(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
On Saturday, No. 20 Arizona State Gymnastics will finish its three-meet road trip in Los Angeles to face Pac-12 Conference foe No. 6 UCLA.
Both teams are coming off second-place finishes last week. Despite tying their season-high score, the Gym Devils (4-4, 1-2 Pac-12) fell to No. 7 Cal. The Bruins (4-4-1, 1-1-1) fought hard but couldn’t get past No. 4 Utah.
The last dual meet between ASU and UCLA was one for the record books. ASU defeated UCLA 197.800-195.475, recording the seventh-highest team score in program history. It was the first time ASU picked up a first win against the Bruins since Jan. 26, 2001.
Then-sophomore Emily White won the all-around with a career-high 39.600. This tied the 21st-highest all-around score in ASU Gymnastics program history. It was also the highest all-around score for a Gym Devil since April Boone in 2007.
UCLA suffered from mistakes on the uneven bars during that meet, settling for a 47.825. But, this year, UCLA is far stronger on the event, averaging a 49.440 average bar score this season, good for fifth in the nation.
Last week, UCLA sophomore Jordan Chiles received her second Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award, and freshman Selena Harris was selected as the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week for the fifth consecutive week.
Chiles earned the all-around title with a season-high 39.775 in UCLA’s dual meet at Utah. She also took home three event titles scoring a career-best 9.975 on vault and 9.950s on the uneven bars and floor exercise.
Despite some shaky performances, the Gym Devils are not a team to underestimate after last year’s performance. Thanks to last week’s score, ASU is back inside the top 20 for the second time this season. Now a standout junior, White was named Pac-12 Coaches Choice, earning the first weekly conference award for ASU this season. She tied her season-best all-around score at California, posting a 39.400. A 9.900-floor routine tied her career high and set a new season high.
Senior Hannah Scharf displayed dominant performances on floor and bars against Cal, finishing with a season-high 39.525 in the all-around. Scharf won a share of the floor title with a 9.950, the highest score of the season on the event for ASU. Her 9.900 bars score set a season-high and tied her career high.
The Cal dual meet was the fourth consecutive meet in which ASU scored at least 196, and it was the first meet in which the Gym Devils scored at least a 49 on all four events this season. While scores continue to trend upward, ASU hopes to find the wins to match, starting with UCLA. However, on paper, the Bruins already have the advantage. UCLA’s average all-around score is 197.350 compared to ASU’s 196.360.
Arizona State will need to rely on its talented specialists, such as Sarah Clark on bars and Jada Mangahas on floor, in order to have a chance at winning. The third-year gymnasts have consistently scored 9.800 or better in their primary events this season.
Scoring high and getting back in the win column would give ASU a much-needed boost in the Pac-12 standings and help build some momentum before concluding the regular season with a daunting slate of No. 4 Utah, No. 26 Washington, No. 13 Oregon State and, lastly, No. 1 Oklahoma.
