February 12, 1999
TEMPE, Ariz. - The ASU women's gymnastics team, ranked No. 9 in the country, used a school record 49.550 on balance beam and season highs in the vault (48.725), bars (48.9) and floor exercise (49.375) to defeat No. 10 UCLA 196.325-194.4, before 1,376 fans at the Wells Fargo Arena. For ASU, the 196.325 was its highest team score since the 1997 Super Six, when UCLA edged ASU 197.150-196.850 for the NCAA Championship.
Six ASU gymnasts combined to set or tie 10 personal bests on the evening.
UCLA (7-4, 2-2 Pac-10) held a slight 97.425-97.4 advantage after two events. The Bruins were led in the first two events by junior all-America and defending NCAA bars champion Heidi Moneymaker, who won the first two events - bars (9.95) and vault (9.9) - of the evening that she competed in. The Bruins swept the first two spots in the vault competition and garnered three of the first four places in the bars competition. Bruin junior all-America Lena Degteva was right behind Moneymaker in the vault (9.8) and bars (9.875), respectively.
Helping the Devils stay close through the first two events were sophomore Kelly Christensen, who finished tied for third in the vault (9.75) and tied for fifth in the bars (9.8) in her first ever meet as a Sun Devil. Also helping the Devils through the first two events were junior Michelle Hess, who tied for third with Christensen in the vault and sophomore Kristin Fanning, who had a personal-best 9.775 in the bars competition.
Following the bars, the Devils moved on to the beam where they staged the best performance in school history. The Devils swept the top-five places in the event on their way to a 49.55. The Devils were led in the event by freshman Lea Carver (9.975), Hess and junior all-America Elizabeth McNabb (9.925), who all set career highs, finishing first, second and third, respectively. Taking fourth and fifth for the Devils were junior all-America Elizabeth Reid (9.875) and senior co-captain Wendy Ellsberry (9.85).
Reid (39.275) and Ellsberry (39.075) also swept the top two spots in the all-around competition, finishing first and second, respectively.
For the Bruins, the highest finisher in the beam competition was freshman Valerie Velasco, who finished sixth (9.8).
Velasco (fourth, 38.85) and Moneymaker (third, 39.05) were UCLA's top all-around finishers.
The Devils swept the top two spots in their last event of the evening, the floor exercise. ASU scored a 49.375 in the event, which was its highest score since the '97 season. Leading the way for ASU was McNabb, who tied her personal best of 9.975. For McNabb, it was the fourth time in five meets this season that she won the floor exercise and it was also the 11th time in the last 14 meets that she scored a 9.9 or higher. Taking second for ASU was Ellsberry, who tallied a career-high 9.925.
The Devils have now won their last 15 meets at home and have won 11 of their last 13 going back to last season. They have also taken seven of the eight all-time dual meets from UCLA and their fourth consecutive overall.
Next week ASU (4-1, 2-1 Pac-10) travels to Palo Alto, Calif., where it will face defending Pac-10 Champion Stanford Feb. 19.
Final Individual Results
All-Around
1. Elizabeth Reid ASU 39.275
2. Wendy Ellsberry ASU 39.075
3. Heidi Moneymaker UCLA 39.050
4. Valerie Velasco UCLA 38.850
5. Kiralee Hayashi UCLA 38.725
Vault
1. Heidi Moneymaker UCLA 9.9
2. Lena Degteva UCLA 9.8
3. Michelle Hess ASU 9.75
Kelly Christensen ASU 9.75
5. Kiralee Hayashi UCLA 9.725
Bars
1. Heidi Moneymaker UCLA 9.95
2. Elizabeth Reid ASU 9.875
Lena Degteva UCLA 9.875
4. Kiralee Hayashi UCLA 9.825
5. Becky Acker ASU 9.8
Kelly Christensen ASU 9.8
Beam
1. Lea Carver ASU 9.975
2. Elizabeth McNabb ASU 9.925
Michelle Hess ASU 9.925
4. Elizabeth Reid ASU 9.875
5. Wendy Ellsberry ASU 9.85
Floor
1. Elizabeth McNabb ASU 9.975
2. Wendy Ellsberry ASU 9.925
3. Lena
Degteva UCLA 9.9
4. Kiralee Hayashi UCLA 9.875
5. Heidi Moneymaker ASU 9.85