No. 25 Bears Ready for Duel in Desert Against No. 23 ASU
Meet Notes: Cal at Arizona State
MEET INFO:
Date: Friday, Jan. 24
Time: 4 p.m. PT
Location: Tempe, Ariz.
Venue: Wells Fargo Arena
Live Stats: thesundevils.com
Live Stream: thesundevils.com
Series History: ASU leads 7-55
BERKELEY -- After enjoying an incredibly succesful meet in Berkeley in which Cal posted a 196.275, its highest home opener score in program history, the No. 25 Golden Bears (3-3, 0-2 Pac-12) head south searching for their first Pac-12 win this season. Cal will battle Arizona State (4-1, 1-0 Pac-12) at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. starting at 4 p.m. PT on Friday.
Live stats and a live stream of the meet can be accessed at thesundevils.com.
The Bears lost to Utah (196.875) on Friday but put up a 196.275 -- just the eighth time in the last 20 years that the Cal program has posted a 196 or better. Cal gymnasts set or matched 14 career-high totals in their strong showing, with freshman Jessica Howe claiming the evening’s balance beam total. As a team, Cal logged new season-high totals in every event.
Arizona State is coming off a quad meet win in Seattle, where the Sun Devils bested Washington, San Jose State and UC Davis with a season-high 195.900 performance. Carissa Kraus and Risa Perez each claimed a title for ASU, with Kraus finishing with a 9.825 on bars and Perez with a 9.875 on floor.
BEAR BITS
• ASU leads Cal 7-55 in all-time meetings between the teams. The Sun Devils and Golden Bears last met in a dual meet on Jan. 20, 2012, with Arizona State beating Cal 195.250-194.050.
• Arizona State is the fourth of eight preseason-ranked teams Cal faces in 2014. Against other ranked teams, Cal lost to No. 9 Stanford, No. 18 Denver and No. 4 Utah.
• Among the career-highs set or matched against Utah, Alicia Asturias matched her 9.95 career-high vault total. That number ties for the highest vault total in program history.
• Freshman Jessica Howe is the first Golden Bear newcomer to claim a title this year with her 9.875 beam win.
NEXT UP
The Golden Bears return to Berkeley for a powerful matchup against one of the nation’s elite squads -- the UCLA Bruins. The Bears host their fellow ursine Friday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. in Haas Pavilion. The meet will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.
ALL-ACCESS PASS
Join Cal Women’s Gymnastics in the social media realm for behind-the-scenes access to the Bears. Follow Cal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for meet scores, practice updates, exclusive photos, videos and more. Find Cal at:
• Twitter: @CalWGym
• Facebook: Facebook.com/CalWomensGymnastics
• Instagram: @CalWGym
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURN TO BERKELEY
The Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships will return to Berkeley for the first time since 2005 as the Bears are set to host all eight Pac-12 schools on Saturday, March 22 in Haas Pavilion. Tickets are now on sale via CalBears.com.
THREE MEETS TELEVISED IN 2014
Three meets featuring the Cal women’s gymnastics team will air on the Pac-12 Networks this season. Those meets are:
• Friday, Jan. 31 vs. UCLA (Pac-12 Bay Area & LA)
• Monday, March 3 at Stanford
• Saturday, March 22 Pac-12 Championships
GET YOUR GOLDEN TICKET
All regular-season Cal women’s gymnastics home meets will be ticketed this season. Tickets for all home meets will be available for purchase at the ticket office on Spieker Plaza the day of the meet, beginning approximately 1.5 hours before the start of each meet and through the end of the second rotation. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (12th grade and under) and seniors (age 65 and above). Membership for the popular Cub Club season-pass program, which allows youth special perks such as an exclusive seating area and a member t-shirt, is also available for purchase for $30 (cash or check only) for the season.