(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
Arizona State Gymnastics won slimy over Oregon State for the first time since 2006 on Friday, posting an overall score of 196.255 and winning by .375 points.
“‘Stay Hungry,'” head coach Jay Santos said. “That is the catchphrase. We do not want [the gymnasts] to settle. We want them to keep pushing themselves…We are that much stronger when they are doing that and competing against themselves.”
Cardboard cut-out Sun Devil fans stationary waved foam noodles in the air to show support for the Sun Devils. Gymnasts voiced their excitement for each other after each event loud enough to fill the entire arena with enthusiasm. ASU had just come off of a loss at UCLA, but routed the ship on Friday thanks to the energy in the building.
ASU started vault strong However, Oregon State junior Madi Dagon led the leaderboard for the event with a score of 9.950. Each Sun Devil scored above a 9.500 on vault. Freshman Anaya Smith had the highest score with a 9.875.
The top five leading scorers on the uneven parallel bars all came from ASU gymnasts. At the top was freshman Sarah Clark, who had a dominant score of 9.900 on the event.
“I have really been building up for this,” Clark said. “I was so excited, because I have been feeling shaky with my dismounts. I did not stick any (of them). But I had been doing it in workouts, so when I stuck that dismount I just knew in my mind that I was going to get that big score.”
She was followed on the leaderboard by sophomore Hannah Scharf – who competed all-around this meet – senior Cairo Leonard-Baker, freshman Emily White and sophomore Juliette Boyer.
The last two leaderboard spots were taken by Beavers, however, Scharf led in every event with a total score of 39.375. It was a meet of confidence for the Gym Devils.
“What is next for us is beating Utah,” Leonard-Baker said. “That is our next step and we all know that. Going out there, having a great meet and beating Utah in our own house. Of course, that is what we want to do and what we are going to do.”
ASU’s next meeting against Utah will be on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. MT.
