Jan. 5, 1998
Women's Gymnastics Travels To Hawaii
The Arizona State women's gymnastics team, runner-up at the 1997 NCAA Championships, will open the 1998 campaign when it travels to Maui, Hawaii for the Maui Invitational Saturday, January 10, at 7 p.m.
The Devils will be competing against Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
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| Head Coach John Spini |
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 207-76-1 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 natioanl championship 10 of the 18 years it has been held, including runner-up finshes in 1985, '86, and '97.
THE DEVILS VERSUS THE COMPETITION: The Devils hold a favorable edge versus Nebraska (10-2) and Oklahoma (8-3) in the all-time series standings. This will be the first time that ASU has ever competed against Iowa.
DEVILS AT 1997 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: For the third time in ASU gymnastics history ASU played the role of the bride's maid at the NCAA Championships, placing second behind Pac-10 rival UCLA. Arizona State had four gymnasts capturing all-America status in a combined 11 events. Meagan Wright (all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise), Elizabeth Reid (BB, UB, FX) Carie Courtney (AA, BB) and Lisa Vincijanovic (BB) comprised the all-Americas for ASU giving ASU its most all-Americas since 1986 when it also had four.
UP NEXT: The Devils travel to Los Angeles, Calif., for a January 18 quad-meet versus UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and Denver.