The Gym Devils are taking on the NCAA Regionals after winning the first session in the Pac-12 Championships and placing fifth overall on Saturday at the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City.
The Gym Devils will be competing on March 31 in Pittsburgh against Florida, Maryland and the winner of the play-in meet between Towson and Penn State.
The teams that will compete in the NCAA Regionals were selected Monday morning. ASU got the No. 15 seed and will travel to Pittsburgh to compete on March 31 in regionals for the fifth straight season. This is the third season in a row that ASU has received a seed for NCAA Regionals.
The Gym Devils competed in the Pac-12 Championship on Saturday against Arizona, Washington and Stanford in the first session and came out on top with a total score of 196.700, the third-highest score in program history in Pac-12 championship appearances. The team's efforts, alongside their recent victories against Utah and Washington, show the strides the program has taken this season.
"Every weekend it's just getting that much more confidence … I think people are starting to see that it's not just luck. It's our hard work and talent really showing," senior Hannah Scharf said after a win against Oregon State on March 4.
Junior Emily White won the beam event title in session one with a 9.950, a career-high. White's score was good for a tie for second in the Pac-12 Championship. Junior Sarah Clark also made a strong beam performance with a 9.900, and out of all the events, only one score fell below a 9.800 for the Gym Devils.
Despite winning their session, the team placed fifth overall in the championships. Utah took the title as Pac-12 champions for the third straight season.
Scharf and White will be strong assets for the Gym Devils' success in NCAA Regionals. Scharf is ranked No. 21 in the all-around, has earned two Pac-12 weekly awards and has four scores of 9.95-plus. White has two scores of 9.95-plus and one Pac-12 weekly award.
Regionals will be tough for the team as they still look to improve their scores.
"You put it in the preparation and you hope the performance matches that," head coach Jay Santos said after the meet against OSU. "That's where a lot of the focus has been, just continuing to find little areas in each performance where we can do a little better for next week."
Edited by Kathryn Field, Reagan Priest and Caera Learmonth.
Reach the reporter at katrinamic03@gmail.com and follow @kat_m67 on Twitter.
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