TEMPE – Sun Devil Gymnastics’ season came to an end in the NCAA Tempe Regional Second Round on Thursday night in Desert Financial Arena as the team scored a 196.050 to finish in fourth in the second session, which is tied for the second-best team total of the year.
No. 3 seed Florida and No. 14 seed California advanced to Saturday’s regional final after placing in the top two in the second session Friday night. From the first session, No. 6 Georgia and No. 11 Michigan State moved on to regional finals.
Notable stats
- Arizona State scored its fourth 196.000 or better of the season, including three of the last five meets. The 196.050 from tonight was a big improvement on yesterday’s 195.425.
- The best event total of the night was on beam with a 49.100, the second-best beam total of the season for ASU. Senior Kayla Lee led the way with her 9.875, which tied her personal best. Additionally, freshman Safia El Mammann matched her career high on beam with a 9.850.
- Junior Halle Gregoire had a solid night, scoring a 9.875 on vault (a season high), a 9.850 on floor and a 9.800 on bars. She has scored at least a 9.800 in all but one floor routine this year and at least a 9.850 in all but four.
- El Mammann hit two 9.850s tonight, one on vault and one on beam. Both of those scores match her personal best on those events.
- Leading off on both bars and beam, junior Reese Grolla notched 9.825s on both events.
Final results
- No. 3 Florida, 198.125
- No. 14 California, 196.675
- Penn State, 196.200
- Arizona State, 196.050
Rotation one: beam, 49.100
The Sun Devils started strong on beam, earning their second-highest beam total of the year. Grolla started the lineup off with a 9.825 after sticking her dismount. El Mammann tied her career high in the middle of the lineup with a 9.850. Lastly, Lee anchored the lineup with a 9.875, matching her season best.
Rotation two: floor, 48.975
Despite scoring at least a 9.700 on all six routines, only two were above a 9.800, resulting in the sub-49.000 event total. Gregoire led the way with her 9.850, her second in a row. In the anchor spot, freshman Delanie Kelly brought in a 9.825.
Rotation three: vault, 48.975
Gregoire scored a 9.875 for a new season high, while El Mammann tied her personal best with a 9.850. The remaining four Sun Devils scored below 9.800, putting Arizona State in a disadvantage heading into the last rotation.
Rotation four: bars, 49.000
Three Sun Devils scored a 9.800 or higher. Grolla led off the final event with a 9.825, and Bromley also notched a 9.825 in the back half of the lineup. Gregoire closed the event with a 9.800.
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Quotes
Head Coach Jay Santos
Opening statement:
“I am super proud of what we did tonight. To go back to back nights and to be that much stronger and looking that much more locked in, to have that much energy (was impressive). The crowd was strong, it was very loud and there were four teams in such a competitive meet. The team did a phenomenal job tonight; it was a fantastic environment and I loved that our team rose to the occasion.”
On the team’s grit:
“This team has grown a lot, and we didn’t always show in every score that we had, especially throughout the back half of the season. But from where they were in the first couple weeks of the season, they would not have been able to do what they did tonight. They’ve grown a lot in their competitiveness and their resilience and figuring out how to prepare themselves better.”
Freshman Safia El Mammann
On experiencing her first NCAA Regionals and her biggest takeaways:
“It feels great. It was exciting and the energy helped us keep on going and progressing throughout the meet. Overall, it was fun but bittersweet because I love this team so much and it’s going to be sad to see the seniors go. I feel like believing and trusting in myself, the mental aspect of it is the biggest part. Going into this, I wanted to do better than I did yesterday, so I leaned on my training and trusted my coaches and teammates. I feel as if that was my biggest thing.”
Senior Kayla Lee
On her time her as a Sun Devil:
“An amazing experience. Getting to show up every day for this team and get to support Arizona. Honestly, being a local native and getting to represent this team on such a big scale has been an incredible experience.”