Women's Gymnastics

1998 Women's Gymnastics Outlook

Three-tenths of a point.

That's all that stood between the Arizona State women's gymnastics team and a national championship in 1997. And although the Sun Devils realize a second-place finish still placed them among the elite of the collegiate ranks, they have set their sights on winning it all in 1998.

"We have big goals this year," says John Spini, entering his 18th year as the ASU head coach. "We have some unfinished business to attend to. We want to focus in on a national championship this year."

But Spini knows the task will be as challenging as ever this season.

"With so much parity in the sport right now -- and with strong teams like UCLA and Georgia -- it's going to be who gets to nationals healthy and who knows how to handle the new rules changes effectively," he says. "ASU will be a favorite to be in the top five and make the Super Six again. But I don't put much store in rankings and what the preseason polls say. It's who gets there at the end and who can keep their kids healthy. That's the bottom line."

Those demands are quite familiar to Spini, who has carefully built the ASU program to be in an attractive position year after year. Four times in the 1990s his teams have finished in the top-10. He has guided the program to second-place NCAA finishes four times, coming just five-tenths short of a national title in 1986. However, this time he wants to cash in, and he sees the talent to make that a reality.

"The chemistry is there for us to be very successful in 1998 because we lost only one athlete (Bridget Sandman) from last year," says Spini. "The kids know each other so well. They know who they can depend on, and they understand each others' strengths and weaknesses. That knowledge alone is a great asset."

With all four All-Americans back in the gym, including defending national balance beam champion Elizabeth Reid, one could say the stage is set for ASU. A sophomore and the Sun Devils' first individual national champion since 1986, Reid also collected first-team honors on the uneven bars and the floor exercise as a rookie. She will help anchor ASU in the all-around, along with veteran Meagan Wright. The school record-holder in the all-around with a 39.575, Wright continued her steady pace last season, garnering first-team All-America acclaim in the all-around. The senior from Mesa, Ariz., finished as the sixth-best all-arounder at the NCAA Championships, with a score of 39.400. In addition, Wright was named to the second team in all four events. She produced one of the Sun Devil's three "perfect 10s" last year, with a 10.00 on the uneven bars, and is capable of another outstanding season to cap her stellar career in Tempe.

Carie Courtney, a first-team All-American on the balance beam and second team in the all-around, will also be counted on heavily as one of four senior captains. An exceptionally strong vaulter, Courtney turned out her finest season as a Sun Devil last year and was ASU's top all-arounder at the Pac-10 Championships, placing sixth (39.375). Although she was slowed a bit by an ankle injury and missed five meets last year, junior Lisa Vincijanovic (pronounced "VINCE-ee-YAN-o-VICH") was solid down the stretch. Her 12th-place finish on the balance beam at NCAAs was enough for First-Team All-America recognition, and she will lead the Sun Devils in that event this year. Vincijanovic tip-toed her way to a "perfect 10" on the beam last season, and is a favorite among Sun Devil fans for her electrifying and charismatic routines on the beam and floor.

The senior class also includes captains Kim Keever and Gina Holleran, who will be looked to often for their leadership qualities. Keever's trademark event is the balance beam, while Holleran will help lead ASU in the vault and floor exercise events. Junior Wendy Ellsberry, selected as the "Most Improved Gymnast" following the 1997 season, is a solid all-arounder who is especially strong on the uneven bars.

Spini's sophomore class was dynamite in its collegiate debut last year and should continue to reap accolades this season. In addition to Reid, sophomore Amy Shelton has emerged as an amazing athlete and performs one of the most difficult bar routines in the nation. She averaged a 9.906 on the bars in a four-meet span during the mid-season, including a career-high 9.975 against Washington. Shelton has also proved a stalwart in the vault and floor exercise events. Sophomore Elizabeth McNabb is expected to contend for a spot in the floor exercise lineup and could challenge as one of the top two or three floor workers. McNabb set the floor ablaze last year, averaging a 9.907 during a span of seven meets. One of the squad's top vaulters, sophomore Michelle Hess should help add depth in the floor exercise and balance beam events. She notched a pair of 9.900s on vault as a freshman and was extremely consistent, scoring a 9.750 or better in 12 of her 13 vault attempts. A pair of freshmen from the Grand Canyon State will also figure into the mix in Becky Acker (Phoenix) and Kim Skinner (Tucson).

"We have several extremely talented athletes, but we have to think of keeping our focus and knowing where we want to go," Spini says. "We have to motivate the kids that worked so hard last year and were really enthusiastic about college gymnastics to come in and handle another year of 14 meets and keep them healthy."

THE POSTSEASON SCENE

The traveling portion of the 1998 postseason schedule is a favorable one for the Sun Devils, as they will not venture further than Los Angeles throughout the Pac-10 Championships, regionals and the NCAA Championships. Slated for March 21, Pac-10s are hosted by UCLA. Two weeks later, ASU hosts the Midwest Regionals in the University Activity Center in Tempe. NCAAs will be held April 16-18 back in UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

"Regionals being here is a tremendous advantage for our program," says Spini. "To have a team that can challenge for a national title, to have it at home and to prepare mentally for the next step is probably the best thing that could have happened to this team.

"Anything can happen. But if I have the choice of a perfect situation, hosting regionals is very idealistic for Arizona State to go on and make it to nationals again. We also know Pauley Pavilion. All-in-all it's a great situation having Pac-10s where we will have nationals. We'll be used to the setting."

RULE BOOK CHANGE

NCAA rules changes in the sport this season include a Code of Points modification, which occurs after every olympic year. The change comes in the vaulting table, and mans judges will evaluate certain skills on a more difficult scale.

"We have made our own vaulting table," Spini says of the NCAA Gymnastics Committee, of which he is a member. "We've added one-tenth to that table. We're not going to be as difficult as the FIG or the elite code. We'll be in-between. Which coaches can pick that up and work with those new rules the best is going to be a key thing this year."