The ASU gymnastics squad had a second consecutive poor road performance at Nebraska on Sunday, falling to the No. 10 Huskers 197.30-192.750 in front of over 1,300 fans in Lincoln.
The Gym Devils again struggled with poise in the lopsided loss to Nebraska, who swept all five individual honors and hit a 49.00 or better on all four events en route to posting a season–high score.
“It’s a matter of mental focus at this point in the season,” ASU assistant coach Kari Ward said of her squad. “I think they have the confidence, they just need to go out and perform.”
Although ASU’s score was better than last week’s tally against Stanford, it is a far cry from the 195.750 season-high the Sun Devils put up against Washington three weeks ago.
“We are obviously a little frustrated,” Ward said. “We needed a good away score and we didn’t get it, but I think it just gives us more motivation to get back and practice in the gym for the next two meets.”
Vault was a high point for ASU on the day, as the Sun Devils scored a 48.725 behind senior Beaté Jones season-high 9.825 and junior Callie Price’s 9.8.
“Even though it was a rough meet all around, there were certain people that did really well for themselves,” senior Brittany Schuett said. “It was a building meet for those individuals, and we know what we need to do next week in order to get it done.”
The injury bug continued to bite the Sun Devils, as junior Amanda Davies, who usually competes on floor exercise for ASU, went down with an ankle injury during her routine.
The severity of her injury has not yet been determined.
“When a teammate goes down, especially a leader like Amanda, it’s tough to regain focus after that,” Ward said.
With the injury to Davies and their momentum zapped, the Sun Devils struggled to the finish line of Sunday’s meet.
“As soon as Amanda went down, the focus was gone,” Schuett said. “We were worried about her.”
Despite the disappointing score, ASU knows there are things to be learned from this recent tough road stretch.
“They thrive at home,” Ward said. “It’s been a tough struggle ending on beam these last two weeks. Being back at home [this week] will help their confidence heading into the Pac-10s.”
ASU takes on the University of Bridgeport on Friday in what will be the Sun Devils’ last home competition of the season and Senior Night for the team’s six seniors.
Reach the reporter at kyle.newman@asu.edu
