The ASU gymnastics team lost to UA on Friday night in Tucson by the narrowest of margins.
The Sun Devils (1-5, 1-4 Pac-10) scored a season-high 195.250 in the rivalry meet, while the Wildcats put up a 195.750.
The win was UA’s third in a row.
Despite the loss, the Sun Devils’ two all-arounders, Senior Nicole Harris and Sophomore Beaté Jones placed first and second, respectively, with scores of 39.250 and 39.125.
Junior Kaitlynn Bormann once again showed poise on bars, placing first with a 9.825.
Harris tied for second, and freshman Kahoku Palafox scored a career-high with a 9.7.
After the first set, the Sun Devils held a slight lead by 0.05 points.
ASU put up a solid effort on vault after switching up the lineup. Harris, Jones and sophomore Mary Atkinson all hit 9.8, while fresh
men Kelly Reilly and Callie Price both set new personal bests with 9.725.
Freshman Stephanie Hangartner competed in the event for the first time all season and garnered a 9.725.
“The freshmen [were] spectacular in this meet,” ASU coach John Spini said. “[They] really stepped up.”
The Sun Devils performed well on the floor, a rotation the team has been solid on all season.
Harris and Jones led the way again in the event, both tying for first.
Senior captain Tiana Jean and Hangartner received 9.8, which tied career highs for both. Sophomore Brittany Schuett also competed in the event.
Heading into the final event, the two rivals were all tied up.
But the Sun Devils had two falls on beam, which effectively ended any chance of a victory. Bormann and sophomore Francesca Mercurio both tumbled and earned low scores.
Freshman Amber Hammerschmidt, Jean and Harris all tied with scores of 9.8.
“The kids that have more trouble right now are the upperclassmen,” Spini said. “We had an opportunity to beat them. We could have won or tied if those falls didn’t occur.”
The team will face Washington on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena.
“We lost two meets now on the last event,” Spini said. “We’re not ready for a Stanford or a UCLA, but we’re good. We have the talent to be a top-10 team, we just need consistency.”
Reach the reporter at kmthomp7@asu.edu.
