ASU Gymnastics: Sun Devils take down UCLA for first time since 2001

(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)

Most people celebrate their 21st birthday by going out with their friends.

Arizona State Gymnastics junior Hannah Scharf celebrated her’s by taking down a team the Sun Devils haven’t topped since before Scharf was born in 2001.

“I told the girls before the meet, ‘This would probably be the best birthday present, finally beating UCLA,'” Scharf said. “Then I told them after, it was literally the best gift I could’ve gotten.

“It was a great day”

The No. 20-ranked Sun Devils scored the upset of a lifetime on Sunday after defeating the No. 15 UCLA Bruins at home. With the Bruins being one of the most popular teams in collegiate gymnastics, both sets of fans came out in droves to see the anticipated top-20 matchup.

“The crowd today was unbelievable – that was probably the best crowd we’ve had in a really long time, so it was nice that we could get into it with everybody,” Scharf said after the meet.

To start, things seemed to be pretty routine for UCLA on the bars after sophomore Chae Campbell led off with a solid 9.850. What followed, however, set UCLA back far enough that they weren’t able to recover.

Freshman Ana Padarariu followed Campbell’s performance with an 8.375 routine that included a fall on a release move and the dismount. Two routines later, 2020 Olympian and freshman Jordan Chiles would add another fall to score 9.300 on an event she scored a perfect 10.0 on just the week before.

After senior Norah Flatley excited the crowd with a 9.925 to give UCLA some life, senior Sara Taubman would make it a trio of falls, ending her routine with a score of 8.950 that had to be counted due to Padarariu’s performance.

The final total for the event was 47.825, a score that ties UCLA’s lowest since 2011. The Bruins previously dropped to this score during a beam rotation in a meet during the 2020 season.

While UCLA failed to overcome its nightmarish bars rotation, ASU soared during its time on vault. After a bit of a slow start with a 9.800 and a 9.650 coming from juniors Jordyn Jaslow and Gracie Reeves, sophomore Emily White landed a stunning Yurchenko full that was awarded a “perfect” 9.950 by one judge. Her score averaged out to a career-high and event-winning 9.925. White was joined atop the leaderboard by freshman Alex Theodorou, who posted the same score and earned a career high.

By the end of the rotation, ASU had reached a 49.300 total on the event, a season-high that would be just the first of the night for the Sun Devils. After the first rotation, the Bruins trailed by a shocking 1.475 points.

Moving to its second rotation, ASU looked to carry its momentum, and the Sun Devils succeeded. Sophomore Jada Mangahas led off with a 9.875 and a stuck dismount to set the tone for the rotation. Reeves followed up with a career-high 9.900 and a stuck landing of her own. Theodorou, not wanting to be left out of the stick party, added a solid 9.850 routine that ended with her feet glued to the mat.

“We’ve been really trying to work on really going after some of our landings, which I think have been some of our biggest deductions over the last couple meets, and boy, they just did it all in one night, just put everything together and [had] great landings and it was just so much fun,” Co-Head Coach Jess Santos said.

White and Scharf added twin 9.900s to set the stage for sophomore Sarah Clark in the anchor position. Clark ignited the crowd at Desert Financial Arena with a career-high and event-winning 9.950 that was awarded a 10.0 by one judge. ASU’s scores totaled up to be 49.525, its best mark on any event so far this season.

The Bruins were able to find some redemption in this rotation. Senior Sekai Wright posted a 9.875 on vault to start the Bruins off strong. Flatley, as a last-minute substitute in the third spot, was able to score a 9.850 before handing it off to freshman and 2020 Olympics alternate Emma Malabuyo and Chiles, who finished off the rotation with a 9.875 and 9.900 respectively. Despite being able to score a 49.325, the Bruins continued to sink with their deficit growing to 1.675 at the halfway point.

With the beam up next, it seemed like the Sun Devils’ hot streak had ended after senior Megan Thompson fell during her lead-off routine, resulting in a 9.725. The rest of the lineup didn’t miss a beat, however.

Reeves and Clark scored matching 9.875s, and they were joined by a trio of 9.900s from Scharf, White and senior Jasmine Gutierrez, who scored her second 9.900 in a row on the beam. ASU posted a season high, yet again with a 49.450 to round out the third rotation.

UCLA, known for its high-energy floor routines, came to Tempe to show off its event prowess. Senior Samantha Sakti scored a 9.850 in her floor season debut to get the Bruins going. She was followed by 2020 Olympian and freshman Brooklyn Moors, who was able to put the pieces together to score a 9.900 in her beloved Godfather-themed routine that’s struggled to deliver for most of the season.

After struggling during warmups, Wright ended up falling during one of her tumbling passes. Malabuyo was able to rebound quickly for UCLA with a 9.900, however. Chiles finished off the rotation, scoring a huge 9.975 with her viral routine that’s already scored a 10.0 once this season, causing cheers to erupt from both ASU and UCLA fans.

The Bruins would close out the meet on the beam with a performance reminiscent of their opening rotation. UCLA fought to finish strong with Flatley and Chiles leading off with 9.875s. The trend continued with Malabuyo and senior Kendal Poston scoring 9.900s, but after Moors fell during her routine, the Bruins were forced to count a 9.375 performance from Sakti that also included a fall. An event score of 48.875 would end the Bruins’ disappointing day.

Going into the final rotation, ASU led by 1.725 before taking the floor to entertain the home crowd.

Jaslow and White opened up the rotation, each scoring a 9.875. Things slowed down a bit after Clark only posted a 9.750, but picked right back up with Theodorou’s 9.900. Mangahas sent the crowd into cheers with an impressive career-high 9.950, and Scharf finished the meet off with a 9.925 to bring a close to the Sun Devils’ historic day.

Despite the competitive environment, the Bruins’ and Sun Devils’ cheers combined to root for Scharf in the final routine of the day.

“That was really nice of them,” Scharf said. “I think they tend to have that kind of really good sportsmanship. I have two friends [Padurariu and Moors] on the team as well from back home, so that was really special that they were able to support me there.”

ASU took the crown with a final score of 197.800 to 195.425. The Sun Devils’ score was good for the seventh-best all-time in program history. It also awards ASU with the second-highest team score in the Pac-12 Conference this season.

The Sun Devils’ day that included 12 scores of 9.900 or higher and 15 scores that tied or bested career-highs was punctuated by White’s career-high and meet-winning all-around performance of 39.600.

“Emily [White] was just amazing today,” Santos said of the sophomore. “She’s so consistent and she’s been so consistent for us. That was super fun to see her put that all together and score so well in the all-around.”

When asked about what she felt after having the best competition in her collegiate career, White credited her past work and teammates.

“I just think that today was just really fun, and I think just building off of every single event and having my team right beside me, I think everyone set me up to do my best, and it was just so much fun,” she said.

ASU’s next meet will be another matchup of Pac-12 powerhouses as the No. 9 California Bears travel to Tempe to protect their their top spot in the conference. The meet will take place on Feb. 27 at 5 p.m MST.

“I think that today we just really showed what we’re capable of, and I know we’ve been struggling to find where we are throughout the whole beginning of the season,” White said about how ASU can carry the momentum with them. “I think this is what we needed and I think we’re going to carry it into all of our next meets in the second half of the season.”

Scharf added: “I think this was a really good confidence booster for us. I think it would be great if we could get that again next week.”