University of Washington
Arizona State
Brilliant Beam Effort Topples GymDawgs
March 02, 2007 | Gymnastics
March 2, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. - Washington sophomore Ashley Houghting won the vault and floor and scored a career-high 39.425 in the all-around, but Arizona State's brilliance on beam carried the Sun Devils to a 196.525-194.450 win in Tempe. The Huskies' team score was their second-highest on the road this year, and marked their third-straight meet over 194.0, something they failed to accomplish even once in 2006.
A week after posting a season-high 195.800 at home, Washington (3-6, 1-5) looked prime for an upset bid after a stellar first rotation, scoring a season-high 48.900 on bars with five scores over 9.700, including a season-best 9.850 by senior Chelsea Bakken. Houghting's winning 9.925 on vault kept the Huskies within a quarter-point heading into the third rotation, but it was there that Arizona State (2-4, 2-3) slammed the door shut.
Four Sun Devils gymnasts scored 9.90 or higher on beam - including 10.0 by senior April Boone - leading ASU to a scintillating 49.575-point score and a lead it would not relinquish. In all, ASU scored over 49.000 on three of its four rotations, and achieved six scores of 9.90 or better throughout the meet.
"It's interesting to see how much our standards have changed over the year," said first-year head coach Joanne Bowers. "A year ago, or even earlier this year, we would have been celebrating this 194.45. But now our girls aren't just satisfied with good team scores, they want to win. It's exciting to see that confidence building each week."
Even the Sun Devils' outstanding beam performance couldn't take the spotlight entirely off of Houghting, who matched career-highs on vault (9.925) and floor (9.925) and crushed her previous all-around high of 39.025 with an outstanding 39.425 score. Only Boone's heroics on beam and floor, where she shared top honors with Houghting at 9.925, kept the Husky sophomore from making it three wins on the night, as Boone edged Houghting by just three-tenths for the all-around crown.
Houghting's wins were the ninth and 10th of her 2007 season, and raised her career total to 18, just nine shy of UW's all-time top-10. Furthermore, the sophomore's vault win was the 13th of her career, moving her past All-American Klara Kudilkova into sole possession of first place on the Huskies' career vault victories list.
"We don't usually talk too much about individual accomplishments in the locker room, because we're always focused on what we're doing as a team, but we all gave Ashley a big round of applause after the meet tonight," Bowers said. "To set the school record for vault wins is a huge, huge deal, especially when you consider that she's only a sophomore. There have been so many great gymnasts who have come through this program over the years; to rank No. 1 on that list is truly a special accomplishment."
Washington will return to the road next weekend to face Minnesota, the second of six-straight road competitions for the GymDawgs. For complete results of Friday night's meet, or for more information on Washington gymnastics, visit www.gohuskies.com.
Quick Hits: Senior Chelsea Bakken earned a career-high on bars for the second-straight week ... junior Nikki Waiss scored matching 9.85s on both bars and vault, the latter a season-high ... Waiss' bars score was her third-straight over 9.85 ... in addition to her 9.925s on vault and floor, Ashley Houghting's 39.425 all-around score included a massive career-high of 9.775 on bars, more than two tenths better than her previous high of 9.525 ... Houghting has been defeated on vault just six times in 19 career competitions, and has scored at least 9.85 in each of UW's last seven meets ... sophomore Kate Boyko scored a 9.70 to tie her career-high on vault, set just last week ... senior Darcee Schiller topped 9.7 on bars for the fourth-straight meet.
Team Scores Vault Bars Beam Floor Total Washington 48.800 48.900 47.925 48.825 194.450 Arizona State 48.825 49.075 49.575 49.025 196.525Vault 1. Ashley Houghting, WASH 9.925 2. Nicole Harris, ASU 9.875 3. Nikki Waiss, WASH 9.850 4. Cassandra Jusino, ASU 9.825 5. April Boone, ASU 9.800 6. Ashlee Hinkle, ASU 9.775 7. Katie Boyko, WASH 9.700 Cassidy Lance, WASH 9.700 9. Kristen Omori, WASH 9.625 10. Kaitlynn Bormann, ASU 9.550 Vanessa Rocca, ASU 9.550 12. Natalie Gillan, WASH 9.250
Bars 1. Tiana Jean, ASU 9.875 2. Chelsea Bakken, WASH 9.850 Nikki Waiss, WASH 9.850 Nicole Harris, ASU 9.850 5. Cassandra Jusino, ASU 9.825 6. Ashley Houghting, WASH 9.775 Ashley Toner, ASU 9.775 8. April Boone, ASU 9.750 Lisa Lanza, ASU 9.750 10. Tori Quandt, WASH 9.725 11. Darcee Schiller, WASH 9.700 12. Natalie Gillan, WASH 9.125
Beam 1. April Boone, ASU 10.000 2. Cassandra Jusino, ASU 9.950 3. Ashlee Hinkle, ASU 9.900 Ashley Toner, ASU 9.900 5. Tiana Jean, ASU 9.825 6. Kristen Omori, WASH 9.800 Ashley Houghting, WASH 9.800 8. Natalie Gillan, WASH 9.775 9. Nicole Harris, ASU 9.600 10. Kelly Gilbert, WASH 9.425 11. Tori Quandt, WASH 9.125 12. Celia Short, WASH 8.150
Floor 1. Ashley Houghting, WASH 9.925 April Boone, ASU 9.925 3. Nicole Harris, ASU 9.900 4. Ashlee Hinkle, ASU 9.775 5. Kelly Gilbert, WASH 9.750 6. Natalie Gillan, WASH 9.725 Kristen Omori, WASH 9.725 Tiana Jean, ASU 9.725 9. Celia Short, WASH 9.700 Ashley Toner, ASU 9.700 11. Tori Quandt, WASH 9.625 12. Cassandra Jusino, ASU 9.375
All-Around 1. April Boone, ASU 39.475 2. Ashley Houghting, WASH 39.425 3. Nicole Harris, ASU 39.225 4. Cassandra Jusino, ASU 39.000 5. Natalie Gillan, WASH 37.875
