Gym Devils finish eighth at Pac-12 Championships

The Arizona State women's gymnastics team finished in eighth place at the 2013 Pac-12 Championships, March 23, in Corvallis, Ore. with a score of 193.425. Host team Oregon State took home the conference gymnastics title, for the second time in three years, with a score of 197.850. 

While unable to match the recent scores the team had posted, the real highlight of the day was the Gym Devils' resiliency and short memory as they made their way to the final event of bars. Knowing the team had to finish strong, sophomore Carissa Kraus led off a streak of Sun Devil gymnasts to each tie their respective career highs on bars. Kraus scored a career-high tying 9.825, while sophomore Brianna Gades also tied her career-best 9.875. But it was grad student Kahoku Palafox who was the star of the event, not only for ASU, but also for the whole first session. Palafox performed a near-flawless routine to tie her career high of 9.900, the first 9.900 on bars all season for ASU, and good for eighth-best individually.

The Sun Devils also showed some bright moments on vault with junior Samantha Seaman and sophomore Morgan Steigerwalt's scores of 9.825 on the event. However, ASU had to count a fall and an errant landing that failed to showcase the talent the team had shown in previous competitions.

The Sun Devils competed in the first session and started the meet on beam. FreshmanStephanie Miceli started off the event scoring a team-high 9.800. Palafox added a solid score of 9.725, while sophomore Gades scored a 9.750 on beam. However, ASU also had to count a fall and the first rotation set the tone for the following two events of floor and vault.

The Gym Devils now await their postseason fate when the National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Committee announces its selections and regional destinations during the NCAA Gymnastics selection show on March 25. ASU will be one of the top-36 teams to earn a bid to regionals and will hear on Monday the location of its regional destination. NCAA Regional competition will be held at six spots around the nation on April 6.