# #

NCAA Regionals This Week For No. 16 Gym Devils

by thesundevils.com
Mar 29, 2022

TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 16 Sun Devil Gymnastics is set to compete in the NCAA Regionals in Norman, Oklahoma on Thursday, starting in the second session of the second round on Thursday, March 31, at 5 p.m. MST on ESPN+.

NCAA Regionals 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 earned a 16 seed and are 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.
  • In the regular season, Arizona State has seen four competing in this regional. ASU beat Arizona on the road in Tucson and beat Cal and Boise State at home. Arizona State came up short to Oklahoma in the home finale. 
  • The meets at the Norman Regional will be held in the Lloyd Noble Center, the home of the Sooners. This will be a homecoming of sorts for ASU assistant coach Kristin White, who competed for the Sooners from 2007-10.
  • 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 14-16 in Fort Worth, Texas. More information can be found on the NCAA's website.

How to Follow
All three days of regionals will be televised on ESPN+. Alex Perlman and Sam Peszek will serve as the Norman NCAA Regional commentators. Tickets and more information on the Norman regional can be found on Oklahoma's website.

Sun Devil Outlook
No. 16 Arizona State (6-4, 5-2 Pac-12)
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.

A couple Gym Devils earned awards last week. Junior Hannah Scharf was named a WCGA Regular Season All-American in the all-around on the second team. She also earned All-Pac-12 honors, making the all-around first team. Additionally, freshman Alex Theodorou also earned conference honors, making the All-Pac-12 Vault First Team. 
 
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 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. 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. 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.

Related News & Videos