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Women's Gymnastics to Compete at NCAA Championships
Sun Devils making 14th appearance in 17 years.
April 13, 1998
ASU AT 1998 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Arizona State makes it 14th appearance in the 17-year existence of the NCAA Championships, looking for its first-ever national title after finishing runner-up -- for the fourth time -- in 1997. This year's squad returns all but one member (Bridget Sandman) from last year's team that came within three-tenths of a point of winning it all. The Devils have been among the final six teams on seven occasions. Among the ASU squads that were, in the final six, the aforementioned '97 (UCLA) team, '83 (Utah), '85 (Utah), and '86 (Utah) squads all finished runner-up. The Devils' lowest finish in the NCAA Championships came in 1993 when they finished 12th. ASU's highest score in NCAA competition came in last year's Super Six when they scored a 196.850. Individually speaking, the Devils have had five different gymnasts garner a combined nine NCAA Individual Titles, the most recent of which coming last year with then-freshman Elizabeth Reid's balance beam crown.
HEAD COACH JOHN SPINI: Now in his 18th year as head coach of Arizona State, John Spini has established the Sun Devils as one of the nation's top teams year in and year out. Blending great recruiting along with keen knowledge of the sport, Spini has accumulated a winning percentage of .744, including 17 winning seasons, four conference championships, and 10 top-eight finishes at nationals during his tenure at ASU. Included in those 10 placings at nationals are four runner-up finishes in 1982, '85, '86 and '97. Combined with his record of 20-2 this season, Spini now claims a total of 229 victories versus only 78 defeats and one tie. Spini has been named conference coach of the year five times, including three straight years this decade (1994-96). In addition to his plethora of victories over the last 17 years, Spini has also produced 17 gymnasts who have garnered all-America honors on 48 different occasions.
QUOTING ASU HEAD COACH JOHN SPINI ON THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: "It's nice to be back. It is kind of like once you get there, it's a big weight lifted off your back. My thoughts are trying to stay focused on the first day in going hard and trying to get to the next step (Super Six) and then I will feel a little bit more relaxed."
On the 1998 Sun Devils: "I think this team is a great team. Being 2.2 points down at the Midwest Regional and coming back and hitting three events almost perfect says a lot about their mental focus in terms of never giving up. This team can strike and strike fast, but they have got to do the job. They cannot have another slow start like they did at Regionals."
On the 1998 NCAA Championship field: "I think there is a lot of parity there. Right now we are looking at the six teams in our rotation. You've got Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, BYU and N.C. State. It is going to be a tough competition. All the teams that got there have to be good. We have seen them all but Georgia. Win, lose or draw we are going to go hard and see what happens."
1998 ARIZONA STATE (20-2; 5-1 PAC-10) WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
Name Ht Yr/Exp Hometown Note Becky Acker 5-4 Fr/HS Phoenix, Ariz. Freshman who is averaging 9.773 on FX Carie Courtney 5-5 Sr/3V Garland, Texas '97 all-American in all-around, beam Wendy Ellsberry 5-3 Jr/2V Cincinnati, Ohio Tied for 12th (9.8) on beam at Pac-10s Kristin Fanning 5-5 Fr/HS Scottsdale, Ariz. Competed only in FX in '98 Michelle Hess 5-1 So/1V Thornville, Ohio Career best 9.95 V score at Regional Gina Holleran 5-3 Sr/3V Whitehall, Pa. One of four senior co-captains Kim Keever 5-4 Sr/3V Las Vegas, Nev. Tied for 4th (9.85) on beam at Pac-10s Elizabeth McNabb 5-2 So/1V Las Vegas, Nev. 1998 Midwest Regional floor champion Elizabeth Reid 5-5 So/1V Burke, Va. Defending NCAA beam champion Amy Shelton 5-1 So/1V Gilbert, Ariz. 9.9 or better on bars in 4 of last 6 meets Kim Skinner 5-5 Fr/HS Phoenix, Ariz. Gives the Devils depth in every event Lisa Vincijanovic 5-3 Jr/2V Scottsdale, Ariz. Returning all-American on beam Meagan Wright 5-1 Sr/3V Mesa, Ariz. Eight-time all-American
1997 NCAA Championships: (April 17-19 1997, Gainesville, Fla.) Three-tenths of a point. That was all that stood between Arizona State and its first-ever national champion as Pac-10 rival UCLA (197.15), in its last event, hit a school record 49.525 on bars to edge the Devils' runner-up score of 196.85. The second-place finish was the fourth in NCAA history for Arizona State. ASU finished up its fifth rotation knowing both Michigan and UCLA needed a 49.325 to tie. The Wolverines were unable to keep pace, scoring a 48.875 on floor, while the Bruins rose to the occasion hitting six of six sets on bars. Individually speaking in the Super Six for ASU, Elizabeth Reid, who eventually tied for first with Utah's Summer Reid as the NCAA's beam champion, finished tied for first in the floor (9.9), second on beam (9.9) and tied for eighth on the bars (9.9). All-arounder Meagan Wright came up big for the Devils as well finishing fifth in the all-around (39.3). In the qualifying portion held one day earlier, the Devils scored a 196.275 in winning the session and topping No. 1 Michigan (196.2) and host team Florida (196.075). ASU's score was the third-highest in the qualifying session (Georgia, 197.075, UCLA 196.425). Wright led the Devils once again, scoring a second-place finish of 39.4 in the all-around. The score gave Wright First-Team all-America honors in the all-around. Reid provided a big spark once again, tying teammate Carie Courtney for first on the beam with a 9.9, tying for second on the floor (9.85) and tying for third on the bars (9.9). Also placing in the top five was Lisa Vincijanovic, who tied for third on the beam with a 9.85.
LAST MEET---1998 NCAA Midwest Regional: (April 4, 1998, Temp, Ariz.) The Arizona State women's gymnastics team (195.025), led by the heroics of an all-out team effort, came back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to finish third at the NCAA Midwest Regional held in Tempe. Winning the event for the 14th time in 15 years and gaining the automatic berth into the NCAA Championships were the Utah Utes. Brigham Young (195.5) finished second, duplicating the finish the last time it came to Tempe for the Regional in 1994, the Devils third, Arizona fourth (194.750), Nebraska fifth (194.275), Oklahoma sixth (193.125) and Utah State seventh (191.175). Taking first in the all-around competition was Heather Brink of Nebraska with a 39.475. Brink's closest competition was provided by Utah's Shannon Bowles, who finished second with a 39.025 and BYU's Angela Andersen, who finished third with a 39.025. The Devils never wavered following an inauspicious start in the bars competition -- in which three competitors fell -- that saw them stagger to a last-place score of 46.9. Following the bars event, the Devils would go on to stage one of the more memorable performances in NCAA Regional history, winning the next three -- beam, floor, vault -- events and setting three school records (two team, one individual). In addition, the Devils also came away with the individual title in each of the three aforementioned events. On the beam, the Devils surpassed the previous school benchmark of 49.2 (1997 vs. Southern Utah) by having four gymnasts score a 9.85 or higher on their way to a 49.3. Senior Meagan Wright (9.9) tied with Arizona's Tenli Poggemeyer and BYU's Andersen for first place in the event. Sophomore Elizabeth Reid finished fourth (9.875) and senior Kim Keever and sophomore Elizabeth McNabb tied for seventh with a 9.85. In the ensuing event, the floor exercise, ASU continued on its resourceful path taking the Regional's top spot with a 49.25, which tied its second-highest mark of the season. Taking the honor of Midwest floor champion was McNabb who finished with a 9.925. Sophomore Amy Shelton finished third (9.875), junior Lisa Vincijanovic placed fifth (9.85) and freshman Becky Acker finished eighth (9.825). ASU saved its best for last in its last event of the meet, the vault. Providing the theatrics was senior Carie Courtney who posted the second "Perfect 10" of her career. Courtney's heroics, along with the help of fellow teammates Michelle Hess (second, career-best 9.95), Shelton (third, 9.9), Vincijanovic (fifth, 9.875), and Wright (eighth, 9.85), paved the way for yet another school record of 49.575 in the event.
ASU GYMNASTS TOPPING THE CHARTS: Senior Carie Courtney scored a "Perfect 10" on vault for for the second time in her career at the 1998 NCAA Midwest Regional ... sophomore Elizabeth Reid recorded a "Perfect 10" in the floor exercise Feb. 27 at Alabama ... it was only the third "Perfect 10" in the floor exercise in ASU's history and the second in two years (Meagan Wright, 1997) ... Reid has won or tied for first on the beam five times in '98 ... Reid is also tied with teammate Amy Shelton for the top bars score on the squad (9.95) ... Elizabeth McNabb, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in the floor exercise, has won the floor event six times in '98 ... last time out, McNabb finished first in the floor with a 9.925 at the 1998 NCAA Midwest Regional ... McNabb also finished runner-up on the floor at the Pac-10 Championships with a 9.925.
WHERE ASU RANKS IN THE NATION: ASU's national rankings as of March 24: Team: 9th; Vault: 6th; Bars: 12th; Beam: 10th; Floor: 9th. Individually, Amy Shelton is ranked 7th in the nation in the bars, Meagan Wright is ranked t20th in the bars as well, Elizabeth Reid is t15th on the beam t11th in the floor exercise and Elizabeth McNabb is ranked 4th in the floor exercise.
WHERE ASU RANKS IN THE PAC-10: Entering this weekend's action (Apr. 11), senior Carie Courtney has the top vault score (10.00) in the Pac-10 this year. Sophomore Elizabeth Reid is tied with fellow sophomore and teammate Amy Shelton for the second-best bars score (9.95). Reid is also tied for both the third-best beam score (9.95) and the top floor score (10.00) in the conference this year. ASU's team score of 196.05 vs. Arizona (Mar. 13) is the second-highest in the Pac-10 in 1998.
MORE PAC-10 PLAUDITS: Arizona State had three -- sophomores Elizabeth McNabb, Elizabeth Reid and Amy Shelton -- gymnasts named to the Pac-10's 1998 All-Conference Team. McNabb and Reid were both named to the all-Pac-10 team in floor while Shelton was named all-conference in bars. In addition Shelton and junior Lisa Vincijanovic (first-team), McNabb (second-team) and Reid (honorable mention), were named to the Pac-10's all-Academic team.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Sun Devils have been on a roll at home over the last two years. Arizona State has won its last 12 regular-season home meets going back to February of 1996. The last time the Devils were upended at home was when then-defending national champion Utah defeated the Devils by a count of 193.875-193.250 at the University Activity Center.
COVERAGE OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: CBS will handle the telecast for the 1998 NCAA Championships. Andrea Joyce (play-by-play) and Julianne McNamara (color) will call the action. The tape-delayed telecast will be shown on Sunday, May 3.