Oklahoma Bound! No. 16 Gym Devils Seeded For NCAA Norman Regional

TEMPE, Ariz. – Qualifying for NCAA Regionals for the fourth-straight time, Sun Devil Gymnastics earned a No. 16 seed for the 2022 NCAA Regionals and will compete in the Norman Regional in Oklahoma beginning on March 31.

This is the second season in a row that Arizona State (6-4, 5-2 Pac-12) has earned a seed for postseason play, getting a 196.906 NQS to make the top 16, which are the only teams that are seeded. They will be part of the second session in the second round that also features No. 1 seed Oklahoma, Arkansas and the winner of the first-round dual meet between West Virginia and Arizona. The first session includes No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 California, Boise State and Utah State. The top two teams from each session in the second round will compete on April 2. The meets will be held in the Lloyd Noble Center, the home of the Sooners.

The championship features 36 teams determined based on their national qualifying score. Regionals are held over multiple days. The first round will consist of two teams in a play-in meet, second round will consist of eight teams in two sessions and the regional final will consist of four teams. The top two teams, the top all-around competitors and the top event specialist on each event (who are not on an advancing team) from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships on April 16-17 in Fort Worth, Texas. 

For full brackets and more information, head to the NCAA's website. For more information about the Norman Regional, head here.

Team Information
This will be the fourth-straight trip to NCAA Regionals for Arizona State after trips to Salt Lake in 2021, Baton Rouge in 2019 and Penn State in 2018. The team also was a lock to qualify in 2020 before the postseason was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
The Gym Devils have had another strong season under the helm of co-head coaches Jay Santos and Jessica Santos. The team has scored a 196-plus in all but one meet, including three 197s. Arizona State had five conference wins to tie for the 2022 Pac-12 Regular Season Title, the first one in program history. It was also the most conference wins in a single season in 2001. The team has been ranked in the top 25 all season, including five weeks in the top 15. In February, ASU scored a 197.800 to beat UCLA for the first time since 2001. That score was the seventh-highest score in program history. Additionally, the team had three ranked wins during the regular season.
 
Junior Hannah Scharf has had another strong and consistent season for the Gym Devils. She is currently ranked No. 13 in the all-around on Road to Nationals and has 11 event titles, five of those coming from the all-around. Her other titles are on vault (1), bars (2), beam (2) and floor (1). Her efforts have been honored with two weekly awards: Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week and Pac-12 Coaches Choice of the Week. Her consistency has been next level as she has done the all-around in every meet and has scored below a 9.800 just five times and has hit 100 percent of her routines. She has 16 scores of 9.9-plus, some on each event: vault (3), bars (2), beam (6) and floor (5). On beam, she has a 9.950, the highest beam score by any Gym Devil this season.

As a team, there have been 25 event titles and 39 scores of 9.9-plus. Scharf leads the way with 16, while sophomore Emily White is next with six. White has competed in the all-around seven times this season. She has five event titles, two coming from beam and one on each vault, floor and in the all-around. After scoring a 39.600 in the all-around against UCLA, she was the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week.

The team is well-rounded, with the other top scores coming from multiple gymnasts. Freshman Alex Theodorou has been a great addition to the vault lineup, going in the anchor spot in all but one meet. She has won three event titles there and has five scores of 9.9 or better. She also has one 9.900 on floor. Another strong presence on floor has been sophomore Jada Mangahas, who has three 9.9-pluses on the event. Her 9.950 on floor is the highest score in that event by ASU this year. She also has one 9.900 on vault. 

Other event titles this season have come from seniors Jasmine Gutierrez and Megan Thompson, juniors Jordyn Jaslow and Gracie Reeves and sophomore Sarah Clark. All five of them have scored at least 9.900, with Clark scoring a 9.950 on bars, the best AUS bars mark of the year.