The ASU gymnastics team has not tallied the scores that head coach John Spini had hoped for so far this season. But the Sun Devils believe their ills will be gone by the time they step on the floor tonight in a dual meet against Oregon State.
ASU (4-2, 1-2 Pac-10) had been hit with a barrage of injuries through their initial three meets this season. After a light week of practice that favored conditioning over hitting routines, Spini said his team is "tremendously better" health-wise.
"If we were 50 percent last week, we're at 90 percent this week," Spini said. "We're going to be a lot fresher coming in the door. You're going to see a stellar performance in several events."
Team icon, senior Maggie Germaine, as well as multiple-event performer Carla DeMartini and freshman April Boone had all been limited this season with ankle injuries but appear to be healthy now.
The only gymnast expected to miss the hunting of the Beavers tonight is sophomore Lauren Powell, who dislocated her shoulder during practice Thursday. However, senior Jada Cox and junior Kari Muth did an admirable job filling in on Powell's events last week in Los Angeles, as each earned a score of 9.85, Cox on the balance beam and Muth on floor.
The Sun Devils are itching to get back into the friendly confines of Wells Fargo Arena. ASU began the season ranked No. 9 in the country, but have tumbled down to No. 18 after two mistake-filled meets on the road. The team is now done with half of its regular season road meets and couldn't be happier about it.
"I think the excitement level of them being on their home floor is really on their mind," Spini said. "With subjective judging, you're going to get the benefit of the doubt (at home).
"That's definitely the problem with our sport - the fairness of what one judge perceives to be good compared to another. At home, you're a little more relaxed and feel when you do a good job you're going to get rewarded."
Germaine said she is "definitely" expecting a breakout performance from her team tonight.
"There's already been some talk about trying to get a high-score for the season," she said. "We want to get up in the rankings so we're willing to push those scores. We're excited to be at home again."
Both Spini and Germaine said the team's philosophy of putting in difficult tricks at the beginning of the season with hopes it will benefit them come the postseason has finally begun to pay dividends.
"They are very aggressive performances we trained to do," Spini said. "We are now capable of them mentally. Before, we were capable of them physically, but we weren't sure of our confidence. You'll see a tremendous amount of improvement [tonight]. We're looking for a competitive performance from the team in all 24 routines we do."
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu
