Arizona State NCAA Midwest Regional Quick Facts Saturday, April 4, 1998, University Activity Center, 6 P.M.Location: Tempe, Ariz. Conference: Pacific-10 Record: 20-2/5-1 Pac-10 Nickname: Sun Devils Pac-10 Championship finish: Third 1997 Midwest Regional: Second Head Coach: John Spini (Arizona State '76) Overall Record/Years: 229-78-1/18th ASU Record/Years: 229-78-1 (18th)
1998 ARIZONA STATE (20-2; 5-1 PAC-10) WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS
ASU AT 1998 MIDWEST REGIONAL: The Sun Devils will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships as a team for the 14th time in the 17 years the NCAA Championships have been held. ASU returned to the NCAAs last year after a two-year hiatus in which ASU had two consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Midwest Regional in 1996-97 after entering as the number-two seed in both competitions.Name Ht Yr/Exp Hometown Note Becky Acker 5-4 Fr/HS Phoenix, Ariz. Freshman who is averaging 9.768 on FX Carie Courtney 5-5 Sr/3V Garland, Texas '97 all-American in all-around, beam Wendy Ellsberry 5-3 Jr/1V 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/HS Thornville, Ohio Averaging 9.660 in the vault this year Gina Holleran 5-3 Sr/2V Whitehall, Pa. One of four senior co-captains Kim Keever 5-4 Sr/2V Las Vegas, Nev. Tied for 4th (9.85) on beam at Pac-10s Elizabeth McNabb 5-2 So/HS Las Vegas, Nev. Has won FX five times in '98 Elizabeth Reid 5-5 So/HS Burke, Va. Defending NCAA beam champion Amy Shelton 5-1 So/HS Gilbert, Ariz. 9.9 or better on bars in 4 of last 5 meets Kim Skinner 5-5 Fr/HS Phoenix, Ariz. Gives the Devils depth in every event Lisa Vincijanovic 5-3 Jr/1V Scottsdale, Ariz. Returning all-American on beam Meagan Wright 5-1 Sr/2V Mesa, Ariz. Eight-time all-American
Arizona State will be entering this year's competition as the number-two seed -- as well as the ninth-ranked team in the country -- for the fourth straight year behind only Utah with a regional qualifying score of 196.0625. The Sun Devils will be looking to win the regional for the second time in this, the 15th year it has been held. Utah has won the regional the other 13 occasions. Sophomore Elizabeth Reid returns as the defending Midwest beam and floor champion while senior Meagan Wright returns as the co-defending vault champion (Angie Leonard, Utah, Shelly Bartlett (graduated), Nebraska.
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.
1997 MIDWEST REGIONAL: (April 5, 1997, Salt Lake City, Utah) Salt Lake City and the Huntsman Center on the campus of the University of Utah welcomed the same seven teams from the previous year for the 1997 NCAA Midwest Regional. Once again the Sun Devils found themselves as the number-two seed, only history would not repeat itself this time around as the Sun Devils vaulted to a score of 195.225 and a second-place finish behind Utah, who won the regional for the 10th straight year and the 13th time overall. The Sun Devils' score was good enough to advance them to the NCAA Championships after a two-year hiatus. ASU never wavered in a meet that saw it hit 20 of 24 sets, including six on the floor exercise that easily gave it first-place in the event.
Included in those six hits was a 9.875 by Elizabeth Reid that gave her the Regional floor title. Also finishing in the top five for ASU was Meagan Wright, who finished with a third-place score of 9.85. The floor was one of two Midwest titles Reid would take by the conclusion of the evening. Reid's 9.925 on the beam also proved to be tops in the competition. Not far behind Reid was teammate Carie Courtney, who finished in third place with a 9.875. In the first event of the evening, the bars, the Devils were determined not to let history repeat itself as the team scored a 48.8, which tied them for third place in the event. Courtney, Reid and Amy Shelton all tied for the Devils' highest mark in the event with a ninth-place finish of 9.8. The Devils sealed the deal and a trip to the NCAA Championships in the final event, the vault. Wright led the ASU effort, tying for first-place in the event with a 9.9. Sun Devils Michelle Hess and Lisa Vincijanovic tied for ninth place with a 9.75.
LAST MEET---1998 PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS: (March 21, 1998, Los Angeles, Calif.) Arizona State and its No. 9 national ranking entered UCLA's Pauley Pavilion with the hopes of capturing its first Pac-10 title. By evening's end, the Sun Devils still were without a conference championship, however were still able to find solace in their third-place score of 194.9, a big improvement from last year's sixth-place finish in Tucson, Ariz. "I think we were one bars routine short of a championship," said ASU Head Coach John Spini. "I was pleased with the overall effort considering we were playing catch-up the entire evening." In the Devils' first apparatus of the evening, the vault, ASU finished with a third-place finish of 48.825.
High scorers for ASU were sophomore Amy Shelton (9.825), senior Meagan Wright (9.775), and junior Lisa Vincijanovic (9.775). In the bars competition the Devils fell on two performances, having to count one of them, en-route to a 48.125, their third-lowest bars score of the year. Giving ASU its best score in the event was Wright, who scored a 9.825, good for eighth place. In the ensuing event, the balance beam, ASU tied its season best with a first-place finish of 48.975. Highlighting the team's effort in the event were Vincijanovic and senior Kim Keever who tied for fourth place in the event with a 9.85. In the floor exercise, the Devils finished in second place with a 48.9. Sophomores Elizabeth McNabb (9.925) and Elizabeth Reid (9.875) placed second and third respectively.
PRETTY GOOD OF LATE: At 20-2 ASU has its most wins since 1985 when it won the conference title and finished second at the NCAA Championships ... the Devils have been averaging a 195.45 in their last four meets after averaging a 193.164 in the first seven meets of the season ... ASU has won 10 of its last 11 dual meets and its last 12 home meets.
ASU GYMNASTS TOPPING THE CHARTS: Sophomore Amy Shelton has the top vault (9.9) score and shares (Elizabeth Reid) the top bars (9.95) performance for the Devils this season ... Shelton has scored a 9.9 or better in the bars four of the last five meets ... 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 five times in '98 ... Reid has also finished first in the uneven bars two of the last three meets, recording a career-best 9.95 Mar. 6 in the ASU-quad and a 9.925 (Mar. 13) vs. Arizona ... Elizabeth McNabb, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in the floor exercise, has won the floor event five times in '98 ... last time out, McNabb finished runner-up (9.925) in the floor at the Pac-10 Championships.
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 and tied for 11th 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 (as of Mar. 24), sophomore Amy Shelton has the fourth-best vault (9.9) score and second-best bars (9.95) scores in the Pac-10 in 1998. Teammate Elizabeth Reid is tied for the third-best beam (9.925) score, top floor (10.00) score, and the second-best bars score (9.95) in the Pac-10 this season. ASU's team score of 196.05 vs. Arizona (Mar. 13) is the highest in the Pac-10 in 1998.
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 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.
MIDWEST TEAM CAPSULES #1 University of Utah Over the last 16 years, has set the standard by which collegiate teams are measured ... winner of 10 of 16 NCAA Championships and 13 of the 14 Midwest Regionals that have taken place ... finished the season with a 7-3 record ... looking to get back to the Super Six after failing to qualify last year for the first time in NCAA Championship history ... currently ranked No. 3 in the nation behind Michigan and Georgia ... national event rankings: vault: 5th, bars: 3rd, beam: 2nd, floor: 8th ...
Led by returning all-Americans Traci Sommer, Angie Leonard and Molly Northrop ... freshman Shannon Bowles and Leonard are ranked No. 4 and 7, respectively in the all-around ... Sommer is No. 4 in the nation on beam ... the Utes have defeated Arizona, Utah State twice and split with Brigham Young in 1998 ... coached by Greg Marsden who has 660 career wins in his 23 years at Utah.
#2 Arizona State University Is the only team other than Utah to have captured the Midwest Regional (1987) ... finished runner-up in the Midwest on five separate occasions, most recently last year in Salt Lake City ... collected 20 wins this season, tying the most in school history ... came within three-tenths of a point of capturing the school's first NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship last year ... currently ranked No. 9 in the nation ... national event rankings: vault: 6th, bars: 12th, beam: 10th, floor: 9th ...
ASU returns four -- Carie Courtney, Elizabeth Reid, Lisa Vincijanovic and Meagan Wright -- all-Americans from last year's squad ... Reid is also the co-defending NCAA balance beam champion ... sophomore Elizabeth McNabb is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in the floor exercise ... McNabb finished runner-up in the floor at the 1998 Pac-10 Championships ... the Sun Devils have defeated Arizona, Brigham Young, Nebraska (twice) and Oklahoma this year ... coached by John Spini.
MIDWEST TEAM CAPSULES (CONT'D) #3 University of Nebraska Making its second trip to the Valley in 1998 (UNO's Classic) ... enters Regional with a full head of steam ... the Huskers scored a 196.55, their second-highest score in school history, two weeks ago to capture the school's fifth-consecutive conference championship ... leading the Huskers' effort was returning all-American Heather Brink, who tied the school record in the all-around with a 39.575 ... right behind Brink was fellow returning all-American Misty Oxford, who finished second in the all-around ...
The Huskers finished the regular season at 11-4 and are currently ranked No. 10 in the nation ... national event rankings: vault: 13th, bars: 10th, beam: 15th, floor: t13th ... finished sixth in the NCAA Championships last year ... has finished runner-up in the Midwest on three occasions, most recently in 1995 in Lincoln, Neb. ... Nebraska has split with Oklahoma, lost to BYU and lost to Arizona State (twice) this year ... coached by Dan Kendig.
#4 Brigham Young University Like Nebraska, the BYU Cougars return to Tempe for the second time in 1998 ... the Cougars are coming off an upset victory over Utah in which they posted their highest score of the season (196.050) ... finished as the Midwest runner-up in 1994, the last time the regional took place in Tempe ... looking to make it to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in five years ... finished regular season with 9-3 record ... enters Regional tied with Iowa State as the No. 11 team in the nation ... national event rankings: vault: 4th, bars: 8th, beam: 23rd, floor: 7th ... senior Angela Andersen is the nation's No. 9 performer in the all-around ... Andersen is also ranked No. 8 in the bars and 15th in the floor ... BYU has defeated Utah State (twice), split with Utah, defeated Nebraska and lost to Arizona State in 1998 ... coached by Brad Cattermole.
#5 University of Arizona Like its in-state rival is no stranger to Regional and Championship competition ... finished runner-up in the regional to Utah two years ago in Salt Lake City ... looking to bounce back from a sixth-place Pac-10 finish two weeks ago in Los Angeles ...'Cats are led by junior Kristin McDermott, who has been one of top contributors all year long ... had career-high 39.150 at Penn State ... freshman Kara Fry had personal-best 39.25 at Penn State including a pair of 9.875's ... UA is currently ranked No. 22 in the nation ... national event rankings: vault: 22nd, bars: t18th beam: NR, floor: NR ... the Wildcats have lost to Utah and Arizona State this year ... the 'Cats are coached by Jim Gault who at the conclusion of this, his 18th season, will retire.
#6 Utah State University Coming off a first-place finish in the Big West Championships ... the victory gave the Aggies their second conference championship in three years ... enters Regional as the No. 24 team in the nation ... national event rankings: vault: NR, bars: 17th, beam: 12th, floor: NR ... junior Jessica Porter owns the school record in the bars (9.925) and has also tied the school's second-best all-around score (39.175) on two occasions in her career ... junior Krissy Richards (9.95) and her sister Kimberly (9.925) own the two best beam scores in school history ... the two sisters are also tied for the fifth-best floor score (9.875) in school history ... sophomore Christy Denson had an excellent meet two weeks ago at the Big West Championships ... the sophomore from Palestine, Texas finished second in the all-around (39.175), first in the bars (9.875) and third in the floor ... the Aggies have lost to BYU and Utah twice this year ... Utah State is coached by Ray Corn.
#7 Oklahoma University Looking to get back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1989 ... finished with regular-season record of 11-4 ... set school record of 49.125 in the bars earlier this year vs Texas Woman's University ... Sooners are paced by sophomore all-arounder Ginger Russell, who has the top beam (9.9) and all-around (39.25) scores this year ... the 39.25 is the second-best mark in school history ... fellow sophomore all-arounder Amber McCracken gives Oklahoma a great one-two combination ... McCracken has the top vault (9.8), second-best all-around (39.175) and third-best bars (9.9) score for Oklahoma in 1998 ... McCracken and sophomore Michelle Gonzaga represented the Sooners as individual all-arounders at last year's Midwest Regional ... the Sooners split with Nebraska and lost to Arizona State in 1998 ... national event rankings: vault: 23rd, bars: 14th, beam: 25th, floor: NR ... Oklahoma is coached by Becky Buwick.
NCAA Midwest Regional Champions
Year Champion Runner-Up Host School 1984 Utah Arizona State Utah 1985 Utah Arizona State Arizona State 1986 Utah Arizona State Utah 1987 Arizona State Utah Arizona State 1988 Utah Arizona State Oklahoma 1989 Utah Nebraska Utah 1990 Utah Nebraska Utah 1991 Utah Arizona Arizona 1992 Utah Arizona Utah 1993 Utah Arizona Utah State 1994 Utah Brigham Young Arizona State 1995 Utah Nebraska Nebraska 1996 Utah Arizona Utah 1997 Utah Arizona State Utah
ROTATION ORDER
ROTATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Utah Bye Vault Bars Bye Beam Bye Floor Arizona State Bars Bye Beam Bye Floor Bye Vault Nebraska Bye Beam Bye Floor Bye Vault Bars Brigham Young Bye Floor Bye Vault Bars Bye Beam Arizona Vault Bars Bye Beam Bye Floor Bye Utah State Beam Bye Floor Bye Vault Bars Bye Oklahoma Floor Bye Vault Bars Bye Beam Bye