Feb. 2, 1998
The Arizona State women?s gymnastics team returns home after being on the road for three of its first four meets. The Devils host the red-hot Oregon State Beavers who have won four straight meets to open the season. The meet takes place Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the University Activity Center. HEAD COACH JOHN SPINI: Arizona State women?s gymnastics has become synonymous with excellence, and the person largely responsible for that is John Spini. Entering his 18th year as head coach at ASU, Spini has established a nationally prominent program and a tradition of excellence. Boasting a 218?77?1 career record, Spini is among the finest gymnastics coaches in the country. His career winning percentage stands at 73 percent. During his previous 17 seasons, the Sun Devils have captured four conference championships and have placed among the top eight at the national championship 10 of the 18 years it has been held, including runner-up finishes in 1985, ?86, and ?97. ASU Celebrates Girls And Women In Sports Week Arizona State University and APS in conjunction with Phoenix Newspapers Charity Inc., Wings of Gold, American Humanics and Women?s Leadership Through Sport are presenting a celebration of girls and women in sport from January 29-February 7. The celebration, which includes a number of ASU promotions, guest speakers and a sports clinic, is held in conjunction with the National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 5. All groups of five kids or more (including two adults) ages 18 and under get free admission when they RSVP. In addition there will be a poster contest which will involve elementary-school kids making posters to promote National Girls and Women in Sports. There will also be a post-meet autograph session with the gymnastics team. The first 1000 kids in attendance will receive a free poster of the ASU gymnastics team. Anyone who would like to RSVP their group or would like more information should call 727?GIRL. LAST WEEK: Low scores and the prospect of a near upset punctuated the ebb and flow of a contest that saw the Arizona State women?s gymnastics team escape out of Berkeley, Calif., with a first-place finish (191.575) versus (second-place) California (188.075), (third-place) Seattle Pacific (184.525) and (fourth-place) Sacramento State (182.100). On an evening that Returning All-Americans Arizona State returns four gymnasts in 1998 who were named all-Americans last season in a combined 11 events: Meagan Wright ..... all-around, vault, bars, beam, floor exercise Elizabeth Reid ..... beam, bars, floor exercise Carie Courtney ..... all-around, beam Lisa Vincijanovic ..... beam saw the winner of the vault competition (ASU?s Lisa Vincijanovic and Cal?s Leila Khoury)) score a 9.525, the third-ranked Sun Devils had to pull away in the waning events for the second straight week in order to come up with the victory. For the Devils, sophomore Amy Shelton won the bars competition for the second straight week, scoring a 9.875. Right along side Shelton was teammate Meagan Wright who also posted a 9.875. In the beam and floor exercise events the Devils swept the top-three places. Winning the beam for the second straight week was sophomore Elizabeth Reid, who recorded a 9.925. Wright was in the runner-up spot with a 9.8 and junior Wendy Ellsberry recorded her best score of the year with a 9.775. In the floor exercise, sophomore Elizabeth McNabb, like aforementioned teammates Shelton and Reid, took first place in the same event for the second straight week with a 9.7. In second was freshman Becky Acker (9.575), who became the first Sun Devil to compete as an all-arounder in 1998, and in third was senior Kim Keever. THE DEVILS VERSUS THE COMPETITION: The Devils? series versus Oregon State is one of the few all-time series in which Arizona State does not hold an advantage. The Beavers have prevailed 12 of the 19 times in which the two teams have competed. ABOUT THE BEAVERS: The Beavers enter this week?s meet as one of the hottest teams in the country having won their first four meets of the season. This year?s squad is led by a nucleus of experienced and talented gymnasts who are looking to return to the NCAA Championship after missing it last year for the first time in 11 years. This year?s squad, who is under the tutelage of first-year head coach Tanya Chaplin, returns four ? seniors Amanda Turko, Amy Slack and Deanne Droegemueller and junior Megan Murphy ? gymnasts who have combined for six all-American awards. Last week vs Washington Murphy took first-place in the beam and floor events while Slack tied with Droegemueller for first-place on the uneven bars. LAST MEETING: Oregon State 194.8, ASU 191.7, January 1 7, 1997, Corvallis, Ore.: For the second straight year Arizona State headed to Corvallis, Ore., for its season-opening meet and for the second straight year they came away with a loss, losing to the sixth-ranked Beavers. Individually for the Sun Devils, Meagan Wright finished first on the vault with a 9.9. Wright also led the team in the all-around competition, placing second (38.375). Lisa Vincijanovic placed second in the floor exercise (9.825) and tied for second on the balance beam (9.825). Carie Courtney also placed second on the balance beam with a 9.825. ASU NOTES ENTERING THIS WEEK?S MEET: Sophomore Amy Shelton has the top vault (9.8) and bars (9.9) scores for the Devils this season. She set both those marks vs. Stanford (Jan. 23) ... sophomore Elizabeth Reid has won the beam event two times this season: vs. Stanford Jan. 23 (9.9) and at California-quad Jan. 30 (9.925) ... Elizabeth McNabb has won the floor event the last two weeks with scores of 9.950 (career-high) and 9.7 respectively ... ASU has won seven of its last eight dual meets ... Arizona State returns this season as one of the favorites to capture this year?s NCAA Championship. The Devils lost only one member from last year?s NCAA runner-up squad that was second only to UCLA. DEVILS ON THE TUBE: FOX Sports Net has chosen to televise the ASU/UNO?s