Uninspiring season closes with zero national berths

 by Sarah McLellan
 published on Monday, April 14, 2008

During his 28-year tenure with the ASU gymnastics team, coach John Spini has established a tradition of national recognition.

His Sun Devils have made 20 trips to the NCAA Championship meet, with his team finishing in the top 10 a remarkable 19 times.

So when the No. 19 Sun Devils failed to send even one gymnast to this year's national competition, it hurt.

"That's a gut check right there," Spini said. "That's something that bothers me."

ASU finished sixth at the South Central Regional Saturday in Norman, Okla., with a team score of 193.2, completing a season plagued by a depleted roster.

"We just didn't have enough bodies," Spini said, summing up the meet and highlighting the theme of the season.

The Sun Devils began the competition in what is usually their strongest event, beam, but ended up tallying their lowest beam score of the season, 47.975. Junior Ashlee Hinkle and sophomore Kaitlynn Bormann both had scores of 9.75, but junior Tiana Jean had her first fall of the season on the apparatus and earned a 9.2.

ASU rebounded in the floor exercise as Hinkle and freshmen Beaté Jones and Brittany Schuett compiled scores of 9.8 to give the Sun Devils an overall tally of 48.7.

The team earned the same score on vault as Jones and Hinkle continued to be leaders in the event with scores of 9.825 and 9.8, respectively.

"It's a disappointing year for me," Spini said. "Being here 28 years, I'm not used to being this way. It's just hard for me to comprehend not being a top team."

And that starts with adding healthy and capable athletes to next year's roster, Spini explained.

"We're in a building mode," he said. "Recruiting is the focus of what we're doing here."

Targeting "healthy athletes that can stay healthy" is of prime importance to Spini in order to return the program to its previous elite status. So is adding athletes specialized to certain events.

"I have to get a bar athlete," he said. "I have to get some talented people in here to coach."

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@asu.edu.