TEMPE – The seniors stood out in the annual Maroon and Gold Instrasquad on Monday evening in Desert Financial Arena, where the Gold team beat Maroon 155.925 to 155.650.
The two highest scorers of the meet were seniors Emily White and Anaya Smith. White scored a team-high 9.950 on beam and Smith won the vault title with a 9.925. White also won the all-around with a 39.400. Another senior in Jada Mangahas competed in the all-around as well, scoring a 39.100. The bars title went to senior Sarah Clark with her 9.875, and the floor title went to graduate Hannah Scharf with a 9.875.
A few newcomers made their debuts in front of Sun Devil Nation. Freshmen Halle Gregoire and Lilia Purler both competed. Gregoire made a splash on floor, leading Maroon in that event with a 9.750. Purler's best came on vault where she scored a 9.800.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Santos
On overall thoughts of the scrimmage:
"I think it was a very typical maroon and gold. There were certain parts that were probably a little stronger, some of these upperclassmen were ready to go and I think they showed some early season form, which I think was good. Definitely some jitters, definitely some shakiness. This meet was preparation, so overall I'm happy and we got to make that last push and get ready for the start of the season. There's plenty of room for that."
On what he can learn from tonight's scrimmage:
"We have some pretty resilient girls. We have a couple of girls who have not been feeling very good for a couple of days, they went really hard and did the best they could. A couple of short landings on some hard surfaces and people just kept going and trying to make changes, so a pretty resilient group. I'm overall happy and it's a good step. We have to continue to clean it up if we want to get done what we want to get done here, but it's December and not January so we have time."
On what impact the returners bring and the newcomers on the team:
"The returners have been doing it. They were ready to go. Their preparation has been great this fall and they've been ready to go. There's a couple of people who've made a couple of changes here and there, but overall they did really well and I think they've picked up where they should be. I think some of the underclassman were very positive. They haven't done anywhere as much. Halle (Gregoire) had a great first start to get going, got the big floor routine and the big vault. Kimmy (Smith) had a good day as well. So that's really encouraging. Caroline (Lichtman) had a great day, she was one of the ones that wasn't feeling well the last couple days so she showed up and did a great job. I think it's really positive they could add into what the upperclassmen did since we've returned so much and kind of fill in a couple of spots where they were stronger so I think that'll be a good mix."
All-Around Senior Emily White:
On what she was thinking before her beam routine:
"This was my first time going at the end of the line up on the spot and Hannah has been there before. She's held that position before. She really knew what to say to me. She was just telling me you're in this spot for a reason. Just trust your training, basically, just rely on what I do every day at practice and it really helped to calm me down and stay dialed."
On what she's most looking forward to this season:
"Honestly, I think we have a lot of depth this year and I think that's the main thing that was evident today compared to past Maroon and Gold, there were definitely a lot more people in every line up and we almost had a full line up, I think and on beam and floor. So I'm excited for all the newcomers that are doing the routines and there's a lot that wasn't even shown today that we still have in store. So I'm excited to show that to the world that we're better than number 19."
Final Results
Rotation One: Maroon 39.100 on bars, Gold 38.750 on bars
Maroon led after the first rotation, highlighted by a huge vault from Gracie Reeves that earned her a 9.875. On bars, the Gold team's best was a 9.775 from White.
Rotation Two: Maroon 39.050 on bars, Gold 39.425 on vault
Gold took the lead 78.175 to 78.150 in the second rotation after a monster vault rotation. All four that competed earned at least a 9.800, led by a 9.925 from Anaya Smith. On bars, Maroon saw a big 9.875 from the anchor Clark, sticking her double layout dismount.
Rotation Three: Maroon 39.125 on beam, Gold 39.175 on floor
Gold held the lead after three rotations, 117.350 to 117.275. Scharf's 9.875 and White's 9.850 on floor helped the Gold team keep the advantage. On beam, Mangahas made a big showing on an event that she hasn't competed on since 2021, scoring a 9.875.
Rotation Four: Maroon 38.375 on floor, Gold 38.575 on beam
With a huge score to wrap up the beam lineup, Gold held on to win the meet. White was the highlight on beam for Gold, scoring a 9.950 for the highest score of the night across all events. Maroon saw freshman Halle Gregoire get the team best on floor with a 9.750.
Up Next
The season will begin at home in Desert Financial Arena with a dual meet against Central Michigan on January 8 at 7 p.m. MST.
The two highest scorers of the meet were seniors Emily White and Anaya Smith. White scored a team-high 9.950 on beam and Smith won the vault title with a 9.925. White also won the all-around with a 39.400. Another senior in Jada Mangahas competed in the all-around as well, scoring a 39.100. The bars title went to senior Sarah Clark with her 9.875, and the floor title went to graduate Hannah Scharf with a 9.875.
A few newcomers made their debuts in front of Sun Devil Nation. Freshmen Halle Gregoire and Lilia Purler both competed. Gregoire made a splash on floor, leading Maroon in that event with a 9.750. Purler's best came on vault where she scored a 9.800.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Santos
On overall thoughts of the scrimmage:
"I think it was a very typical maroon and gold. There were certain parts that were probably a little stronger, some of these upperclassmen were ready to go and I think they showed some early season form, which I think was good. Definitely some jitters, definitely some shakiness. This meet was preparation, so overall I'm happy and we got to make that last push and get ready for the start of the season. There's plenty of room for that."
On what he can learn from tonight's scrimmage:
"We have some pretty resilient girls. We have a couple of girls who have not been feeling very good for a couple of days, they went really hard and did the best they could. A couple of short landings on some hard surfaces and people just kept going and trying to make changes, so a pretty resilient group. I'm overall happy and it's a good step. We have to continue to clean it up if we want to get done what we want to get done here, but it's December and not January so we have time."
On what impact the returners bring and the newcomers on the team:
"The returners have been doing it. They were ready to go. Their preparation has been great this fall and they've been ready to go. There's a couple of people who've made a couple of changes here and there, but overall they did really well and I think they've picked up where they should be. I think some of the underclassman were very positive. They haven't done anywhere as much. Halle (Gregoire) had a great first start to get going, got the big floor routine and the big vault. Kimmy (Smith) had a good day as well. So that's really encouraging. Caroline (Lichtman) had a great day, she was one of the ones that wasn't feeling well the last couple days so she showed up and did a great job. I think it's really positive they could add into what the upperclassmen did since we've returned so much and kind of fill in a couple of spots where they were stronger so I think that'll be a good mix."
All-Around Senior Emily White:
On what she was thinking before her beam routine:
"This was my first time going at the end of the line up on the spot and Hannah has been there before. She's held that position before. She really knew what to say to me. She was just telling me you're in this spot for a reason. Just trust your training, basically, just rely on what I do every day at practice and it really helped to calm me down and stay dialed."
On what she's most looking forward to this season:
"Honestly, I think we have a lot of depth this year and I think that's the main thing that was evident today compared to past Maroon and Gold, there were definitely a lot more people in every line up and we almost had a full line up, I think and on beam and floor. So I'm excited for all the newcomers that are doing the routines and there's a lot that wasn't even shown today that we still have in store. So I'm excited to show that to the world that we're better than number 19."
Final Results
- Gold, 155.925
- Maroon, 155.650
Rotation One: Maroon 39.100 on bars, Gold 38.750 on bars
Maroon led after the first rotation, highlighted by a huge vault from Gracie Reeves that earned her a 9.875. On bars, the Gold team's best was a 9.775 from White.
Rotation Two: Maroon 39.050 on bars, Gold 39.425 on vault
Gold took the lead 78.175 to 78.150 in the second rotation after a monster vault rotation. All four that competed earned at least a 9.800, led by a 9.925 from Anaya Smith. On bars, Maroon saw a big 9.875 from the anchor Clark, sticking her double layout dismount.
Rotation Three: Maroon 39.125 on beam, Gold 39.175 on floor
Gold held the lead after three rotations, 117.350 to 117.275. Scharf's 9.875 and White's 9.850 on floor helped the Gold team keep the advantage. On beam, Mangahas made a big showing on an event that she hasn't competed on since 2021, scoring a 9.875.
Rotation Four: Maroon 38.375 on floor, Gold 38.575 on beam
With a huge score to wrap up the beam lineup, Gold held on to win the meet. White was the highlight on beam for Gold, scoring a 9.950 for the highest score of the night across all events. Maroon saw freshman Halle Gregoire get the team best on floor with a 9.750.
Up Next
The season will begin at home in Desert Financial Arena with a dual meet against Central Michigan on January 8 at 7 p.m. MST.