ASU gymnastics lost by almost four points to UCLA on Saturday afternoon (196.625-192.950).
The Gym Devils struggled again in their opening rotation on bars recording three scores below a nine. ASU has struggled at this event all season, and head coach René Lyst pointed to multiple possibilities of why they haven't improved.
“We have some people that are on bars that haven’t really been their strongest or best event so they have to step up,” Lyst said in a phone call. “They weren’t originally prepared to do (bars) because of some injuries and it’s just taken a little time to build their confidence.”
One of those injuries was freshman Katelyn Lentz, who sprained her ankle in practice during the week and was unable to compete in all four events against UCLA.
Lentz only competed in bars, but recorded a fall. Freshman Justine Callis also fell; however, she posted high scores in other rotations. She had a career-high on beam, scoring a 9.750.
“She hasn’t been great on bars, but she competed well on floor and beam for us,” Lyst said. “Her routine’s really solid.”
Senior Allie Salas matched her season-high on beam with a 9.675 and senior Taylor Allex scored a 9.725, breaking her previous season-best. However, freshman Corinne Belkoff fell, harming the overall score of ASU.
Salas matched her season-high on floor with a 9.875 and Allex scored a 9.900.
Floor has been a strong event for the Gym Devils all season and Lyst said she believes that event, as well as beam are keeping them “in the ballgame.”
“We’ve been consistent on floor all year. I think beam has been a very steady event for us (too),” Lyst said.
Allex had a strong day. In addition to her season-best beam score and high floor score, she had a team-high on vault with 9.850. She tied for first overall at this event.
Salas did her one better, winning the all-around with a score of 39.050. It was her second win of the season.
Belkoff and freshman Heather Udowitch also competed in the all-around, scoring 38.150 and 37.475 respectively.
As the Sun Devils prepare for Senior Night against Penn State, Lyst said the team will continue working on consistency.
“(We hope) to hit our routines under pressure and have a good senior night for our seniors,” Lyst said.
Reach the reporter at haley.stesiak@asu.edu or follow @haley_stesiak on Twitter.
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