Sept. 24, 2012

By Amanda Pflugrad, Fox Sports Arizona

The John Spini Practice Facility is back in action for the 2013 ASU Gymnastics season. The gymnasts have not only begun their classes and fall practices but Media Day officially marked the start of the season.  

For Media Day the gymnasts let their hair down and instead of flipping on the equipment, they flipped for the camera instead. The afternoon entailed headshots, glamour photos, team shots and the attention-grabbing blackout photo.  During this particular shoot, I think I saw more gymnasts photographed while in mid-air than on the ground.

Assistant coach Kari Ward, who served as the Creative Director for the shoot, explained the importance of Media Day and having the team photos taken.

"I remember being a little girl and wanting to do gymnastics in college and putting the ASU gymnastics team poster on my wall," Ward said. "We want to be able to provide that to children and it's a huge part of our program to get the girls out in the community."

This season, ASU gymnastics will have a different tone compared to the previous year. Last season the lineup consisted of seven seniors but this year the roster is made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores. Coach Ward assured me that even with a young team the future is bright with the high-achieving gymnasts the Sun Devils brought in.

"From day one, the second we opened the gym the excitement and the energy from the girls was amazing," Ward said. "I am looking forward to this year, especially with all the talent that we have."