For ASU gymnastics, everything fell into place in Tucson on Sunday. The Sun Devils (3-8, 1-5 Pac-12) came out victorious over rival No. 25 Arizona 195.700 to 195.375 — their first victory in the Pac-12 since 2014.
ASU head coach Jay Santos and his team never trailed in the competition. After the first rotation, the Sun Devils had a comfortable lead, but the Wildcats were relentless and kept it within one point throughout the meet.
Junior transfer Nichelle Christopherson needed a solid score to put the meet out of reach of the the Wildcats and did just that, as she scored a career-high 9.900 on beam in the last individual event of the meet.
Up until Christopherson sealed the victory on beam, the Wildcats were well within range to steal the win from ASU, despite falls on multiple events.
Even a 9.900 from UA senior Kennedy Schneider on the final floor event was not enough for the Wildcats.
However stellar performances from the ASU underclassman proved pivotal in the eventual victory.
Sophomore Katelyn Lentz had an integral part of the victory, recording two career-highs and tying one in each of her three events. She scored her career-highs on beam, 9.875, and vault, 9.825.
Other notable performances were from sophomore Eileen Imbus, who scored a career-high 9.825 on uneven bars, and freshman Morgan Wilson who hit a career-high in vault and uneven bars with score of 9.850 on both events.
Chrisopherson also scored a career best 39.150 to win the all-around competition.
Nichelle Christopherson's 9.900 performance on beam scores the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! https://t.co/0y5FXHjorc
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 5, 2017
ASU will take this momentum into its final home meet of the season at Wells Fargo Arena on March 10 at 7 p.m. MST in a non-conference tri-meet.
Reach the reporter at jaramo12@asu.edu or follow @hor_hay10 on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
