(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
Following a statement win over Washington, the No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils will close out Pac-12 play on Saturday at home against the No. 11 Oregon State Beavers.
Against Washington on Sunday, the Gym Devils (6-5, 3-3 Pac-12) earned their best true road score in program history with a 197.475. It was a second straight meet for the history books. The meet against Washington ranked as ASU’s 12th-highest score in program history, while last Monday’s win against No. 4 Utah was the 11th-highest. With season-high scores on both vault and floor – a 49.325 and a 49.500, respectively – the Sun Devils took home the win over the Huskies with a final score of 197.475-197.250.
Last week’s two big wins garnered national recognition for the Sun Devils. In this week’s Road to Nationals rankings, ASU jumped from No. 22 to No. 15.
Saturday’s meet is ASU’s Senior Day, and its five graduating gymnasts will be celebrated. The decorated senior class of Juliette Boyer, Izzy Redmond, Jordyn Jaslow, Hannah Scharf and Gracie Reeves will be honored after the meet.
Scharf has been making a remarkable late-season push. She won the all-around against Washington with a 39.625, good for 14th-best in ASU history. In the Road to Nationals individual all-around rankings, Scharf climbed from No. 23 to No. 14 this week. Her two impressive performances earned her Pac-12 recognition, as she was named the Pac-12 Coaches Choice of the Week.
Additionally, last Monday, Scharf was named a finalist for the AAI Award. The award is given to the most outstanding senior collegiate female gymnast in the United States, and it is voted on by NCAA women’s gymnastics head coaches. To be named a finalist speaks volumes about Scharf’s impact on her team and on collegiate gymnastics as a whole.
Scharf’s reliability will no doubt be useful against Oregon State. The Beavers are ranked 11th in the country as a team, and they have the numbers to back it up. They have won or tied every single meet since Jan. 21. In last weekend’s win against Stanford, OSU scored a new program record of 198.075.
Oregon State also has an incredibly talented individual standout. 2020 Olympic gold medalist and sophomore Jade Carey has been named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week six times this season. Against Stanford, she scored perfect 10.0s on bars and floor on her way to a near-perfect 39.875 all-around score. She is ranked No. 1 in the country in the all-around, vault and floor.
Defeating Carey and the Beavers will likely be a difficult task, but ASU’s momentum has continued to trend upward. Scharf is leading the charge, and the team is rallying behind her. Junior Emily White is ranked No. 24 in the all-around, while numerous underclassmen are making names for themselves as event specialists.
The last time ASU and OSU met on Feb. 5, 2022, Oregon State came away with the win at home by a score of 197.375-196.550. However, the last time the Beavers visited Tempe in 2021, the Sun Devils took home a 196.225-195.850 win.
The Gym Devils are looking for their third-ranked win this season and have their sights set on the Beavers. Arizona State’s seniors will undoubtedly be looking to finish their final meet at Desert Financial Arena with a bang.
