(Photo via Hailey Rogalski/WCSN)
Looking to start off its Pac-12 slate with a win, No. 20 ASU Gymnastics hosted No. 19 Stanford in the return of the Beauty and the Beast Meet Friday night.
The unique event, which hasn’t been held since 2020, saw ASU Wrestling share the floor at Desert Financial Arena with the Gym Devils.
“It was definitely loud at times, but I feel like we stayed in the zone and didn’t get too distracted by it,” junior Emily White said. “For me, it was more of the setup. Being at home, everything’s usually in the same spot, so it got switched around, but I think we did a pretty good job of trying to keep wrestling over there and staying in our zone on our side.”
Junior Jada Mangahas added: “I thought it was a really cool opportunity to have both teams in the same room. It was definitely really loud, but I think it gave us more energy, and we fed off of their crowd. It was cool to have their crowd and our crowd in the same arena. It was pretty packed in there.”
Despite a neck-and-neck battle in which neither team ever led by more than two-tenths of a point, ASU fell to the Cardinal with a final score of 196.225-196.050.
The Sun Devils started slow on the vault. A last-minute lineup change led to senior Gracie Reeves stepping into the leadoff position, in which she scored a 9.625. White, Mangahas and senior Hannah Scharf all scored 9.800s, while junior Anaya Smith scored a 9.825. The sizeable crowd also witnessed sophomore Alex Theodorou’s return to the vault, which she hadn’t competed at either of the Sun Devils’ previous two meets. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, Theodorou’s return wasn’t too ceremonious as she posted a 9.650.
“We’re getting people back and participating,” ASU head coach Jay Santos said. “We’re starting to get some of that depth back that we need so we can go out and tinker with these lineups and see what’s going to work the best for us. That’s one of the big encouraging things for me. Getting back to full strength will certainly help us in the long run.”
ASU entered the second rotation trailing closely behind the Cardinal, but the Sun Devils responded with their event score of the night on the uneven bars. Five Sun Devils scored a 9.800 or higher, and junior Sarah Clark took the event title with a 9.875. Overall, ASU finished the event with a score of 49.200. This strong showing, coupled with a few miscues by Stanford vault, propelled ASU into the lead heading into the third rotation.
Clark also excelled on beam, leading the Sun Devils with another 9.875. However, the momentum from the uneven bars sputtered. Minute errors began to creep into the Sun Devils’ routines. Despite the inconsistencies, ASU finished the third rotation with a score of 49.025 and preserved its slim lead over the Cardinal.
When the Sun Devils reached the fourth rotation, small errors snowballed into critical mistakes. Subpar scores from the first half of the lineup put pressure on the final three athletes to deliver strong routines. Although they managed to deliver – Mangahas took the event title with a score of 9.875, and Scharf and White both earned 9.850s – it wasn’t enough to overcome the Cardinal’s eleventh-hour push.
Stanford posted its best beam score of the young season. Senior Chloe Widner earned the only 9.900 of the night for either team. A 9.875 from freshman Claire Dean and a pair of 9.850s from redshirt sophomores Isabela Onyshko and Ira Alexeeva sealed the Stanford victory and put the nail in the coffin for Arizona State.
“We have to be able to finish the meet a little stronger,” Santos said after the meet. “We had the lead, it wasn’t huge, but we had the lead going into the last event. We have to be able to do our job and match what they do on beam, on the floor… It is a solid meet but we have got to put together a complete meet. We are capable of that, and we have to focus on that with UofA coming up.”
ASU will look to rebound in its next meet against Arizona on Jan. 28. With a six-year win streak on the line, the Sun Devils are well aware of the Territorial Cup’s significance.
“A lot of us love this meet, and I know, especially for me, this is my favorite meet,” Mangahas said. “Playing against UofA brings fire to us, and we always get so excited for this one. This meet coming up is where we want to get those details in, dial everything in, and bring all of our energy into this. I am hoping all of those things come together.”
