(Photo via Marina Williams/WCSN)
TEMPE – The atmosphere was full of palpable emotions Friday night at Desert Financial Arena, as the Arizona State women’s gymnastics team celebrated senior night by welcoming Southern Connecticut to Tempe, on a night filled with high marks achieved.
The Gym Devils (8-5, 4-3 Pac-12 Conference) seemingly celebrated the class of nine seniors in the best way possible by soaring to their top performance all season. The Devils dominated the Owls (2-9) 197.600 to 194.400, en route to their highest point total earned as a team all year, which is now the 11th-best team total scored in program history.
Of all the storylines that unfolded during the meet, Sun Devil senior Emily White stood in a class of her own. White posted a 9.950 in beam, bars and floor, taking home all three event titles. Her final scores earned on beam and floor tied her career marks in both events, and her performance on beam set a new career record. However, she didn’t stop there. White also competed in vault, earning a 9.775, which qualified her to compete in all-around. White’s memorable night came to a close as she captured the all-around crown, scoring a career-best 39.625.
“This meet, we were really focusing not on the scores but just celebrating,” White said. “And I think that’s honestly why we put it together so well. We weren’t focusing on the scores, but obviously, just by doing that, we got where we wanted to.”
White’s elite performance was not only a benefit to her, but it was also a catalyst in aiding her teammates to perform at the top of their game, such as graduate gymnast Gracie Reeves, who notched a season-best and career-high tying 9.900 on beam.
“If we’re not getting the highest scores in the beginning and then we’re getting 9.950s at the end, that is such a confidence booster,” Reeves said. “It gets the team’s energy back up. It can flip our energy in a second. So it’s amazing to have those at the end of the lineup, and honestly, she does it every time.”
Like Reeves, other Gym Devils were clearly inspired by White, which led them to post big scores of their own.
Freshman Halle Gregoire registered a 9.900, tying a personal best on floor. Senior Jada Mangahas also matched a top personal mark by earning a 9.925 on bars, a new season-high for her.
Vault extraordinaire and senior Anaya Smith won the event title in her specialty department with a 9.925, clocking in her sixth of the season.
Lastly, graduate Hannah Scharf posted a 9.925 on beam and floor, tying her season high for floor, while registering a new season high on beam. She also tied her career and season-best outing for vault when she received a 9.900.
The great individual performances for the Sun Devils also helped the team as a whole achieve standout scores. The Gym Devils have now earned a total team score of 49.000 or better in all four events for nine meets in a row. Additionally, they have now earned a 49-plus on vault 21 meets in a row, extending a program record. Another record was also shattered, as the bars streak of scoring 49-plus has now hit 20 straight meets.
ASU also posted its best beam score since 2007, registering a 49.550, which is tied for the sixth-highest total received on beam in program history.
However, despite the immense amount of success that was experienced Friday night, mistakes were made, such as when Gregoire fell on her vault landing and Scharf fell on her bars routine.
Yet, ASU head coach Jay Santos was proud of how his squad responded to both blunders. He emphasized the importance of replicating their stellar performances if the Gym Devils want to win when postseason play starts in West Valley City, Utah, at the Pac-12 Championships next Saturday.
“I mean, we still had a couple of mistakes,” Santos said. “But when we made a mistake, the next kid up was able to do a really great routine. That’s another thing that we’ve talked about all year long is that one mistake doesn’t kill us if we can bounce back and that next person does exactly what they need to. So we got that in multiple spots today. In vault and in bars, the next kid up had a great routine and just reset everything. Everybody’s relaxed again and everybody was going again. So, I’m excited. I hope their confidence is gonna be really high this week. It was a strong day for us.”
