, Texas/World Champions Centre), Jessica Ginn (Chandler, Ariz./Desert Lights Gymnastics), Morgan Hart (Las Vegas, Nev./Browns Gymnastics), Mekayla Jones (Birmingham, Ala./JamJev Gymnastics), Graycee Rushton (Gilbert, Ariz./Arizona Dynamics Gymnastics), Ashley Szafranski (Orefield, Pa./Parkettes), and Alex Wilson (Denver, Colo./Tigar Gymnastics). The 2017 squad will also feature junior transfer Nichelle Christopherson (Michigan), who brings high-level experience from both club and college.
 
THE 2017 SCHEDULE
ASU is set for another rigorous schedule this year, which will include nine teams that finished in the top-25 in 2016.
 
The Gym Devils open the 2017 season on the road for the first two weeks at Iowa State on Friday, Jan. 6 and at Denver on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. MT.
 
The Sun Devils will compete at home five times this season, opening on Saturday, Jan. 21 against UC Davis. ASU will also host meets against three Pac-12 foes in February: reigning conference champion UCLA on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1:30 p.m. MT, Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1:30 p.m. MT, and Utah on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. MT.
 
Other 2017 road matches include the Pac-12 opener at California on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. MT, at Washington on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. MT, and the annual rivalry match at Arizona on Sunday, March 5 at 1 p.m. MT.
 
ASU will cap the home slate and the regular season on Friday, March 10, hosting a tri-meet with Bridgeport and Sacramento State before traveling to Stanford, Calif. for the 2017 Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships on March 18.
 
GYM DEVILS ON THE PAC-12 NETWORK
Each of ASU's six conference match-ups during the regular season (at California, vs. UCLA, at Washington, vs. Stanford, vs. Utah, at Arizona) will air on the Pac-12 Network. The sessions of the 2017 Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships in Stanford, Calif. will also be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
 
THE 2016 CAMPAIGN
Despite injuries through most of the 2016 season, the Gym Devils finished their season at the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships. Their season-high team score of 194.725 was posted against then-No. 15 California on Feb. 16.
 
Following the conference championship, the then-senior duo of Taylor Allex (vault, floor) and Allie Salas (all-around) qualified to compete as individuals at the NCAA Regional championships. Allex won the vault NCAA Regional title and finished her career at the NCAA Championship.