ASU junior Stephanie Miceli scores 9.725 on the uneven bars, but the team lost to Oregon State in a tough defeat at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 20, 2015. (Kat Simonovic/The State Press)In gymnastics, consistency is key.
There is a constant desire to learn, adapt and adjust in order to keep meet scores on point and up to par week in and week out.
This year, with injuries piling up for the ASU gymnastics team, spots were open for stars to shine and a number of gymnasts have taken their turn sporting that role.
One of the Gym Devils' most consistent athletes all season has been junior Stephanie Miceli, who is competing all-around this year and hasn't scored lower than a 9.400 in any event all season.
"She has come such a long way," head coach Rene Lyst said. "When I first got here this summer, she was pretty motivated mentally and emotionally, but she was kind of behind physically. She worked really hard all summer and she has continued to work hard and her attitude has been great. She's very focused on where she wants to go, she is very driven and she is doing a phenomenal job."
Miceli has averaged an all-around score of 38.750 this season and scored a season-high 39.025 against Stanford.
And though she had experience competing all-around her freshman and sophomore years at ASU, this is her first full year competing all-around every meet.
"This summer I told myself, I'm not settling for anything less than all-around," Miceli said. "I want to help my team as much as possible and I talked to Rene, (assistant coaches) Ralph (Rosso) and Jeff (Hunt) at the beginning of the year, and it was something they expected from me, and it was something I wanted, so we worked together. I'm happy with where I'm at right now. I still have a lot of work to do, but it's something I wanted."
And by working hard enough, she got it.
Miceli is one of three full-time all-around athletes for the Gym Devils, which also includes juniors Taylor Allex and Allie Salas.
Miceli, like the other two, had to prove at the start of the season that she was capable of being one of the top-6 Gym Devils to represent the team on all four events, and Lyst said she did just that.
"She was a top-six on every event," Lyst said. "We make decisions on who is in the top six on each event every weekend and she has continued to be in the top six every weekend. She has done a great job for us, she is someone we can definitely count on and we're proud of her and how far she has come in a short amount of time."
This season might be a short amount of time, but Miceli has been working to get to this stage her entire life.
ASU junior Stephanie Miceli performs her floor exercise routine against Stanford on Saturday Jan. 31, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Miceli finished her routine with a score of 9.725. (Krista Tillman/ The State Press)"I started gymnastics when I was 3," Miceli said. "I think I've always loved the hard work and the outcome, grinding every day to get the outcome that I want. And that's not only for myself, but for Arizona State and my teammates. (It's about) putting everything on the floor every single meet and that's something that I love to do."
Of the four rotations, the most difficult event to master, arguably, is Miceli's favorite.
"Balance beam is my favorite event to perform," Miceli said. "Floor is always exciting because I feel like I'm putting on a show, but I love balance beam the most."
Lyst said Miceli also excels exceptionally on the bars, but didn't hesitate to say she thinks the beam is Miceli's strong suit.
"Beam is definitely her very best event," Lyst said. "She's a beautiful balance beam worker."
This year, Miceli has scored a season-high 9.875 and hasn't scored lower than a 9.700. She has scored at least a 9.800 four times and, in practice, Miceli works extra hard to nail the event for every meet.
"Every day in the gym, I feel like I'm a perfectionist on it," Miceli said. "I don't really like settling for anything less than a perfect beam routine. When I hit something really good in the meet, I get a feeling that I can't explain, but it's my favorite event to hit where I can be there for my team."
Miceli has spoken highly of her team all season and credits them for staying focused during a season in which they have only won one meet, the season opener on Jan. 9 against Southern Utah.
"We've become a really strongly bonded team this year," Miceli said. "I think with getting new coaches, we're really relying on each other more. I think we're doing an amazing job handling all the conflicts we've had this year, with injuries, and being able to step up as a team and have each others backs."
Miceli, who is a marketing and communications major with a dream of working in the NFL, knows that she can't physically compete forever, but one day she might find a different niche in gymnastics.
"Maybe coaching," Miceli said. "Maybe like the head coach of a college."
But in her career right now at ASU, one thing stands out.
"Freshman year, when we ended up third at regionals," Miceli said. "It was the first time in a while for ASU so that was my best memory so far."
With Pac-12 Championships and NCAA Regionals just around the corner, there's still a lot of time this season and next for Miceli and the Gym Devils to make even more memories.
Reach the reporter at mtquesad@asu.edu or follow @mitchTquesada on Twitter.
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