March 26, 2005
Despite a third-place all-around finish by junior Ashley Kelly, the No. 25 Arizona State women's gymnastics team finished in sixth place (192.975) at the 2005 Pacific-10 Championships in Berkeley, Calif.
Capturing the top spot in the meet with a 197.1 was UCLA, followed by Arizona (195.925), Oregon State (195.9), Stanford (194.6), Washington (194.425), ASU (192.975) and California (163.55).
"After having a great meet last week against Utah we were hoping to come out and put together another good meet, but unfortunately we were not able to," said ASU head coach John Spini. "We are very thin and we have not been very healthy this season and when that is the case you cannot train as hard in the gym as you would like to and I think that showed tonight."
Kelly's all-around score of 39.375 trailed only UCLA gymnasts Kristen Maloney and Tasha Schwikert, who both tied for first place in the all-around with a 39.7. Kelly's meet also included a tie for first place on the balance beam (9.95) and a third-place finish on the uneven bars (9.875). For Kelly, who was the 2004 NCAA champion on balance beam, it marked the second consecutive season that she tied for first on the beam at the Pac-10 Championships.
"Ashley excelled for us tonight," said Spini. "She went out and had a great meet for us after competing on only two events last week at Utah because of a foot injury."
ASU began the meet on the uneven bars where it scored a 48.375. Kelly's aforementioned 9.875 paced the Sun Devils followed by a pair of 9.675s from sophomores April Boone and Cassandra Jusino. Other contributing scores for ASU included a 9.6 by junior Lauren Powell and a 9.55 by sophomore Lisa Lanza.
"We did not have to count any falls on bars, but we did not help ourselves by not being able to hit our handstands or stick our dismounts as well as we would have liked to," explained Spini.
ASU's next rotation was on balance beam where it encountered a pair of falls and scored a 48.075. Leading ASU was Kelly's first-place score of 9.950, followed by senior Kari Muth, who scored a 9.675 and Jusino, who recorded a 9.6.
After a bye, ASU moved to floor exercise where it scored a 47.850. Coming through with the Sun Devils' best score in the event was Boone, who scored a 9.825 and finished tied for 10th place. Right behind Boone was Kelly, whose 9.8 tied for 12th place.
ASU ended the competition on vault where it posted a 48.675. Boone was ASU's top finisher in the event with a 9.825, which was good for a tie for 10th place. Also placing in the top 15 was freshman Josie Hancock, who tied for 15th place with a 9.8.
The Sun Devils will now await word on where they will be headed for NCAA Regional competition, which will take place on Saturday, April 9 at a site to be determined.