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ASU gymnastics' chemistry, camaraderie overshadows loss to No. 4 Utah

ASU junior Allie Salas performs her floor exercise routine against Stanford on Saturday Jan. 31, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Salas finished her routine with a score of 9.800. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press)
ASU junior Allie Salas performs her floor exercise routine against Stanford on Saturday Jan. 31, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Salas finished her routine with a score of 9.800. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press)

ASU junior Allie Salas performs her floor exercise routine against Stanford on Saturday Jan. 31, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Salas finished her routine with a score of 9.800. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press) ASU junior Allie Salas performs her floor exercise routine against Stanford on Saturday Jan. 31, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Salas finished her routine with a score of 9.800. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press)

The ASU gymnastics team flipped its way to one of the team's better performances of the season, but it was no match for No. 4 Utah as the Gym Devils lost 197.825-194.100 on Friday night.

The Utes put on a show from the very first rotation, when seniors Tory Wilson and Georgia Dabritz scored back-to-back perfect scores, the first time Utah has done that since 1993.

That quick start put ASU on the ropes early and, though the Gym Devils were strong on all events but the beam, they were never able to recover.

Junior Taylor Allex led the way for ASU, scoring a 39.375 all-around score in her first all-around performance of the season.

It was also the first time she had performed at Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Center since she transferred from Utah following her freshman year.

She was happy with her performance in her return.

"I thought it went really well.," Allex said. "Obviously, (it was) very nerve-racking going back into the arena that I had just recently transferred from, but I'm really happy with how I did and I know I can do even better. Hopefully I will keep getting better as long as I'm with my team."

Allex scored a 9.750 or higher on all four events and had a 9.900 on the vault that tied with senior Natasha Sundby for the team-high on any rotation.

Junior Stephanie Miceli had a very respectable 38.800 all-around score and though she scored a 9.525 on vault, she got stronger as the competition went on.

"I struggled a little on the vault, but I just tried to not let it affect me and just forget about it," Miceli said. "I (knew) that my team had my back and I was capable ... of getting good scores in order to help our team score. I kind of just regrouped myself and just stayed calm and confident."

Miceli's best performance was a 9.850 on the balance beam where others had a tough night.

Normally consistent junior Allie Salas fell from the beam as did Sundby, a rarity for the Gym Devils on the event.

But the team's struggles on the rotation didn't affect Miceli negatively, they motivated her.

"I reminded myself how prepared (head coach) Rene (Lyst) has made me," Miceli said. "I go in with the same mindset every single time whether someone falls or doesn't, it's just in my mind. I knew I had to do it for the team and I was able to do the best routine that I could do."

The team stuck together like glue, its excellent chemistry and optimism were on display Friday night even though ASU hasn't won a meet since the season opener on Jan. 9.

"We're staying positive and we're staying focused on what the goal is," Allex said. "We're trying to be the best team that we can be. We're just going out there and doing our best. I think our main focus of this entire season is just to have fun and, honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way."

Head coach Rene Lyst was in agreement.

"We're just focusing on doing the best we can each night that we go out there and having a good time and having each other's backs," Lyst said. "They're really doing a great job out there I'm really proud of them."

Allex, one of the leaders of the Gym Devils, credits her success to the team.

"My team is amazing," Allex said. "Each and every single one of my teammates were there telling me how great I was and were lifting me up. They had my back and I'm very thankful to have them because honestly, I don't know if I could do it without them."

Click here to see full results from the meet against Utah.

While ASU's lack of depth due to injury has been the biggest reason for their tough start to the season, they are starting to get healthy — and not a moment too soon.

Next on the agenda is a Territorial Cup battle with Arizona on Feb. 16 in Tuscon at 7 p.m.

 

Reach the reporter at mtquesad@asu.edu or follow @mitchTquesada on Twitter.

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