TEMPE – Behind big scores from the three fifth years, No. 25 Sun Devil Gymnastics ended the meet strong to get the win over West Virginia, 196.225 to 195.825, in the final home meet of the season on Friday night at Desert Financial Arena.
Notable Stats
Final Results
The Sun Devils started strong, posting a season-best 49.100 score on vault. Led by Mangahas, who scored 9.875, three other Gym Devils posted a score over 9.800. White came in second on vault with a 9.850. Halle Braaflat and Smith both scored a 9.800 to add to the total.
Rotation Two: Bars, 49.450
Moving right along, the Sun Devils took it to the next level by recording another season high with a 49.450 on bars. Three gymnasts reeled scores over 9.900. White tied her career high, posting a team-leading 9.950, which is also her season high. Clark recorded an impressive follow-up, earning a 9.925, to close out the lineup. Mangahas recorded a season-high 9.900. Smith also notched a career high, 9.875, alongside Lee and Platkin, who both had 9.800s, career highs for both.
Rotation Three: Beam 48.325
The Sun Devils took a hit on beam, having to count a fall in the lineup. Clark and White led the group, scoring 9.850 and 9.825, respectively. Next highest came from Lee and Smith, both of whom scored a 9.775.
Rotation Four: Floor 49.350
In the final rotation, White showed off on floor, closing out the event with a career-tying high of 9.950. Smith brought in an impressive 9.000 score, which ties her season high. Clark and Lee both put on a season-high performance, putting up a 9.875 and 9.800, respectively. Lee matched her season best and Lilia Purler also posted a 9.825.
Up Next
Arizona State is on the road for four-straight meets to end the regular season, starting with a trip to BYU next Friday.
Arizona State Head Coach Jay Santos
Opening Statement:
"Obviously, with senior night, celebrating with them, there's lots of emotions, just thinking of life without them and things like that moving through my head. But it was nice that we were able to get the win. We started the meet really great, vault was going really well; we went to bars and that went really well. We let it get away from us on beam again, so definitely more than a little disappointed in that. We have got to figure out how we're cleaning that up and how we're finding clean lineups over there. And then I came together and told them, 'You gave it away on beam, now you've got to go find a way to go win it on floor. Go figure it out and go find a way to win.' They obviously responded; it was a much stronger rotation than last week. So I'm happy about that, happy to get the win. It's a conference win – always matters. We missed out on a big score tonight, that's disappointing and we've got to keep figuring out how to clean up those lineups."
On what strengths he wants his team to bring with them going forward:
"We've got to find some resilience so that we can handle some of the mistakes and be able to move on from them, bounce back, and not compound them and make them bigger. Obviously, we want complete laps, we don't want to see any falls at all, but if we do have a fall we have to be able to handle it. We can't count another one. So we've got to find some resilience in that way. We've got to find probably a little bit more confidence in a couple of those moments, be able to trust themselves and their training."
On what he has seen from the senior class this season:
"Great leadership. They're calm when they need to be, they're fired up when they need to be, and they're trying to show these younger kids how to prepare, how to go about doing it and how to handle the moments. It's not always perfect. There's bumps in the road, there's going to be mistakes, but you still need to go out and deliver and figure out how to worry about yourself in that moment and not about the situation. I think they give us great leadership. That's probably the biggest thing that I would say I latch onto right now."
Graduate Sarah Clark
On finishing the meet off strong on floor:
"We kind of got in the circle together and Jay told us that we need to go finish this meet and we need to go find a way to win because tonight's a special night for all of us. And we wanted to win that meet for us, for the seniors, for the team. So we were going into that rotation very motivated. We knew what we needed to do and we accomplished it."
On what she will take away from her time at ASU:
"One thing being a college gymnast has shown me is that I have developed a lot of grit and obviously in gymnastics you have ups and downs. You'll fall on one event and then you have to fight through it and you have to get up and hit your next event during practice. Every practice isn't going to be easy. We've had such hard days with cardio and conditioning and falls and tears and all of it. So I think I've just really learned how to push through things because obviously in life, not everything is going to go your way and it's going to be perfect. And I know with all of our future careers, we have more schooling. It's not going to be easy. So I really just learned how to use grit and I've just grown as a person so much in that way."
Graduate Emily White
On getting a 9.950 on bars and floor:
"It feels great. Bars was one of the routines where before I went up and was a little nervous. I just took a deep breath and was like, I'm just going to have fun with this. It's my last bar routine here in this arena and it just felt amazing to nail that routine and stick that dismount and just have everyone there beside me. It just feels amazing. And I think being a senior, I definitely contributed to that because I was definitely feeling the love for my teammates and from the crowd as well. They were great tonight, so I think that contributed to those performances."
On the outlook for next season:
"Jay does a great job with working with athletes and helping them find their potential in college. Like for me, I never thought I would do a yurchenko full ever in college and somehow I've done it all four years. So I think that's just a testament to how great of a coach he is and I think he's definitely gonna help those girls continue to find their spot and the new newcomers coming in as well. There was so much improvement already this year and so many people have stepped up, so I think they're gonna keep doing that. And I'm going to be their biggest fan."
Graduate Jada Mangahas
On their last meet in Desert Financial Arena:
"I'm Definitely really sad because it's our last time in this arena and this arena has had a lot of good memories with a lot of good people. Definitely sad and happy tears because we did so great tonight and we were able to take it all in. But I think the emotions are definitely up and down and we still have a lot of season left. So it's kind of one of those things that feels like the end but it's really not the end."
On looking ahead towards the quad meets and Big 12 tournament:
"I feel like it's kind of just finding our rhythm because I feel in a few meets we had really good rhythm and we were kind of feeding off the energy from the meet before. And I think now we had a little bit of an off meet, especially for beam. And I think it's just finding our rhythm again, finding those little parts on beam that maybe weren't clicking at this meet. And just focusing on that during practice and really working on that, and same as the other events. Even though they went so well today, it doesn't mean we all have things to work on. So I feel like just going into the gym, figuring out what we need mentally and physically to get beam to click again and just go from there."
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (7-5, 2-2 Big 12) trailed after the third rotation but put together a big floor lineup to beat West Virginia (1-8, 0-5 Big 12).
- The 49.450 on bars was the highest event total of the season for the Gym Devils. Additionally, the 49.350 on floor was the best floor score of the year.
- This is the third-straight team score of 196.000 or better this season.
- Graduate Emily White had a shining performance in her last time competing at Desert Financial Arena. She scored two 9.950s, one on bars and one on floor, tying her career highs on both of those events and winning the event titles. For her floor score, she earned a 10 from one judge. She also notched a 39.575 in the all-around to win that title, a new season high.
- The two other fifth years won event titles as well. Jada Mangahas won on vault with a 9.875 and Sarah Clark took the beam title with a 9.850. The two had strong performances on bars as well, with Mangahas earning a season-high 9.900 and Clark matched her season best with a 9.925.
- Junior Kimberly Smith had a career-high in the all-around with a 39.350. She set a new career high on bars as well with a 9.875. On floor, she notched a 9.900, her second of the season and third in her career.
- On bars, freshman Tiara Platkin and junior Kayla Lee both hit 9.800s, which are career bests for both of them on that event.
- Following the meet, the seniors Alex Theodorou and Jenna Blair and the three fifth years Clark, Mangahas and White were honored.
Final Results
- Arizona State, 196.225
- West Virginia, 195.825
Sun Devils for life ??#GymDevils /// #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/7XSFWFOypo
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) February 22, 2025
The Sun Devils started strong, posting a season-best 49.100 score on vault. Led by Mangahas, who scored 9.875, three other Gym Devils posted a score over 9.800. White came in second on vault with a 9.850. Halle Braaflat and Smith both scored a 9.800 to add to the total.
Rotation Two: Bars, 49.450
Moving right along, the Sun Devils took it to the next level by recording another season high with a 49.450 on bars. Three gymnasts reeled scores over 9.900. White tied her career high, posting a team-leading 9.950, which is also her season high. Clark recorded an impressive follow-up, earning a 9.925, to close out the lineup. Mangahas recorded a season-high 9.900. Smith also notched a career high, 9.875, alongside Lee and Platkin, who both had 9.800s, career highs for both.
9??.9??5??0?? EMILY WHITE!!!!
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) February 22, 2025
This is the highest individual score across all events for the team this season! ??#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/EGJ3AB8zgp
Rotation Three: Beam 48.325
The Sun Devils took a hit on beam, having to count a fall in the lineup. Clark and White led the group, scoring 9.850 and 9.825, respectively. Next highest came from Lee and Smith, both of whom scored a 9.775.
Rotation Four: Floor 49.350
In the final rotation, White showed off on floor, closing out the event with a career-tying high of 9.950. Smith brought in an impressive 9.000 score, which ties her season high. Clark and Lee both put on a season-high performance, putting up a 9.875 and 9.800, respectively. Lee matched her season best and Lilia Purler also posted a 9.825.
9??.9??0??0?? for @Kimberlyyysmith!!#ForksUp pic.twitter.com/WQMBFLiNau
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) February 22, 2025
Up Next
Arizona State is on the road for four-straight meets to end the regular season, starting with a trip to BYU next Friday.
Arizona State Head Coach Jay Santos
Opening Statement:
"Obviously, with senior night, celebrating with them, there's lots of emotions, just thinking of life without them and things like that moving through my head. But it was nice that we were able to get the win. We started the meet really great, vault was going really well; we went to bars and that went really well. We let it get away from us on beam again, so definitely more than a little disappointed in that. We have got to figure out how we're cleaning that up and how we're finding clean lineups over there. And then I came together and told them, 'You gave it away on beam, now you've got to go find a way to go win it on floor. Go figure it out and go find a way to win.' They obviously responded; it was a much stronger rotation than last week. So I'm happy about that, happy to get the win. It's a conference win – always matters. We missed out on a big score tonight, that's disappointing and we've got to keep figuring out how to clean up those lineups."
On what strengths he wants his team to bring with them going forward:
"We've got to find some resilience so that we can handle some of the mistakes and be able to move on from them, bounce back, and not compound them and make them bigger. Obviously, we want complete laps, we don't want to see any falls at all, but if we do have a fall we have to be able to handle it. We can't count another one. So we've got to find some resilience in that way. We've got to find probably a little bit more confidence in a couple of those moments, be able to trust themselves and their training."
On what he has seen from the senior class this season:
"Great leadership. They're calm when they need to be, they're fired up when they need to be, and they're trying to show these younger kids how to prepare, how to go about doing it and how to handle the moments. It's not always perfect. There's bumps in the road, there's going to be mistakes, but you still need to go out and deliver and figure out how to worry about yourself in that moment and not about the situation. I think they give us great leadership. That's probably the biggest thing that I would say I latch onto right now."
Graduate Sarah Clark
On finishing the meet off strong on floor:
"We kind of got in the circle together and Jay told us that we need to go finish this meet and we need to go find a way to win because tonight's a special night for all of us. And we wanted to win that meet for us, for the seniors, for the team. So we were going into that rotation very motivated. We knew what we needed to do and we accomplished it."
On what she will take away from her time at ASU:
"One thing being a college gymnast has shown me is that I have developed a lot of grit and obviously in gymnastics you have ups and downs. You'll fall on one event and then you have to fight through it and you have to get up and hit your next event during practice. Every practice isn't going to be easy. We've had such hard days with cardio and conditioning and falls and tears and all of it. So I think I've just really learned how to push through things because obviously in life, not everything is going to go your way and it's going to be perfect. And I know with all of our future careers, we have more schooling. It's not going to be easy. So I really just learned how to use grit and I've just grown as a person so much in that way."
Graduate Emily White
On getting a 9.950 on bars and floor:
"It feels great. Bars was one of the routines where before I went up and was a little nervous. I just took a deep breath and was like, I'm just going to have fun with this. It's my last bar routine here in this arena and it just felt amazing to nail that routine and stick that dismount and just have everyone there beside me. It just feels amazing. And I think being a senior, I definitely contributed to that because I was definitely feeling the love for my teammates and from the crowd as well. They were great tonight, so I think that contributed to those performances."
On the outlook for next season:
"Jay does a great job with working with athletes and helping them find their potential in college. Like for me, I never thought I would do a yurchenko full ever in college and somehow I've done it all four years. So I think that's just a testament to how great of a coach he is and I think he's definitely gonna help those girls continue to find their spot and the new newcomers coming in as well. There was so much improvement already this year and so many people have stepped up, so I think they're gonna keep doing that. And I'm going to be their biggest fan."
Graduate Jada Mangahas
On their last meet in Desert Financial Arena:
"I'm Definitely really sad because it's our last time in this arena and this arena has had a lot of good memories with a lot of good people. Definitely sad and happy tears because we did so great tonight and we were able to take it all in. But I think the emotions are definitely up and down and we still have a lot of season left. So it's kind of one of those things that feels like the end but it's really not the end."
On looking ahead towards the quad meets and Big 12 tournament:
"I feel like it's kind of just finding our rhythm because I feel in a few meets we had really good rhythm and we were kind of feeding off the energy from the meet before. And I think now we had a little bit of an off meet, especially for beam. And I think it's just finding our rhythm again, finding those little parts on beam that maybe weren't clicking at this meet. And just focusing on that during practice and really working on that, and same as the other events. Even though they went so well today, it doesn't mean we all have things to work on. So I feel like just going into the gym, figuring out what we need mentally and physically to get beam to click again and just go from there."