(Tempe, AZ) Coming from behind in the final rotation, Sun Devil Gymnastics pulled out a win in the opening round of NCAA Regionals in Desert Financial Arena over rival Arizona with a 195.425, propelling Arizona State into the second round on Thursday evening.
The Gym Devils led after the first rotation but fell behind after the second and third rotations. Down heading into floor, ASU benefitted from strong floor routines and Wildcat miscues on beam, where two gymnasts fell during their routines, to come back and secure the victory.
Arizona State will compete in the second session of the second round tomorrow at 7 p.m. MST. ASU will compete alongside No. 3 seed Florida, No. 14 seed California and Penn State. The Sun Devils will start on beam.
Notable stats
In Arizona State’s first time in the first round of regionals, the Sun Devils made it to the second round. In the current format, ASU has advanced rounds in four seasons. Three times, the Sun Devils have advanced to regional finals.
Arizona State had two individuals earn the highest scores across two events, as juniors Halle Gregoire and Lilia Purler tied for the highest score on vault, with each scoring a 9.850, and Gregoire took home the top spot on floor with a 9.850.
On vault, Halle Braaflat set a season high of 9.800 while Gregoire tied her season high of 9.850.
Gregoire’s 9.850 on floor extended her 9.800-plus streak to eight meets in a row this season.
Freshman Kylee Bromley was the only Sun Devil to compete in the all-around, putting up her highest score of the day, a 9.825, on floor.
Final results
- Arizona State, 195.425
- Arizona, 194.900
Rotation one: vault, 49.050
The Gym Devils started off the day strong with a 49.050 on vault, leading the Wildcats after the first rotation. Both Halles put up strong events, with Braaflat scoring a season high 9.800, and Gregoire tying her season high with a 9.850. Purler also scored a 9.850 on her stuck vault. The other counted scores were between 9.750 and 9.800.
Rotation two: bars, 48.550
Bromley’s 9.800 was the highest score of the event for the Sun Devils. Reese Grolla and Gregoire each put up 9.750s to help the Devils stay ahead, but the other two scores that counted being 9.650 and below hurt the Gym Devils heading into the back half of the meet.
Rotation three: beam, 48.925
Scores of 9.825 for Kayla Lee and Safia El Mammann were important in helping the Sun Devils close the gap between them and the Wildcasts leading up to the last event. Grolla and Isabella Kowan also put up strong beam scores, with a 9.800 and a 9.750 respectively.
Rotation four: floor, 48.900
A big floor rotation from the Sun Devils propelled the squad to victory, as Gregoire’s 9.850 headlined the scores. Bromley put up a 9.825, and Lee and Purler each scored a 9.800 to secure the Sun Devil victory.
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Santos
Opening statement:
“We just advanced in the NCAA tournament so I’m thrilled. I’m so happy for the team. I’m so happy for them. They fought really hard to keep things moving and to keep it going. We just got to knock out our in-state rival out of the tournament so it feels good, feels great.”
On the mentality of today’s performance:
“We go into every meet, obviously, with the goal of coming out on top. You come out of every meet assessing what went well, what doesn’t go well, where do we still need to work. There’s been a lot of growth with this group. Mentally, earlier in the season, I don’t know if they would have bounced back from that bar rotation and they at least had enough answers today. That was one of the big things we talked about. There was going to be stuff that happened today, and we have to have an answer for it. Just continuing to fight, continuing to remember, it’s one thing at a time, even if we’re down, you never know what might happen. We’ve just worked really, really hard. I’m proud of where we’re at and we’ve got a lot more to give still. We need a much cleaner meet, and not too many big mistakes.”
On the quick turnaround to round two tomorrow night:
“Everything they can do to recover and sleep and just get their bodies feeling as strong as they possibly can to do this turnaround is what we will do. It’s a challenge, I’m not going to lie, it’s a pounding and punishing sport. It’s just all about recovery, getting home, getting off their feet, resting. We’ll be back after the treatment tonight, tomorrow, everything. We are going to do everything they possibly can to rest and get rid of the soreness.”
Up next
The Sun Devils will advance to the second round of NCAA Regionals, facing No. 3 Florida, No. 14 California and Penn State at 7 p.m. MST back at Desert Financial Arena tomorrow evening. The top two teams from that quad meet will advance to regional finals on Saturday. Fans can watch on ESPN+.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Brooklyn Cohen
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