(Photo: Nick Wicksman/WCSN)
Wells Fargo Arena will be the host to the Sun Devils’ last dual conference meet of the season as they will go up against the No. 10 UCLA Bruins on Saturday afternoon.
The Gym Devils have had their share of struggles this season as they have only managed to win one meet thus far. The Bruins, on the other hand, have only lost once so far this season to No. 4 Utah.
Arizona State is coming off of a 196.275-193.745 loss to the No. 10 Oregon State Beavers, handing the Sun Devils 4th conference loss of the year. The Bruins are coming off their second best season score of 197.050 as they claimed the first place title in a quad-meet against Nebraska, Sacramento State, and Bridgeport.
The Bruins will be bringing two former Olympians with them to the desert. Redshirt senior Samantha Peszek was on the 2008 U.S. national team and junior Danusia Francis participated as a reserve on the 2012 U.K. national team.
ASU junior Taylor Allex had her lowest all-around score of the year in the Gym Devils’ last meet against Oregon State despite tying her season high score on vault with a 9.900.
Stakes are high for the Gym Devils going into this meet, as they look to grab their first conference win. ASU Head Coach René Lyst said that if the team can have a clean meet, there should be a good competition in Tempe.
“We have the same focus as every competition,” Lyst said. “We want to be consistent and account for no mistakes.”
Juniors Stephanie Miceli, Allie Salas, and Taylor Allex are slated to compete in the all-around, according to Lyst.
“Those girls are working hard and keeping us moving forward,” she said.
The meet will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network at 12 p.m. Mountain Time. Be sure to follow along at CronkiteSports.com for continuing coverage.
You can contact the author via eMail at jmconsta@asu.edu.
