TEMPE, Ariz. -- Gym Devil freshman standout Cairo Leonard-Baker has defended her title as Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week, earning the honor for a second consecutive week as announced by the conference office Tuesday afternoon. Leonard-Baker provided the Arizona State lineup a major spark in its, 196.250-195.650, victory over No. 20 Stanford this past Saturday afternoon.
Helping propel Arizona State to it's fourth victory over a ranked opponent just three weekends into the season, Leonard-Baker recorded scores of 9.900 (Bars), 9.900 (Floor), 9.875 (Beam), and 9.775 (Vault), respectively. The Oakland native notably netted second-place honors on bars and floor courtesy of a pair of quality routines. By virtue of garnering the award in consecutive weeks, Leonard-Baker becomes the first Sun Devil since Ashley Kelly in 2006 (5 times) to win multiple Conference Player of the Week awards. She also becomes the first gymnast in program history to earn conference honors in back-to-back weeks.
Preceding this past weekend's outing, Leonard-Baker posted a stellar all-around score of 39.475 at then No. 16 West Virginia on Jan. 14. The impressive tally constitutes the best all-around score for Arizona State since Mary Atkinson notched a 39.500 on Feb. 19, 2010. In the victory over the Mountaineers, she captured the bars (9.925) and floor (9.900) crowns while helping elevate the Gym Devils to a team score of 196.475, their highest since March 2, 2007 when Arizona State recorded a 196.525 against Washington.
With Leonard-Baker playing an essential role in the program's rise, Arizona State has surpassed the 196+ mark in consecutive road meets and earned four victories over ranked opponents for the first time since 2006.
The Gym Devils return home this weekend when they host California on Sunday, January 28th at 12:00 p.m. MST at Wells Fargo Arena. The match will air live on Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson and Amanda Borden on the call.
ALSO NOMINATED:
Gymnast of the Week: Maddi Leydin, ARIZ; Cairo Leonard-Baker, ASU; Toni-Ann Williams, CAL; Sabrina Gill, OSU; Katelyn Ohashi, UCLA; MyKayla Skinner, UTAH; Evanni Roberson, UW.
Specialist of the Week: Lauryn Mattson, ARIZ; Katelyn Lentz, ASU; Nina Schank, CAL; Mariana Colussi-Pelaez, OSU; Kyla Bryant, STAN, Sydney Soloski, UTAH.
Freshman / Newcomer of the Week: Nina Schank, CAL; Kaitlyn Yanish, OSU; Lauren Navarro, STAN; Pauline Tratz, UCLA; Sydney Soloski, UTAH.
Helping propel Arizona State to it's fourth victory over a ranked opponent just three weekends into the season, Leonard-Baker recorded scores of 9.900 (Bars), 9.900 (Floor), 9.875 (Beam), and 9.775 (Vault), respectively. The Oakland native notably netted second-place honors on bars and floor courtesy of a pair of quality routines. By virtue of garnering the award in consecutive weeks, Leonard-Baker becomes the first Sun Devil since Ashley Kelly in 2006 (5 times) to win multiple Conference Player of the Week awards. She also becomes the first gymnast in program history to earn conference honors in back-to-back weeks.
Preceding this past weekend's outing, Leonard-Baker posted a stellar all-around score of 39.475 at then No. 16 West Virginia on Jan. 14. The impressive tally constitutes the best all-around score for Arizona State since Mary Atkinson notched a 39.500 on Feb. 19, 2010. In the victory over the Mountaineers, she captured the bars (9.925) and floor (9.900) crowns while helping elevate the Gym Devils to a team score of 196.475, their highest since March 2, 2007 when Arizona State recorded a 196.525 against Washington.
With Leonard-Baker playing an essential role in the program's rise, Arizona State has surpassed the 196+ mark in consecutive road meets and earned four victories over ranked opponents for the first time since 2006.
The Gym Devils return home this weekend when they host California on Sunday, January 28th at 12:00 p.m. MST at Wells Fargo Arena. The match will air live on Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson and Amanda Borden on the call.
| Gymnast of the Week | Specialist of the Week | Freshman / Newcomer of the Week | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 9 | MyKayla Skinner, UTAH | Christine Peng-Peng Lee, UCLA | Kyana George, CAL |
| Jan. 16 | MyKayla Skinner, UTAH | Christine Peng-Peng Lee, UCLA | Cairo Leonard-Baker, ASU |
| Jan. 22 | Elizabeth Price, STAN | Grace Glenn, UCLA | Cairo Leonard-Baker, ASU |
ALSO NOMINATED:
Gymnast of the Week: Maddi Leydin, ARIZ; Cairo Leonard-Baker, ASU; Toni-Ann Williams, CAL; Sabrina Gill, OSU; Katelyn Ohashi, UCLA; MyKayla Skinner, UTAH; Evanni Roberson, UW.
Specialist of the Week: Lauryn Mattson, ARIZ; Katelyn Lentz, ASU; Nina Schank, CAL; Mariana Colussi-Pelaez, OSU; Kyla Bryant, STAN, Sydney Soloski, UTAH.
Freshman / Newcomer of the Week: Nina Schank, CAL; Kaitlyn Yanish, OSU; Lauren Navarro, STAN; Pauline Tratz, UCLA; Sydney Soloski, UTAH.