The ASU gymnastics squad will take on Washington Friday night in a showdown at Wells Fargo Arena, seeking to snag its second straight conference victory.
Coming off a solid performance against Cal last weekend, ASU (2-3) is looking to continue to build their confidence and top their season-high score from two weeks ago against Oregon State.
“We definitely are excited about this meet, because we have another Pac-10 team and we’re looking for another Pac-10 win,” senior Beaté Jones said. “We definitely know that if we keep going how we’re going, keep our energy up, and hit the routines that we need to hit, then [a win] is definitely in our grasp.”
Lack of confidence has been a factor in ASU’s season so far, and is one element that has kept the Sun Devils from achieving the 195 score that they desire.
“I think this whole season, confidence is our main thing,” Jones said. “Some people doubt ASU, and they don’t really look at us as high as we should be looked at.”
With a win against the No. 13 Huskies (3-2), the Gym Devils would not only have their first win streak of the season but would also gain more national respect, which they feel they are lacking.
“We’re definitely not respected like we should be,” Jones said. “If we get this win, it will just be more respect for us.”
In order to get a win and achieve their desired point total, ASU will have to limit its falls as well as hope that their event line-ups, especially on vault, where the Sun Devils have had injuries, are meshing well.
“It’s the landings, it’s the hand-stands on bars, it’s tight legs on your beam flight, it’s all the little things that add up to that tenth here and tenth there that will put us up over 195,” sophomore Tina Salavec said.
ASU has been competing against one another in practice via intrasquad scrimmages to iron out who fits where on each event.
“We’ve just been doing intrasquads and doing the same sets and pressure sets, and just building up confidence and numbers,” Salavec said.
Even with all the competition between teammates for open spots, the Sun Devils still have each other’s backs, and this camaraderie will be important for ASU to have as they look to correct the mistakes they have been making against the Huskies.
“It’s hard to do anything when you feel like no one’s really backing you up,” Salavec said. “Sometimes you don’t really feel what you’re doing wrong, so having someone explain to you what you’re doing makes it a lot easier to make a change.”
Following tonight’s showdown, ASU’s next competition is at No. 2 Stanford on Feb 27.
Reach the reporter at kyle.j.newman@asu.edu
