Junior all-around Stephanie Miceli strikes a pose during a routine on Jan. 9, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena. (Andrew
Ybanez/The State Press)
Sometimes, a rivalry can spark something special.
ASU gymnastics hasn't won a meet since Jan. 9 and currently sits at the bottom of the Pac-12, but that doesn't mean they don't have a chance against Arizona when they visit the Gym Cats in Tucson on Monday, Feb. 16.
So far, ASU's athletics program has proven that they are the top team in the state as they hold a 4.5-2.5 lead over Arizona in the Territorial Cup Series.
ASU's Gym Devils can add another full point to the Sun Devils' score column with a dual-meet win on Monday.
Head coach Rene Lyst said her team is excited for the opportunity to battle their rival school but they are also trying to look at it through a rational perspective.
"It's just another meet in the sense that we have to go down there and do our job and hit our routines and stay focused on what we're doing and not really what they're doing," Lyst said.
But then Lyst admitted the team is going to be a bit more pumped than usual.
"At the same time, the team definitely has a little bit more motivation," she said. "(There's) a little but more intensity to them going into this meet because, obviously, we want to beat them."
ASU has struggled to win meets this season because of a large number of injuries on the team that has forced them to compete short-handed on a number of events.
Luckily, the Gym Devils are finally reaching a point in the season where they will soon be healthy.
"We'll probably get some people back on vault next week," Lyst said. "But not for this week."
Still, ASU has had success against Arizona in women's gymnastics in recent history.
The Gym Devils have won two of their last three meets against the Gym Cats and are 31-12-1 in dual-meets since 1977.
With the Pac-12 Championships about a month away, Monday would be a great time to get a win, although it won't be in Tempe anymore, as they were originally slated to be.
The success of ASU's women's basketball team means Wells Fargo Arena may be used to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on March 21.
The top 16 seeds in the tournament host the first and second round of the tournament on their own campus, meaning No. 12 ASU women's basketball will get the court on and ASU gymnastics will travel to Utah for their own Championships.
"Obviously, we're disappointed not to have it here on campus," Lyst said. "But we're excited for women's basketball to get the chance to host the first two rounds here to help them in their postseason and we'll just look to go to Utah and get a good away score to help us for NCAA Regionals."
NCAA Regionals don't start until April 4, and while that seems far away, ASU only has five meets left until the postseason begins.
The first of those five starts Monday in another edition of a Territorial Cup meet.
The meet will be aired on the Pac-12 Network and is slated to start at 7 p.m. on Feb. 16 in Tucson.
Reach the reporter at mtquesad@asu.edu or follow @mitchTquesada on Twitter.
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