A year ago, the ASU gymnastics team enjoyed one of its finest seasons in the program's history. The only problem was the Sun Devils picked an inopportune time to have their second-worst performance of the year - the NCAA championships.
As a result, ASU missed out on a chance to compete in the final round of NCAA's the Super Six, after a season in which the Sun Devils recorded seven of their top 10 team scores of all time.
But with four seniors on ASU's roster, a talented group of freshmen and the team's top two performers from a year ago returning, head coach John Spini doesn't expect a case of déjà vu at the end of this season.
"We don't have anything in our mind other than to make it to nationals and get in that Super Six," Spini said. "I think this team could go top-four, top-five, possibly top-three if we do what we need to do."
ASU will be led by senior Maggie Germaine, a two-time All-American who Spini calls a "franchise" for the Sun Devils.
Last season alone, Germaine recorded four perfect 10 performances - there are only 26 such scores in the program's history - while averaging a 39.238 in the all-around.
"In the sport of gymnastics, you don't count on routines, you count on people," Spini said "Maggie Germaine, I'll count on her and take her to the bank."
Germaine said she has no individual goals or numbers in mind for herself in her last season as a Sun Devil, but said she has "unlimited" expectations for her team.
"We are a very talented team both physically and mentally and I think we can go a long way," she said.
The other ace up Spini's sleeve is sophomore Ashley Kelly. In her first year competing at the collegiate level, Kelly set the school record for her performance in the all-around (39.875) against Kentucky on March 21. On that night, Kelly recorded two perfect 10 scores (vault and uneven bars).
Kelly, who averaged a score of 39.352 in the all-around last year, admitted that having an even bigger impact in 2004 would be difficult, but said she has greatly improved on what she calls her two weakest events from a season ago, the vault and floor exercise.
Freshman Cassandra Jusino, who looked poised in ASU's upset of Stanford in its season opener a week ago, will be the third gymnast to compete in the all-around this season.
Spini said three other Sun Devils, senior Carla DeMartini, junior Kari Muth and sophomore Lauren Powell - who missed last season with a dislocated elbow - will each participate in three events apiece.
"If those kids have big meets, we go forward big time," Spini said.
One concern for ASU early this season has been a rash of ankle injuries that has caused problems for the Sun Devils on the vault.
Germaine has been kept out of the event often in practice due to tendinitis in her ankle. Freshman April Boone has also suffered from a soar ankle and fell on her first vault of the season against the Cardinal. DeMartini had to sit out the event altogether as she is still recovering from ankle surgery last Oct.
ASU hopes to be healed up when it takes on California tonight in Berkeley, Calif. Spini said he wants the Sun Devils to score in the high 195 to 196 range as a team after posting a 195.85 mark against Stanford.
"We're not going to try to water down or go easy (early in the season)," Spini said. "We might take misses early, but we're going to do the tricks we need to in the end."
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
