The Gym Devils will enter the second half of the season with all signs pointing to continued success, as the team has already broken the 195.000 mark three times this season.
The No. 25 ASU gymnastics team (4-2, 2-2 Pac-12) survived arguably the toughest weekend of its season without much to complain about.
After a full week of rest, the Sun Devils will host No. 18 Illinois on Sunday at 2 p.m.
ASU has been fairly consistent all season. The Sun Devils are No. 23 on the uneven bars and No. 17 on the balance beam. Their vault and floor events are starting to climb the ranks as well.
ASU’s home opener this season didn’t look too promising after the floor routine, but the floor event has gradually become a big part of its high scores.
“I’m really excited about the floor right now, because we started off with those four falls, but I’m looking at our floor routines compared to Utah’s and I was pretty impressed,” coach John Spini said.
ASU’s consistency has improved on the balance beam, last year's weakest event.
“I’m looking at how we’ve competed away on beam, with Utah State and University of Arizona, and just nailed beam as the last events,” Spini said.
Although they are in the thick of the season, no one is letting minor aches set them back.
“I think everyone is doing well,” senior Kahoku Palafox said. “People are pushing through injuries, and I know that some people are pretty sore, but you know, it’s all part of it.”
For any sport, the middle of the season challenges teams to perform at higher levels.
“We have five more meets until the Pac-12s, so I mean, we still have to work hard and we still have to stay consistent,” senior Beaté Jones said. “Nobody is really slacking, relaxing or coasting. We know that we’ll be on top if we keep doing the job that we’ve been doing.”
Even though the Gym Devils have seen some success already, they don’t believe they have reached their full potential.
“We hit a normal bar score and normal floor score, we’re a 196.2, 196.3 team,” Spini said. “Where does that put us? That qualifies us for nationals. So those are the things we’re working on, cleaning up our dismounts.”
Reach the reporter at gdemano@asu.edu
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