ASU gymnastics opened the season and gave fans a preview Friday night at the annual Maroon and Gold intrasquad meet at Desert Financial Arena. Maroon took a close win over Gold with a score of 155.200-155.175.
Gold took an early lead after the first rotation, leading Maroon 39.000-38.400. Gold held onto the lead through the second rotation, but Maroon took over after the third rotation with a score of 116.450-116.250 and held on to secure the win.
Junior All-American Hannah Scharf picked up right where she left off last season with a 9.825 on bars in the first rotation for Gold. Scharf found success on vault as well, scoring a 9.825.
Sophomore Jada Mangahas secured a 9.875 on vault for Gold to keep that team ahead through the second rotation.
Senior Megan Thompson started on beam for Gold and secured a 9.750, but it wasn't enough to put the team ahead of Maroon in the fourth rotation.
Alex Theodorou had a strong showing as a freshman, leading Maroon to the win over Gold. Theodorou started the night out with a 9.875 on vault to get Maroon rolling. Theodorou continued to dominate with a 9.825 on beam before securing the highest floor score of the night with a 9.850.
Maroon's performance on beam gave the team the boost it needed to climb ahead of Gold, with another 9.825 coming from sophomore Emily White.
Sophomore Sarah Clark impressed on bars with a 9.825 and a perfect stick to bring Maroon within one point of Gold through the second rotation.
With a stacked schedule ahead, ASU facing reigning National Champion Michigan early in January, the Maroon and Gold meet provided the Sun Devils with an opportunity to fine-tune their routines before the official competition begins.
The Sun Devils are ranked No. 4 in the Pac-12 preseason poll and No. 12 in the WCGA preseason poll. ASU will host No. 13 Kentucky on Jan. 5 at Desert Financial Arena at 7 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at kfield4@asu.edu and follow @kathrynfield_ on Twitter
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Kathryn Field is a sports editor at The State Press. Kathryn has previously worked as a full time reporter at The State Press, covering women’s basketball and lacrosse.
