ASU Sun Devils mop up USU gymnastics
Senior Rebecca Holliday was the gymnast of the meet, but her performance wasn’t enough to help the Utah State gymnastics team to a win over Arizona State on Friday.
USU finished with an overall score of 192.575, while the Sun Devils finished with a total of 194.600.
Holliday, a senior from Orange, Calif., scored a combined 29.375 in her three events.
“I was really focused and worked my butt off — it all paid off mentally,” Holliday said. “I’m at that point in the game where my body knows how to do it, I just have to focus.”
Holliday has had an interesting journey with college gymnastics, according to coach Jeff Richards, who said she had mononucleosis her freshman year, a bruised heel sophomore year and fell on her head during her floor routine last year.
“It’s great to really see her pull it together,” Richards said. “She really is a great athlete and a great gymnast. And it’s not just with the sport — her life is really coming together.”
Though Holliday’s performance averaged higher than in previous meets, the team’s overall performance was not the best, Richards said.
“It was not a great meet but was not bad either,” Richards said. “I told them afterwards that we are going to have good and bad meets. It’s all about what you do with the bad when you get back at the gym.”
Richards said the Aggies had a great week of practice, but each event seemed to have a weak spot and for this meet “it was time for bars,” he said.
Paige Jones, one of the Aggie’s all-arounders, with an overall score of 97.400, fell once from the uneven bars and had to remount to finish her routine.
Despite the falls, many Aggie gymnasts hit their personal high scores.
Holliday tied her high score of 9.8 on the floor. Sarah Landes and Amelia Montoya both tied their high scores on the vault of 9.725 and 9.8, respectively. Susie Miller earned a new high score of 9.775 on the floor.
The Sun Devils hadn’t visited the Spectrum since 2002 when they won a tri-meet over both USU and Southern Utah. It was also the first time the Aggies faced the Sun Devils since 2004, when they competed in a quad-meet hosted by California in Berkley, Calif.
“It really doesn’t matter what’s going on with them,” Holliday said of the opposition. “It’s about you — the other team doesn’t affect us at all.”
ASU’s top performer was all-arounder Beate Jones with an overall score of 39.175, followed by ASU’s other all-arounder Samantha Seaman at 39.075.
The Aggies will compete in the third part of their four-meet home stand against San Jose State on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Spectrum.
– mandy.m.morgan@aggiemail.usu.edu