TEMPE – Returners and newcomers alike from No. 20 Sun Devil Gymnastics competed in front of judges and Desert Financial Arena for the first time on Saturday afternoon, with many scoring solid numbers to get loose for the 2025 season.
With the squad split between a Maroon Team and Gold Team, many from Arizona State had a chance to shine. On Maroon, freshman Halle Braaflat and graduate Emily White competed in the all-around, with White earning a 39.000. Graduate Sarah Clark had a strong night on bars on beam, scoring a 9.825 on both.
On the Gold Team, junior Kimberly Smith competed in the all-around, scoring a 38.750. Her best score came on vault, where her 9.800 led all gymnasts. Fellow junior Kayla Lee had the best score of the night across all events on beam, where she collected a 9.850.
Up Next
The Gym Devils will begin the season on the road at the San Antonio Invite on January 11 at 11 a.m. MST.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Santos
On his thoughts on Maroon and Gold and who impressed him:
"There's plenty that impressed me. First, the rotations were very clean; we hit routines and things looked good. We have details to clean up and things like that. We got a little loose in the second rotation. I saw a couple of mistakes here and there, a couple of people rushing. But Kayla Lee, I thought, had a really strong day. Kimmy (Smith) had a really strong day. Emily (White) does what Emily does, and she looked good. We still have a lot of work to do. We still have to clean up a lot, but overall I'm pretty pleased. I would have liked to see us finish a little stronger on those back two events and there were definitely some really strong performances.
On what the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage displayed heading into the 2025 season:
"We're not at full strength right now, so we have to hope as time goes on here in the next beginning of the season that we can get some people back into positions that we want them in and things like that. I think it was a good experience for some of the people that haven't done quite as much and some competitors that haven't been out there and done as much. So I think that's good experience and good knowledge and good information for us. Those people are going to need to step up a little bit more, perform at a higher level again. For the most part, I think most people handled it pretty well. There's a couple of people or a couple of spots that they rushed and got changed and things like that. So like I said, that's the stuff we'll probably talk about."
Graduate Emily White
On what she thinks needs to be cleaned up heading into the season:
"I think even after years the nerves are there, it doesn't get easier. So I think just settling in a little bit more on beam; I think I was a little bit shaky. I think it was also just the first time getting out there in DFA. Then vault I would like to work a little bit more on translating my practice into the arena. I feel like today was lacking a little bit on that, and I've been putting in the work in the gym. And the other two events, just small things like cleaning up like leaps and then handstands on bars. But overall, I think it was a good start for us."
On what she is most excited for about this season:
"I'm excited to see a lot of new faces in the lineups. We have a lot of girls that left last year and also we have so many new girls coming in and so many opportunities for girls to step up in the lineups that they previously weren't in, so I think that's really exciting. I think we've seen a lot of girls step up in that position today and I'm excited to see that carry on to the season."
With the squad split between a Maroon Team and Gold Team, many from Arizona State had a chance to shine. On Maroon, freshman Halle Braaflat and graduate Emily White competed in the all-around, with White earning a 39.000. Graduate Sarah Clark had a strong night on bars on beam, scoring a 9.825 on both.
On the Gold Team, junior Kimberly Smith competed in the all-around, scoring a 38.750. Her best score came on vault, where her 9.800 led all gymnasts. Fellow junior Kayla Lee had the best score of the night across all events on beam, where she collected a 9.850.
Up Next
The Gym Devils will begin the season on the road at the San Antonio Invite on January 11 at 11 a.m. MST.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Santos
On his thoughts on Maroon and Gold and who impressed him:
"There's plenty that impressed me. First, the rotations were very clean; we hit routines and things looked good. We have details to clean up and things like that. We got a little loose in the second rotation. I saw a couple of mistakes here and there, a couple of people rushing. But Kayla Lee, I thought, had a really strong day. Kimmy (Smith) had a really strong day. Emily (White) does what Emily does, and she looked good. We still have a lot of work to do. We still have to clean up a lot, but overall I'm pretty pleased. I would have liked to see us finish a little stronger on those back two events and there were definitely some really strong performances.
On what the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage displayed heading into the 2025 season:
"We're not at full strength right now, so we have to hope as time goes on here in the next beginning of the season that we can get some people back into positions that we want them in and things like that. I think it was a good experience for some of the people that haven't done quite as much and some competitors that haven't been out there and done as much. So I think that's good experience and good knowledge and good information for us. Those people are going to need to step up a little bit more, perform at a higher level again. For the most part, I think most people handled it pretty well. There's a couple of people or a couple of spots that they rushed and got changed and things like that. So like I said, that's the stuff we'll probably talk about."
Graduate Emily White
On what she thinks needs to be cleaned up heading into the season:
"I think even after years the nerves are there, it doesn't get easier. So I think just settling in a little bit more on beam; I think I was a little bit shaky. I think it was also just the first time getting out there in DFA. Then vault I would like to work a little bit more on translating my practice into the arena. I feel like today was lacking a little bit on that, and I've been putting in the work in the gym. And the other two events, just small things like cleaning up like leaps and then handstands on bars. But overall, I think it was a good start for us."
On what she is most excited for about this season:
"I'm excited to see a lot of new faces in the lineups. We have a lot of girls that left last year and also we have so many new girls coming in and so many opportunities for girls to step up in the lineups that they previously weren't in, so I think that's really exciting. I think we've seen a lot of girls step up in that position today and I'm excited to see that carry on to the season."