John Spini, ASU's senior head coach in his 25th year, annually looks upon his senior class to provide leadership. To improve on his 10-6 dual meet record and ninth--place finish at the NCAA Championships last year, he will do so by looking to this senior class of one, Kari Muth of Mesa.

"Kari's my lone senior," says Spini. "I haven't had a single senior in many years. I opted not to have a co-captain this year because Kari, academically and team-wise, can carry this team even when she's not on an event. Just by her presence she can get teammates to perform and they respect her."

The veteran head coach also will look to two juniors, one a national champion, for leadership and stability. All-arounder Ashley Kelly, the reigning national champion on balance beam, and Lauren Powell, a hopeful participant in four events, will be key components in Spini's plan. Kelly, of York, Pa., is a returning first-team All-American on beam and in the all-around and a second-teamer on vault and floor.

"I think she's going to challenge for an all-around national championship, " says Spini. "Ashley is not only a leader in what she says, but she's a national leader by what she does. She's a national champion so every time she walks out on the floor she's got higher expectations. She's the type of athlete who can handle high expectations."

"Lauren will outwork almost anybody on the team except for maybe my senior, Kari Muth," says Spini of Powell. "Lauren is a great athlete. She's someone I'm really going to push a bit more."

The Sun Devils have four sophomores who will be looked upon for contribution in April Boone, Donna Chance, Cassandra Jusino and Lisa Lanza. Jusino, of Gresham, Ore., turned in a nice freshman campaign last year, scoring a perfect 10.0 on vault (vs. Arizona) and competing solidly in the all-around competition.

"Cassandra is so dynamic and explosive," says Spini. "She is going to be a big scorer for us every time she walks on the floor and does her job. We counted on her a lot last year."

Boone and Chance will be keys to ASU's success in 2005. Boone set personal bests of 9.9 on vault and uneven bars and 9.925 on floor last year as a freshman while Chance will be crucial on ASU's vault team.

"I think April Boone is going to work all-around for us," Spini says. "She's really dynamic and a very powerful tumbler. Every time I look at April I see pure talent. She is a true athlete. I think that with a year of experience under her belt she will be just amazing."

Spini added, "I think Donna will vault for us. I'm hoping she's healthy (lower back) enough to vault. She does a vault that starts at a 10.0 and that's going to be her main focus. We need her to stabilize that event for us."

Lanza watched last year as her teammates finished ninth nationally, and she is anxious to contribute on bars and beam. "We really need Lisa to help us in two events."

Spini and staff are also anxious to see the three freshmen they have recruited to campus in Josie Hancock (Mesa), Taryn Shockley (Reno, Nev.) and Karissa Vossler (Sparks, Nev.), although Vossler was injured just prior to this writing and may miss the entire 2005 season.

"I want Josie to work in three events for us," says Spini. "Josie has a beautiful style to her gymnastics and is very fun to watch. It's very critical that we get her on the vault team. I think Taryn is very capable of doing well on floor for us. I look for her to mature into a better gymnast as the years go on. She's got good skills, but she's got to get physically stronger and mentally tougher to do more events. Spini also wants the freshman trio to learn leadership skills.

The Sun Devils will be attempting to replace eight routines lost from last year: four events that last year belonged to Maggie Germaine, one that belonged to Jada Cox, two that belonged to Carla DeMartini and one that was Amber Giorgianni's. All were seniors.

"I think we will be as good or better than last year," says the coach. "But if someone gets injured we could be in trouble. If a vaulter goes down we are in big trouble. We need to be in tremendous physical condition."

Vault
Kelly, who recorded two 10.0's on vault last year, returns to lead this event. She posted six of the top nine vault scores of the 2004 season for the Devils. Jusino scored a 10.0 and a 9.9 on vault last year, but needs to be more consistent on the event. April Boone posted a 9.9 last year while sophomore Donna Chance will be a key on vault in 2005. Don't be surprised if Muth makes this lineup as well. Lauren Powell will also make vault lineup this season.

Uneven Bars
Ashley Kelly tallied six of the top 12 bars scores of last season, including two 9.95's. "Ashley has changed her bars routine a bit," says Spini. "She's done some unique things on bars." Bars will be one of Muth's strengths and ASU will look for her leadership there. Jusino recorded four bars routines of 9.9 or better last year, including a team-best 9.95 against Minnesota. Powell is key for ASU on bars and looks to be more consistent. April Boone rounds out the bars lineup with a high difficulty level on her routine. Lisa Lanza will help on bars.

Balance Beam
The Sun Devils return six of the top seven beam scores of last year in Muth and Kelly. Both Muth and Kelly (two) posted perfect 10.0's last year while Kelly added a 9.975 and two 9.95's on the apparatus. Beam is where ASU had its finest moment last year when Kelly won the national title at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. Her score of 9.95 easily outdistanced the rest of the field. Kelly became the fourth national champion on beam for ASU and its 10th individual national champion overall. "I look for April Boone to be on the beam for us this year," says Spini. "I like her dismount. She could help stabalize this event for us." Jusino's best on beam last year was a 9.9. Powell, who scored a career-best 9.9 on beam last year, Lanza and Hancock could help on this event as well.

Floor Exercise
Senior Kari Muth will be a force on the floor after collecting one of six perfect 10.0's in 2004. "Kari's really going to help us on th floor this year," says Spini. There will be some things we will try to do to improve her tumbling and if that happens I think it will be a major event for her this year. We want to improve on some harder skills. Her dance is good enough, but I'm going to ask more from her." Kelly posted one of those 10.0's last year and added a 9.975 as well. "I look for her to be stronger in her tumbling," says Spini. "We know she's improved her first pass. We will try to put in some of the bigger tricks."

Sophomore Cassandra Jusino returns with nice skills on the floor. She posted three scores of 9.95 a year ago. "We will try to increase her skill level in this area," says Spini.

Lauren Powell, who scored a couple of 9.925's in 2004, and April Boone will add depth to the floor exercise for ASU.

Freshmen Taryn Shockley and Josie Hancock round out the lineup for the floor. Spini is anxious to get started and see what they can contribute.

All Arounders
The Sun Devil coaching staff is counting upon four student-athletes competing in the all-around competition in meets this year. The veterans are Kelly and Jusino, although Jusino is just a sophomore. The other two are sophomore April Boone and junior Lauren Powell. Neither Boone or Powell competed last year in the all-around. "I'm looking at four, maybe five athletes to step up in the all-around," says Spini. "That's really important." If Muth makes the vault lineup she will also be an all-arounder.

Last year, Kelly posted the top two all-around scores of the campaign, including a school record 39.875 and 39.85. In fact, Kelly recorded 11 scores of 39.5 or higher.

Jusino contributed a 39.625 and a 39.45 in her debut season.

The Devils lose the services of graduated Maggie Germaine, who was a prolific all-around performer. They hope Boone and Powell will step up.

The Coaching Staff
Spini, himself in his 25th year, has a tremendous staff alongside of Associate Head Coach Shelly Eaton and Assistant Coach Bruce McGehee. "I'm really proud of my staff," says Spini. "I upgraded Shelly to Associate Head Coach this year. She does a tremendous job with the floor and the balance beam. I think she is one of the best choreographers in the country. I can name the top five and she is one of them. I've been very lucky to have had Kristin Smyth (now head coach at Stanford) and Shelly." "I think Bruce has really developed into a great coach." Spini adds. "I depend on him a lot. Last year we got so much better on bars than the year before and each year we are getting better. We are paying more attention to the little things, the half handstands, the technique of what they are doing, the rhythm of the swing and getting us where we want to go. I really feel Bruce is a tremendous asset to this program because of his personality and his charisma with the girls."

The Schedule
The Sun Devils open the 2005 campaign in Maui, Hawaii at the Maui Invitational on January 7. Then they get right into Pacific-10 Conference competition by hosting the home opener on January 14 with the University of Washington. After a meet against in-state rival Arizona in Tucson, the Sun Devils host defending national champion UCLA in Wells Fargo Arena on January 28. After two Pac-10 meets (at Oregon State and at home versus California), ASU hosts the UNO's Classic on February 18 with Air Force and Sacramento State. The Sun Devils round out the regular season with meets versus Stanford (Feb. 25), Penn State (March 4), Minnesota (March 12) and Utah (March 18). The Pac-10 Championships (March 26) follow. "We go away against Utah and that's a good scoring meet," says Spini. "We have Oregon State away and that's another good scoring meet. This is the year that we can be ranked early Top 10 or top five if we do our job. If we get a little momentum going into regionals we could be top two. The schedule is to our advantage. The Pac-10 Conference is tough, very tough."

The Facility
The gymnastics program at ASU is getting a new practice facility which will be finished sometime in 2005. It is being built next to a new wrestling practice facility adjacent to the Farrington Softball Stadium. It will feature all of the practice areas, pits and runways that are needed for a perennial Top 10 team. It also features coaches offices and sports medicine areas. "I would like to thank Director of Athletics Gene Smith and Dave Benedict for all of their hard work," says Spini. "I would also like to give thanks to an anonymous donor for his generous donation."