(Photo credit: Marina Williams/WCSN)
TEMPE — Arizona State women’s gymnastics brought some sparkle to Desert Financial Arena Saturday afternoon for the team’s first meet this season. The annual Maroon and Gold scrimmage offered each gymnast an opportunity to showcase their skill for the upcoming season.
A few days prior to the intrasquad, the Sun Devils were ranked No. 20 in the WCGA Preseason Coaches Poll. Standout graduate gymnasts Sarah Clark, Jada Mangahas and Emily White were all named to the 2025 Big 12 Conference Preseason Team. Saturday, Mangahas didn’t compete on any events, while Clark competed bars, beam and floor, and White competed on all four events, posting a solid 9.800 on vault.
“Emily does what Emily does, and she looks good,” head coach Jay Santos said. “We still have a lot of work to do. We still have to clean up a lot, but overall I’m pretty pleased.”
Several other returners showed off their strides of improvement as well. Junior Kimberly Smith scored a 9.800 on her vault, setting the tone for the rest of the intrasquad. The execution and energy from Smith were coupled with solid performances for an all-around overall score of 38.750. Junior Kayla Lee also showed how far she’s come since last season. She secured the top score on beam with a 9.850.
From the blinged-out leotards to the loud team spirit, the Sun Devils were excited to kick off their season and see what they could put on the floor. With many more opportunities in the upcoming months, ASU has the chance to build a season of success.
Santos believes that his squad is at a decent starting point for the season, and he expects performances to improve as the season goes on.
“We’re not at full strength right now, so we have to hope as time goes on here in the beginning of the season that we can get some people back into positions that we want them in and things like that,” Santos said. “I think it was a good experience for some of the people that haven’t done quite as much and some competitors that haven’t been out there and done as much. I think that’s a good experience and good knowledge and good information for us.”
