No. 11 Arizona State at No. 20 Stanford
Saturday, Jan. 14 | 3 p.m. MST
Live Stream: http://pac-12.com/live/stanford-university
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=stan
Gym Devils Open Pac-12 Slate at Stanford
The No. 11 Gym Devils (3-1) travel to the Bay Area, for their Pac-12 opener with No. 20 Stanford on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. MST. Arizona State's meeting with the Cardinal constitutes its fourth this season against a top-25 ranked opponent, its previous three coming against No. 15 Iowa State and No. 16 Auburn on Jan. 6 and No. 18 West Virginia on Jan. 14.
Follow Along On Social
Fans can also follow the action on Twitter @SunDevilGym and on Instagram @SunDevilGymnastics. Fans are encouraged to tweet with #SunDevilPower in support of the 2018 Gym Devils.
Through two weeks of competition Arizona State checks in at No. 11 in the Road to Nationals team standings. On an event basis the Gym Devils rank 19th on vault (48.863), 12th on bars (48.988), 22nd on beam (48.800) and 21st on floor (48.925). By virtue of their season-opening 194.674, the Gym Devils concluded Week 1 of the collegiate gymnastics season ranked at No. 14. Arizona State checked in at No. 31 in the NACGC/W preseason coaches poll released in December, jumping 10 slots from its 2017 postseason ranking of No. 41. The 10-spot move constituted the most significant rise in the rankings over that span. Collectively, the Pac-12 Conference proved well-represented in the rankings as six of its eight programs appear within the Top-25. Arizona State was selected to finish eighth in the preseason Pac-12 women's gymnastics poll. Reigning conference champion UCLA tops the league list, announced in mid-December.
Last Time Out
In its first road test of the 2018 campaign, the No. 14 Arizona State women's gymnastics team (3-1) earned its third victory over a ranked opponent, defeating No. 16 West Virginia, 196.475-195.875. The team's 196.475 effort constituted the program's best team tally since March 2, 2007, when the Gym Devils recorded a 196.525 in a victory over Washington in Tempe. It also accounts for the 26th best team total in Gym Devil history. Recording event scores of 49.000, 49.125, 49.225, 49.125 on vault, bars, beam and floor, respectively, Arizona State surpassed the 49+ cumulative tally in each event for the first time since their 2007 appearance in the North Central Regional at Iowa State University. Buoying the Arizona State effort, true freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker was crowned the meet all-around champion, finishing at a cumulative count of 39.425. Leonard-Baker also earned titles on bars and floor, while sophomore Ashley Szafranski followed suit on beam.
Season Prospectus
Announced in October, Arizona State's gauntlet of a 2018 slate sees the Gym Devils take on five programs — Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, Denver and Oregon State — who all advanced to compete in the 2017 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships. In addition to the aforementioned teams, the Gym Devils will face off with five other squads that capped the 2017 season ranked nationally in the Top-25 including Auburn, California, Iowa, Arkansas and West Virginia. Following their season-opening quad-meet on Jan. 6, the Gym Devils will hit the road to face off against Big 12 member West Virginia on Jan. 14.
Following their trip to the Bay Area the Gym Devils will return home the following weekend for their Pac-12 home opener, hosting California on Sunday, Jan. 28. The meet is set to be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
The team will follow their brief home stay with consecutive road weekends, starting with Oregon State and defending 2017 Pac-12 Champion Utah on Feb. 3 and Feb. 9, respectively. Both meets will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
Arizona State will host back-to-back home meets the following weekends, welcoming Washington on Saturday, Feb. 17, followed by Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Gym Devils' outing with Washington will be televised on Pac-12 Networks, while Arizona State's matchup with in-state rival Arizona represents a rematch of the teams' 2017 meet that saw the Gym Devils capture a 195.700-195.375 over the then-No. 23 Wildcats.
ASU will again hit the road for a Saturday, March 3 meet against Minnesota before traveling to Norman, Okla., for another quad-meet against Oklahoma, Denver and Arkansas on March 9. The meet will be hosted by two-time defending national champion Oklahoma. Denver is also coming off an impressive season in which it qualified for the NCAA National Championships. Additionally, Arkansas finished last season ranked in the Top-25.
Arizona State will then cap the 2018 non-conference slate by competing in a Sacramento State-hosted quad-meet with UC Davis and Pac-12 counterpart Oregon State on Friday, March 16.
The Pac-12 season will conclude on Saturday, March 24 with Arizona set to host the 2018 Pac-12 Championships.
Returners
The Gym Devils return 22 routines and 12 letterwinners from 2017. Senior leader Nichelle Christopherson constitutes the lone senior on the roster while juniors Corinne Belkoff, Justine Callis, Heather Udowitch, Katelyn Lentz and Morgan Wilson return for their respective third seasons with the program. The Gym Devils also return six sophomores in Averie Brook, Jessica Ginn, Morgan Hart, Mekayla Jones, Graycee Rushton, and Ashley Szafranski.
Newcomers
The offseason proved generous for the Gym Devils, who welcomed a pair of high-caliber collegiate transfers in Anne Kuhm (University of Paris-Dauphine/Junior) and Kaitlyn Szafranski (Louisiana State University/Junior) and trio a freshmen — Cairo Leonard-Baker (Oakland, Calif.), Molly McNamara (Pearland, Texas) and Maya Williams (Reistertown, Md.) — expected to elevate the program immediately.
Olympic Flair
Junior Gym Devil Anne Kuhm joins the Arizona State program with international competition experience to her credit. A member of the French national team since 2009, she competed in the 2012 London Olympics for Team France, which finished in 11th place. Kuhm was selected as a reserve for the all-around final. She participated in the 2012 & 2016 Olympic Test Event, helping France qualify a full team to the Olympics on both occasions. Most recently, Kuhm was selected as an alternate for France in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also earned further international experience competing for France at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow. Kuhm is a two-time French national all-around champion (2011 and 2012). She also finished second at the National Championships on bars and floor. In 2011, Kuhm was the French Junior National Champion in the all-around.
2018 Sun Devil Gymnastics Remaining Home Schedule
Sunday, Jan. 28 — California — 12 p.m. MST (Wells Fargo Arena)
Saturday, Feb. 17 — Washington — 11:30 a.m. MST (Wells Fargo Arena)
Saturday, Feb. 24 — Arizona — 4 p.m. MST (Wells Fargo Arena)
Baskett Joins #GymDevil Staff
Arizona State gymnastics head coach Jay Santos announced in August the addition of former national champion and 12-time All-American Kristina Baskett to the Sun Devil coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2018 season. Baskett compiled a prolific career as a gymnast at the University of Utah. She competed as a member of the Red Rocks program from 2006-09, helping to pace the squad to three consecutive second-place national finishes. She most notably won the 2006 NCAA uneven bar title as a freshman. She also received second-team All-America honors on vault at the 2006 NCAA Championships. A highly-decorated competitor for the Red Rocks, Baskett also earned silver medals on vault in 2008 and in the all-around in 2009. Baskett comes to Tempe after recently serving as a stunt double in a number of renowned TV series and blockbuster movies. Baskett has accumulated 63 total credits in her professional acting career, while making appearances in popular films such as Jason Bourne and Olympus Has Fallen.
2017 In Retrospect
Under first-year head coach Jay Santos, the Gym Devils finished the 2017 season 3-10 and 1-5 in conference play. The team saw tremendous growth on the season, hitting a season-high team score in five of six consecutive meets including a season-high 195.700 at Arizona. The Gym Devils scored 195+ in four separate meets, the first time that has happened since the 2014 season. The team showed significant improvement on bars and beam from the 2016 season. The team's bars regional qualifying score increased from a 48.24 in 2016 to a 48.8 in 2017, while beam improved from 48.57 to 48.93. The Gym Devils finished the season ranked 29th in the country on beam. The Gym Devils also bested then-No. 23 Arizona for the program's first Pac-12 win since 2014 and the coveted Territorial Cup series point. At the Pac-12 Championship, the Gym Devils completed the season with a 195.600, their second-highest team score of the season, plus a season-high 49.275 on beam in the final rotation, the highest team beam score since March 13, 2009. It was the second-highest team total for the program at a championship meet since 2004 when the Gym Devils scored a 196.775.
Saturday, Jan. 14 | 3 p.m. MST
Live Stream: http://pac-12.com/live/stanford-university
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=stan
Gym Devils Open Pac-12 Slate at Stanford
The No. 11 Gym Devils (3-1) travel to the Bay Area, for their Pac-12 opener with No. 20 Stanford on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. MST. Arizona State's meeting with the Cardinal constitutes its fourth this season against a top-25 ranked opponent, its previous three coming against No. 15 Iowa State and No. 16 Auburn on Jan. 6 and No. 18 West Virginia on Jan. 14.
Follow Along On Social
Fans can also follow the action on Twitter @SunDevilGym and on Instagram @SunDevilGymnastics. Fans are encouraged to tweet with #SunDevilPower in support of the 2018 Gym Devils.
Scouting The Opposition | No. 20 Stanford (3-4)
After guiding Arizona for the last two seasons, Tabitha Yim returns to The Farm this season in her first year as the head coach for the Stanford Cardinal. A former elite athlete, Yim competed for Stanford from 2005-08, earning 14 All-American honors, which is the most in school history …The Cardinal fell short of an NCAA National berth last season, placing fourth with a 195.575 in the Seattle Regional…Stanford stud, Elizabeth Price, won the Seattle regional uneven bars title with a 9.975, which helped her garner an individual NCAA berth…The Cardinal finished off the year No. 28 in the national rankings and was ranked No. 18 in the Preseason Coaches Poll …In their home opener, the Cardinal placed second behind No. 11 California at the NorCal Classic…Stanford's talented roster features returning veteran Elizabeth Price and newcomers Lauren Navarro, Kyla Bryant, and Taylor Lawson.
Leonard-Baker Nets Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Honors
Having recorded the highest all-around tally of any freshman in collegiate gymnastics through two weeks of competition, Cairo Leonard-Baker garnered Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week honors, as announced by the conference office Tuesday afternoon. The conference recognition marks the first for the Gym Devil program since January 2013, when Natasha Sundby netted Special Performance of the Week. Leonard-Baker shined in Arizona State's meet with No. 16 West Virginia on Sunday, improving her scores on each event from her Gym Devil debut on Jan. 6. Posting an all-around score of 39.425 the newcomer helped propel No. 14 Arizona State to a 196.475-195.875 victory over the hosting Mountaineers. In the effort, the Oakland, Calif. native also captured the bars (9.925) and floor (9.900) crowns. Her 39.425 mark constitutes the best all-around score for Arizona State since Mary Atkinson notched a 39.500 on Feb. 19, 2010.
Through two weeks of competition Arizona State checks in at No. 11 in the Road to Nationals team standings. On an event basis the Gym Devils rank 19th on vault (48.863), 12th on bars (48.988), 22nd on beam (48.800) and 21st on floor (48.925). By virtue of their season-opening 194.674, the Gym Devils concluded Week 1 of the collegiate gymnastics season ranked at No. 14. Arizona State checked in at No. 31 in the NACGC/W preseason coaches poll released in December, jumping 10 slots from its 2017 postseason ranking of No. 41. The 10-spot move constituted the most significant rise in the rankings over that span. Collectively, the Pac-12 Conference proved well-represented in the rankings as six of its eight programs appear within the Top-25. Arizona State was selected to finish eighth in the preseason Pac-12 women's gymnastics poll. Reigning conference champion UCLA tops the league list, announced in mid-December.
Last Time Out
In its first road test of the 2018 campaign, the No. 14 Arizona State women's gymnastics team (3-1) earned its third victory over a ranked opponent, defeating No. 16 West Virginia, 196.475-195.875. The team's 196.475 effort constituted the program's best team tally since March 2, 2007, when the Gym Devils recorded a 196.525 in a victory over Washington in Tempe. It also accounts for the 26th best team total in Gym Devil history. Recording event scores of 49.000, 49.125, 49.225, 49.125 on vault, bars, beam and floor, respectively, Arizona State surpassed the 49+ cumulative tally in each event for the first time since their 2007 appearance in the North Central Regional at Iowa State University. Buoying the Arizona State effort, true freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker was crowned the meet all-around champion, finishing at a cumulative count of 39.425. Leonard-Baker also earned titles on bars and floor, while sophomore Ashley Szafranski followed suit on beam.
Season Prospectus
Announced in October, Arizona State's gauntlet of a 2018 slate sees the Gym Devils take on five programs — Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, Denver and Oregon State — who all advanced to compete in the 2017 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships. In addition to the aforementioned teams, the Gym Devils will face off with five other squads that capped the 2017 season ranked nationally in the Top-25 including Auburn, California, Iowa, Arkansas and West Virginia. Following their season-opening quad-meet on Jan. 6, the Gym Devils will hit the road to face off against Big 12 member West Virginia on Jan. 14.
Following their trip to the Bay Area the Gym Devils will return home the following weekend for their Pac-12 home opener, hosting California on Sunday, Jan. 28. The meet is set to be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
The team will follow their brief home stay with consecutive road weekends, starting with Oregon State and defending 2017 Pac-12 Champion Utah on Feb. 3 and Feb. 9, respectively. Both meets will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
Arizona State will host back-to-back home meets the following weekends, welcoming Washington on Saturday, Feb. 17, followed by Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Gym Devils' outing with Washington will be televised on Pac-12 Networks, while Arizona State's matchup with in-state rival Arizona represents a rematch of the teams' 2017 meet that saw the Gym Devils capture a 195.700-195.375 over the then-No. 23 Wildcats.
ASU will again hit the road for a Saturday, March 3 meet against Minnesota before traveling to Norman, Okla., for another quad-meet against Oklahoma, Denver and Arkansas on March 9. The meet will be hosted by two-time defending national champion Oklahoma. Denver is also coming off an impressive season in which it qualified for the NCAA National Championships. Additionally, Arkansas finished last season ranked in the Top-25.
Arizona State will then cap the 2018 non-conference slate by competing in a Sacramento State-hosted quad-meet with UC Davis and Pac-12 counterpart Oregon State on Friday, March 16.
The Pac-12 season will conclude on Saturday, March 24 with Arizona set to host the 2018 Pac-12 Championships.
Returners
The Gym Devils return 22 routines and 12 letterwinners from 2017. Senior leader Nichelle Christopherson constitutes the lone senior on the roster while juniors Corinne Belkoff, Justine Callis, Heather Udowitch, Katelyn Lentz and Morgan Wilson return for their respective third seasons with the program. The Gym Devils also return six sophomores in Averie Brook, Jessica Ginn, Morgan Hart, Mekayla Jones, Graycee Rushton, and Ashley Szafranski.
Newcomers
The offseason proved generous for the Gym Devils, who welcomed a pair of high-caliber collegiate transfers in Anne Kuhm (University of Paris-Dauphine/Junior) and Kaitlyn Szafranski (Louisiana State University/Junior) and trio a freshmen — Cairo Leonard-Baker (Oakland, Calif.), Molly McNamara (Pearland, Texas) and Maya Williams (Reistertown, Md.) — expected to elevate the program immediately.
Olympic Flair
Junior Gym Devil Anne Kuhm joins the Arizona State program with international competition experience to her credit. A member of the French national team since 2009, she competed in the 2012 London Olympics for Team France, which finished in 11th place. Kuhm was selected as a reserve for the all-around final. She participated in the 2012 & 2016 Olympic Test Event, helping France qualify a full team to the Olympics on both occasions. Most recently, Kuhm was selected as an alternate for France in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also earned further international experience competing for France at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow. Kuhm is a two-time French national all-around champion (2011 and 2012). She also finished second at the National Championships on bars and floor. In 2011, Kuhm was the French Junior National Champion in the all-around.
2018 Sun Devil Gymnastics Remaining Home Schedule
Sunday, Jan. 28 — California — 12 p.m. MST (Wells Fargo Arena)
Saturday, Feb. 17 — Washington — 11:30 a.m. MST (Wells Fargo Arena)
Saturday, Feb. 24 — Arizona — 4 p.m. MST (Wells Fargo Arena)
Baskett Joins #GymDevil Staff
Arizona State gymnastics head coach Jay Santos announced in August the addition of former national champion and 12-time All-American Kristina Baskett to the Sun Devil coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2018 season. Baskett compiled a prolific career as a gymnast at the University of Utah. She competed as a member of the Red Rocks program from 2006-09, helping to pace the squad to three consecutive second-place national finishes. She most notably won the 2006 NCAA uneven bar title as a freshman. She also received second-team All-America honors on vault at the 2006 NCAA Championships. A highly-decorated competitor for the Red Rocks, Baskett also earned silver medals on vault in 2008 and in the all-around in 2009. Baskett comes to Tempe after recently serving as a stunt double in a number of renowned TV series and blockbuster movies. Baskett has accumulated 63 total credits in her professional acting career, while making appearances in popular films such as Jason Bourne and Olympus Has Fallen.
2017 In Retrospect
Under first-year head coach Jay Santos, the Gym Devils finished the 2017 season 3-10 and 1-5 in conference play. The team saw tremendous growth on the season, hitting a season-high team score in five of six consecutive meets including a season-high 195.700 at Arizona. The Gym Devils scored 195+ in four separate meets, the first time that has happened since the 2014 season. The team showed significant improvement on bars and beam from the 2016 season. The team's bars regional qualifying score increased from a 48.24 in 2016 to a 48.8 in 2017, while beam improved from 48.57 to 48.93. The Gym Devils finished the season ranked 29th in the country on beam. The Gym Devils also bested then-No. 23 Arizona for the program's first Pac-12 win since 2014 and the coveted Territorial Cup series point. At the Pac-12 Championship, the Gym Devils completed the season with a 195.600, their second-highest team score of the season, plus a season-high 49.275 on beam in the final rotation, the highest team beam score since March 13, 2009. It was the second-highest team total for the program at a championship meet since 2004 when the Gym Devils scored a 196.775.