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Moving On! No. 15 Gym Devils Advance To Regional Finals

Mar 31, 2023

PITTSBURGH – For the second time in three years, No. 15 Sun Devil Gymnastics advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals after placing second in the second round of the NCAA Regionals with a 197.525 on Friday at the Petersen Events Center.

Notable Stats

  • Arizona State moves on to regional finals this Sunday for the second time since the new postseason format began in 2019, last advancing to regional finals in 2021. ASU finished in second place behind No. 2 Florida (197.875) and beat Penn State (196.825) and Maryland (196.675). 
  • This was the highest score in Gym Devils history in the regionals round, second-highest postseason score ever (197.600 at regional finals in 2021).
  • The 197.525 is the third highest score of the season for the Gym Devils, second time recording scores of 49.400+ in three events.
  • Between the two sessions of the second round at the Pittsburgh Regional, Arizona State had the second-highest score behind Florida. 
  • The two Sun Devil all-arounders of senior Hannah Scharf and junior Emily White brought their A game to postseason. White finished third in the all-around with a 39.550, a new season high for her. Scharf finished with a 39.625, second in the session and her fourth all-around total of 39.625+ this season.
  • Scharf had a stellar meet. She took home the beam event title with a 9.950, matching her career high and hitting a new season high. With a 9.925 on floor, she scored her eighth score of 9.9-plus on that event, including seven of the last eight routines. She also notched a 9.900 on bars, her third score of 9.9-plus this season there. 
  • In her best all-around outing of the year, White tied a career high on bars with a 9.925, which is a season best for her. On beam, she hit a 9.925 again, her sixth score of 9.9-plus this season, fourth in her last five routines. She also scored well on floor, notching a 9.900.
  • Junior Sarah Clark scored well in her three events. She tied her season high on floor with a 9.875. She also tied a season high on beam with a 9.900. On bars where she is the anchor, she scored a 9.925. 
  • The beam squad brought it, scoring a new season high of 49.475. The back half of the lineup all scored a 9.9-plus: Clark with a 9.900, White with a 9.925 and Scharf with a 9.950.
  • Junior Jada Mangahas tied her vault season high, with a 9.875.
  • A few streaks were extended in this meet. ASU has had nine-straight meets with 49.000 on floor and vault. It also was the eighth-straight time reaching that mark on bars.


Quotes

Head Coach Jay Santos
On the team's performance

"They were on right from the start. From that first event, they came out firing. The meet was exciting. All four teams were hitting and it was tight for multiple rotations. I told our team, we didn't give an inch. Every time a team put up a score, we put one up bigger. They handled the pressure great, closed out great. All four events were awesome. I am so proud. They came out with a ton of energy, prepared and just doing great performances all night long."

On getting ready for Sunday
"We have a couple things planned for tomorrow. Not wake up too early, decompress, get our minds off it, recovery massages, other recovery we will do. Then we turn around and do it again. We will enjoy the night, then get into meet prep and do it all over again. Prove it all over again. They know how to prepare. At this point they have the preparation and know what to do."

Senior Hannah Scharf
On the night for her and the team

"It was a great meet for me, a great night for the team. I couldn't have done it without them or my coaches. We put in a lot of work in the gym this past year, and it is so nice it is starting to show."

On two great all-around performances
"It feels great, really does. I am so proud of Emily. She 100% deserves it. She puts hard work in the gym, and shows up every meet. She pushes me as well. I feel like, at least in my mind, we have a friendly competition. When I see her do something I feel like I can do it a little better."

On how the team feels going into Sunday
"We came up short last year [in regionals], so we do have bigger goals this year. This was a stepping stone for us. We wanna do big things, so this was a step for us. We feel great going into Sunday, we are all really excited. Energy is up and that is important."

Final Results

  1. Florida, 197.875
  2. Arizona State, 197.525
  3. Penn State, 196.825
  4. Maryland, 196.675

Rotation One: Floor, 49.425
The Gym Devils got off to a solid start on the floor. All ASU gymnasts put up a score of at least 9.800, starting with a 9.800 from Kayla Lee. Clark and Alex Theodorou each recorded 9.875s, both tying their season highs. With a 9.850 from Jordyn Jaslow before her, Emily White recorded a 9.900 in the fifth spot. Scharf anchored with her NCAA Regional high, breaking her old high of 9.900 in 2022 with a 9.925. 

Rotation Two: Vault, 49.225
In the second rotation of the day Arizona State built upon its solid start on the vault, kicking it off with two 9.800s from Jaslow and White. Mangahas tied her season high with a 9.875. Theodorou built on her solid first score, with a 9.900. Finally, Scharf anchored again, notching a 9.850 in that final spot.

Rotation Three: Bars, 49.400
The Gym Devils continued their momentum with three scores of 9.9-plus on bars. Cienna Samiley recorded a 9.800 in the second spot. Mangahas landed her second 9.850+ with a 9.875. The next three gymnasts all posted 9.900 or higher, with a 9.900 from Scharf to start it off. White and Clark both posted 9.925s to finish the rotation off for ASU. For White she tied her career high, breaking her season high.

Rotation Four: Beam, 49.475
Arizona State went into the final rotation in the second spot, needing to hold onto that position to advance. Reeves landed a 9.825, with a 9.875 right after her from Harper. Clark tied a season high and an NCAA Regional high with a 9.900. White clinched the second spot for the Gym Devils with a 9.925. Scharf anchored with another NCAA regional high, matching her career high with a 9.950.

Up Next
The Gym Devils will compete in the NCAA Regional Finals on Sunday, April 2, at 2 p.m. MST/5 p.m. EDT. It will be live on ESPN+. The other three teams in the finals are Florida, Cal and Michigan State.