(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
On Saturday, the No. 12 Gym Devils (5-1, 2-0 Pac-12) travelled to Corvallis to take on the No. 13 Beavers (2-1, 1-1 Pac-12). With both teams coming off their strongest performances of the year, the showdown had high expectations.
Arizona State started the meet on the uneven bars, where they scored five stuck dismounts. The solid rotation included a season-high tying 9.800 routine from sophomore Ashley Szafranski and a 9.875 from freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker to tie for first on the event. A consistent lineup without a 9.900 earned the Gym Devils a 49.025 on the apparatus.
Oregon State began the meet on vault, where they too put up a consistent first rotation. Coming into the meet, vault was the Beavers’ worst event, but they managed a season high 49.150 and took an early lead.
As ASU took to vault themselves, they looked to make up ground on what was their lowest ranked event going in. The Gym Devils were propelled by career-highs from juniors Anne Kuhm and Morgan Wilson, a 9.825 and 9.875, respectively. Also tying a career-high vault was Leonard-Baker who scored a 9.850. They finished the event with a 49.075.
Keeping with their earlier theme of consistency, the Beavers posted a 9.800 or better on all six of their routines on the uneven bars, to earn a 49.125 on the apparatus.
The third rotation was that of heartbreak for ASU senior Nichelle Christopherson and her teammates. Christopherson appeared to injure her right achilles after the landing of her third tumbling pass and was not able to finish the routine. Christopherson’s injury is not confirmed, but any loss of her in the lineups will be tough for the Gym Devils to make up for.
The injury to Christopherson was a momentum changer for the Devils. The emotions got to them, and despite 9.850 or better scores from Kuhm and Leonard-Baker, the Gym Devils finished the event with a 48.925. This was the first time ASU did not hit a 49+ on the event since the first meet of the season.
Oregon State suffered no such luck, as they recovered from their first three routines all scoring sub 9.800 on beam, to post a 49.050 on the event.
The Gym Devils struggled on beam as well, as they were forced to count a fall from the leadoff spot. Heather Udowitch stepped in for Christopherson and posted a season-high 9.725, but the recovery effort was not enough to reach a 49+ as a team. Their 48.025 was their lowest event total of the season.
On the floor exercise, the Beavers proved why they are ranked 7th in the country on the event. The home team counted five scores of 9.850 or better, including a 9.925 from sophomore Isis Lowery to total a 49.400 as a squad and secure the meet win.
OSU sophomore Sabrina Gill barely notched out Leonard-Baker for the all-around title as Gill earned a 39.375 while Leonard-Baker scored a 39.350.
After the meet was over, a video review added a tenth to sophomore Jessica Ginn’s floor score bringing it up to a 9.825 and bumped ASU’s total by a tenth. The final score was OSU 196.725 to ASU 195.050. Arizona State’s record moves to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play.
The Gym Devils are back in action Friday, January 9th at No. 3 Utah at 7 p.m. live on Pac-12 Networks.
