By Dylan Pescatore and Kaneyl Carpenter, Cronkite PR Lab
It is unusual for a senior class to be as large as Sun Devil Gymnastics’ seven seniors and two fifth-year seniors. But for this year's team, the experience and leadership is vast and the student-athletes have created years of memories for themselves and their fans.
Cassi Barbanente, Sarah Clark, Skye Harper, Jada Mangahas, Gracie Reeves, Cienna Samiley, Hannah Scharf, Anaya Smith, and Emily White.
For them, being a Sun Devil has been an experience like no other, so on Senior Night, March 15 against Southern Connecticut, they already know tears will be flowing.
The seven seniors and two graduate students on the gymnastics team have been competing together for four years (five for two of them), spending every day with one another, in and out of season. Their bond has not only brought them together, but also elevated the entire ASU program into contenders, currently ranked No. 18 in the nation.
The program has seen significant milestones while this class has been on campus. They have advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals twice, have finished each season in the top 25 (including a No. 9 finish in 2021), have seven team scores in the top 15 in the ASU record book, and have earned a final NQS over 197 twice (which had not happened since 2003).
Team chemistry isn’t created easily, but for the seven seniors it wasn’t something they had to worry about. Before they even stepped foot on campus in Tempe, they already knew each other through different gymnastics camps they had attended, along with meeting on their visits to Arizona State.
“I met most of these girls at camp in 2019 and instantly, we were best friends. They are now my sisters and will be in my life forever,” Smith said.
Going to college as a freshman is never easy. However, as the relationships started to form, Mangahas shared that there was never a negative feeling from the group coming to Tempe.
“None of us felt alone. We all felt like we had somebody with us at all times. I get to live with some of them, too, so that's even better. I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Mangahas said.
From the first day of school in August of 2020, and even through the COVID-19 pandemic, each experience brought them closer as teammates. Due to restrictions to keep the team healthy, the group was split into pods, which allowed those pods to bond even further. This class started their collegiate journeys at a time when all they had was each other, creating a foundation for these lasting friendships.
During their first season as Sun Devils, there was an eye-opening moment during a meet in February 2021 against No. 3 Utah, a program ASU had not beaten at the time. Even though they lost, it was a close competition and Emily White said that’s when they knew they were going to have an impact on the program.
“When we came in freshman year - all seven of us - we knew we had a lot to give to the team,” White said. “That (meet against Utah) was the moment we realized we were a force to be reckoned with.”
For the two graduate students, Reeves and Scharf, they already had a year under their belt when the next class came in. Their bond had started five years ago, and it all began by living with each other.
“I’m really grateful for Gracie. We were roommates freshman year through senior year. I’ve spent numerous holidays with her family. Her family has become my second family. It’s grown into more than just being teammates,” Scharf said.
Reeves mentioned how the other members on the team played an important part in her coming back for her graduate year. The ability to compete at the highest level, alongside her teammates, made it special.
“As years have gone on, we’ve grown so close together. I don’t think I could imagine life without them. That’s why I wanted to do a fifth year because they’re my best friends,” Reeves said.
The friendship between these nine is clearly strong, but that doesn’t stop them from creating the same dynamic with the younger gymnasts. All throughout the year, they have both official and unofficial team bonding events to further strengthen the relationships within the squad. Any chance to be together, this group takes it. This class saw how the closeness of a team can have an impact on the results, and now use that to inspire the rest of the team.
“We’ve built a strong foundation of leadership. The (younger classes) can come to us for advice and we know that everything we do we trust each other fully,” Samiley said.
Utah is one of those programs that always seems to be near the top of the rankings every single year. In 2023, the Sun Devils took down the Utes for the first time since 2003, resulting in some tears from the victorious gymnasts as they recognized the impact of the victory.
“Utah is one of those powerhouse teams that seem unbeatable. I cried at the end of that meet because it was so awesome. It was such a great accomplishment for us,” Clark said.
Other memorable meets mentioned were the wins over UCLA at home in 2022, Cal at home in 2023 and against Oregon State at home in 2023. All three were highly-ranked teams that the Sun Devils had not beaten in a significant amount of time.
Being at Arizona State for the last four, or five, years is an experience these women will never forget, from the meets to the memories and everything in between. Unforgettable is the word they used often to describe their careers at ASU.
“Being a Sun Devil is truly just an honor and a place where I’ve created the best memories and lifelong friendships,” Barbanente said.
Each meet has a different memory attached to it, whether it be on the mat or off, but the 2023 NCAA Regional Finals competition was a popular answer when asked what meets stood out in their careers – the second time in three years advancing to the regional finals. To all of them, it wasn’t just a meet, it was a major step in the program's history.
“Regionals last year was when we realized how long we’ve been the underdogs and how we are breaking that mold, and it showed we are in this,” Harper said.
Sun Devil Gymnastics ended the 2023 regular season ranked No. 15, the sixth year in a row that the Gym Devils finished the season in the top 25, its longest streak since 2002-2006.
As their final meets approach, it will be the end of a four- or five-year career. But just because they won’t be with each other at Arizona State doesn’t mean their friendships will go away. This is not just a friendship between teammates. It’s a family that has been forged and formed through countless hours of vaults, bars, tumbles and rotations that will live on well past graduation day.