(Photo via Janaé Bradford/WCSN)
Arizona State Gymnastics’ Senior Day came with screaming fans, season highs and a much-needed victory for the No. 15-ranked Sun Devils over No. 11 Oregon State in Desert Financial Arena Saturday.
The Gym Devils (7-4, 4-3 Pac-12) added another Pac-12 upset to their record, handing the Beavers (10-3-2, 3-0-2) their first conference loss of the season.
ASU earned its third straight win by remaining on top after each rotation to win 197.725-197.550. This was not only the Gym Devils’ highest team score of the season, but it also ties for the ninth-highest team score in program history.
“Since the beginning of the season, it’s just been a climb,” senior Jordyn Jaslow said. “We’ve gotten better and better after every meet, and you can see that in our scores and our confidence. We have that swagger out on the mat, and at some point, it just becomes natural for us. I think we’ve gotten to the point where we just know we can do it, and it was a fight to do it together.”
The Gym Devils started off hot, taking a .100 lead after the first rotation on vault. In recent weeks, ASU made a big move in the nation’s vault rankings, jumping from No. 28 to No. 18 thanks to strong, consistent routines from junior Anaya Smith.
Saturday, Smith shared the vault title with senior Hannah Scharf, as they finished off the rotation with 9.900 apiece. ASU’s 49.300 on vault was just .025 points short of tying its season-high performance from last week’s matchup against Washington.
Even after an uncharacteristic mistake on bars from junior Emily White, the Gym Devils held each other up to hang on to a .250 lead after the second rotation on bars. Aside from White’s score, ASU didn’t have a single bars score under 9.850.
Junior Cienna Samiley and Scharf also scored 9.900s on bars, but it was junior Sarah Clark who brought it home with a 9.925 to conclude the rotation and bring ASU’s event total to 49.450. This performance demonstrated why the Gym Devils are ranked No. 11 in the nation on bars.
Having the skill to put together a full meet was crucial going into the second part of the meet, especially with OSU being ranked No. 3 on beam and No. 6 on floor.
The Gym Devils remained consistent on beam, putting up one of their best team scores of the season. Five gymnasts scored a 9.875 or better, including a 9.900 from White. ASU’s 49.400 marks the Sun Devils’ highest beam score of the season. According to head coach Jay Santos, this week’s improvement is all thanks to the hard work his team had put in during practice.
“I actually challenged the whole beam group this week a little bit,” Santos said. “There were one or two little flat practices on beam these last couple of weeks. We challenged them to make sure they’re trying to step it up and hold that standard a little bit higher. They had a good week, and I think they prepared themselves well, and I think that’s all you can hope for.”
The Beavers still trailed by .225 points after scoring 49.425 in their third rotation on floor. OSU’s beam performance was its best out of the four events, notching a 49.625, but that didn’t faze the Gym Devils.
Right before Scharf’s floor routine, OSU sophomore Jade Carey, the No. 1 ranked all-around gymnast in the NCAA, scored the only 10.000 of the meet on beam, giving her the event and all-around title with a 39.800. But, once again, Scharf proved why she’s also a top 25 NCAA gymnast that is made to handle pressure. Her 39.625 all-around score tied for the 15th-highest in ASU history, and it marked her third-straight all-around score of 39.600 or higher.
All season, the Gym Devils have worked on completing their meets with strong floor performances, and Scharf couldn’t fit the mold better for the anchor spot in that event’s lineup.
“I really didn’t feel a lot of pressure on my floor routine,” Scharf said. “I just wanted to go out, do my best performance and do it for the seniors and the rest of my team.”
Arizona State completed the meet with a 49.575 in its floor rotation, tying for the program’s ninth-best floor score. White, Scharf and Carey shared the floor crown, with all three posting a 9.950. Jaslow added to the magic, tying her career-high with a 9.900. Junior Jada Mangahas also posted a 9.925.
With this being the last meet in Tempe for the season, the Gym Devils leave their fans with hope for a strong finish at No. 1 Oklahoma on March 12 and at the Pac-12 Championships in Utah the following week. With Scharf returning next year and a solid core group left on the Gym Devil roster, the future for the remainder of this season and the next seems bright.
“I can say with so much confidence that our junior, sophomore and freshman class have it in their hands for next year,” Jaslow said. “I’m so happy to be a part of this year, but those girls really know how to go out and show it off, so I know that they’re going to take on next year trying to start off exactly where we are now and continuing to build off our success and build a legacy for ASU.”
