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ASU gymnastics unable to upset No. 4 UCLA at home

The Sun Devils were swept in all four event titles in the loss

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ASU sophomore Megan Thompson competes on the beam in a win against UC Davis at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona on Friday, Jan 17, 2020.

ASU gymnastics were unable to defeat No. 4 UCLA as the Bruins swept all four event titles en route to a 197.200-195.475 victory.

The Sun Devils (4-6, 1-2 Pac-12) started off strong as they scored a 49.100 on vault, their third consecutive meet scoring above a 49.000 on vault. 

Head coach Jay Santos believes that when they practice well, it transfers over to their meet performances. 

“They were really dynamic vaults today. I don’t think we were giving away a lot,” Santos said. “It was big vaults, nice and stretched in the air, controlling the landings pretty well. A lot of the things we talk about all week minus some sticks.”

Graduate student Morgan Wilson and freshman Gracie Reeves each scored season-highs on vault with 9.850’s. Freshman Isabel Redmond scored a 9.775 in her collegiate debut on vault. 

Santos was impressed by Redmond’s performance today and thought it was a promising start to her career on vault. 

“It was good,” Santos said. “That’s one of the things we talk with her all the time is making sure she kinda just lets it fly. It was a nice, big dynamic vault. So that was good to see.”

Despite the hot start, the Sun Devils were down heading into the second rotation. Senior Kyla Ross led the Bruins (8-2, 3-1 Pac-12) on bars as she scored a 9.950.

At the halfway point the Bruins were still ahead due to a vault-high 9.900 finish from junior Nia Dennis

Senior Morgan Hart scored a season-high 9.850 on bars and two other Sun Devil gymnasts scored a 9.800 or above in the rotation.

In the third rotation, the Bruins added to their lead as freshman Chloe Lashbrooke earned a career-high 9.900 on floor. All six UCLA gymnasts scored a 9.875 or better on floor. 

Meanwhile, the Sun Devils scored a meet-low 48.575 on beam. This poor showing was largely due to the fact that three ASU gymnasts scored a 9.650 or lower. 

In the final rotation, the Sun Devils started off slow, but picked up steam behind strong showings from freshman Hannah Scharf and Wilson. Scharf set a career-high with a 9.875 on floor and senior Jessica Ginn scored a 9.825 in the rotation.

Although Scharf has been impressive in her freshman season, Santos is not surprised at her performance. 

“I think it’s just that continued progress and improvement. Just really settling in on some of those events she’s been doing and getting experience on," Santos said. "Certainly nothing I’m surprised about, because this is the stuff we saw in the gym.”

Despite setting a career-high on floor, Scharf was focused on the team’s performance and not on her own. 

“It wasn’t our greatest day, especially on beam. Our nerves got the best of us,” Scharf said. “We just really need to work on being aggressive and trusting what we do in our practice.”

The Sun Devils will look to bounce back on Feb. 23 as they take on Washington at home at 2 p.m. MST. 


Reach the reporter at cfahrend@asu.edu and follow @chris_drop_ on Twitter.

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