By Diana Ly, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Can you say three-peat? For a third consecutive week Gym Devil standout freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker has netted Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the week honors, as announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon. By virtue of again garnering the recognition, the Oakland, Calif. native becomes the first gymnast in Arizona State program history to net conference honors in back-to-back-to-back awards cycles.
Just four meets into her collegiate career, Leonard-Baker joins Ashley Kelly and Laura Moon as one of three gymnasts in Arizona State's illustrious lineage of greats to earn multiple weekly conference honors.
Buoying a historic Gym Devil effort, Leonard-Baker recorded a career-high 39.575 in the all-around to share the title with Cal's Toni-Ann Williams in Arizona State's 196.800-194.850 victory over visiting California this past Sunday. The tally puts her at No. 26 (tie) in the record book for the best all-around score in school history. Leonard-Baker netted three career-highs by adding a bar title with a score of 9.950 and a pair of second-place finishes on vault (9.850) and floor (9.925), respectively. Arizona State's 196.800 effort constitutes the program's best team tally since the Gym Devils recorded a 197.750 vs. Iowa State (March 10, 2006), which is the 19th best team total in Gym Devil history.
At No. 20 Stanford on Jan. 20, Leonard-Baker propelled Arizona State to its fourth victory over a ranked opponent with scores of 9.900 (Bars), 9.900 (Floor), 9.875 (Beam), and 9.775 (Vault), respectively. Her combined all-around score of 39.450 put her in second behind Stanford's Elizabeth Price, who currently sits in second in that category. The Oakland native also netted second-place honors on bars and floor courtesy of a pair of quality routines.
Preceding the Gym Devils' trek to the bay, Leonard-Baker captured the all-around with a 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. She also captured the bars (9.925) and floor (9.900) titles, while elevating the Gym Devils to a victory over the Mountaineers with a score of 196.475, the 27th best team total in Gym Devil history. The team's effort also 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.
With Leonard-Baker playing an essential role in the program's rise, Arizona State has surpassed the 196+ mark in three consecutive weeks and earned four victories over ranked opponents for the first time since 2006. The Gym Devils are currently ranked at No. 12 in the nation (196.050) and tied with Georgia for the No. 8 on bars (49.063). The last time the Gym Devils placed in the top ten on any event was Week 3 of the 2015 NCAA gymnastics season with a ranking of No. 10 on bars (48.963).
UCLA grabbed the remaining awards of the week with Sophomore Kyla Ross notching Gymnast of the Week and veteran Christine "Peng-Peng" Lee awarded the Specialist of the Week.
The Gym Devils hit the road again on Saturday to face Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. The meet begins at 3:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted live on Pac-12 Networks with Rich Burk and Samantha Peszek on call.
Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week
-March 3, 2009: Beate Jones
-March 17, 2008: Francesca Mercurio
-Jan. 21, 2008: Nicole Harris
-March 20, 2007: April Boone
-March 13, 2006: Ashley Kelly
-Jan. 24, 2006: Ashley Kelly
-March 9, 2004: Ashley Kelly (Co-Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week)
-March 25, 2003: Ashley Kelly
-March 4, 2003: Ashley Kelly
-Feb. 18, 2003: Maggie Germaine
-March 11, 2002: Amber Giorgianni
-March 13, 2001: Laura Moon
-Feb. 27, 2001: Laura Moon
Pac-12 Special Performance of the Week
-Jan. 29, 2013: Natasha Sundby
-March 17, 2009: Tiana Jean
-March 17, 2008: Tia Orlando
-Feb. 4, 2008: Ashlee Hinkle
Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week
-Jan. 30, 2018: Cairo Leonard-Baker
-Jan. 23, 2018: Cairo Leonard-Baker
-Jan. 16, 2018: Cairo Leonard-Baker
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Can you say three-peat? For a third consecutive week Gym Devil standout freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker has netted Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the week honors, as announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon. By virtue of again garnering the recognition, the Oakland, Calif. native becomes the first gymnast in Arizona State program history to net conference honors in back-to-back-to-back awards cycles.
Just four meets into her collegiate career, Leonard-Baker joins Ashley Kelly and Laura Moon as one of three gymnasts in Arizona State's illustrious lineage of greats to earn multiple weekly conference honors.
Buoying a historic Gym Devil effort, Leonard-Baker recorded a career-high 39.575 in the all-around to share the title with Cal's Toni-Ann Williams in Arizona State's 196.800-194.850 victory over visiting California this past Sunday. The tally puts her at No. 26 (tie) in the record book for the best all-around score in school history. Leonard-Baker netted three career-highs by adding a bar title with a score of 9.950 and a pair of second-place finishes on vault (9.850) and floor (9.925), respectively. Arizona State's 196.800 effort constitutes the program's best team tally since the Gym Devils recorded a 197.750 vs. Iowa State (March 10, 2006), which is the 19th best team total in Gym Devil history.
At No. 20 Stanford on Jan. 20, Leonard-Baker propelled Arizona State to its fourth victory over a ranked opponent with scores of 9.900 (Bars), 9.900 (Floor), 9.875 (Beam), and 9.775 (Vault), respectively. Her combined all-around score of 39.450 put her in second behind Stanford's Elizabeth Price, who currently sits in second in that category. The Oakland native also netted second-place honors on bars and floor courtesy of a pair of quality routines.
Preceding the Gym Devils' trek to the bay, Leonard-Baker captured the all-around with a 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. She also captured the bars (9.925) and floor (9.900) titles, while elevating the Gym Devils to a victory over the Mountaineers with a score of 196.475, the 27th best team total in Gym Devil history. The team's effort also 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.
With Leonard-Baker playing an essential role in the program's rise, Arizona State has surpassed the 196+ mark in three consecutive weeks and earned four victories over ranked opponents for the first time since 2006. The Gym Devils are currently ranked at No. 12 in the nation (196.050) and tied with Georgia for the No. 8 on bars (49.063). The last time the Gym Devils placed in the top ten on any event was Week 3 of the 2015 NCAA gymnastics season with a ranking of No. 10 on bars (48.963).
UCLA grabbed the remaining awards of the week with Sophomore Kyla Ross notching Gymnast of the Week and veteran Christine "Peng-Peng" Lee awarded the Specialist of the Week.
The Gym Devils hit the road again on Saturday to face Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. The meet begins at 3:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcasted live on Pac-12 Networks with Rich Burk and Samantha Peszek on call.
Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week
-March 3, 2009: Beate Jones
-March 17, 2008: Francesca Mercurio
-Jan. 21, 2008: Nicole Harris
-March 20, 2007: April Boone
-March 13, 2006: Ashley Kelly
-Jan. 24, 2006: Ashley Kelly
-March 9, 2004: Ashley Kelly (Co-Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week)
-March 25, 2003: Ashley Kelly
-March 4, 2003: Ashley Kelly
-Feb. 18, 2003: Maggie Germaine
-March 11, 2002: Amber Giorgianni
-March 13, 2001: Laura Moon
-Feb. 27, 2001: Laura Moon
Pac-12 Special Performance of the Week
-Jan. 29, 2013: Natasha Sundby
-March 17, 2009: Tiana Jean
-March 17, 2008: Tia Orlando
-Feb. 4, 2008: Ashlee Hinkle
Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week
-Jan. 30, 2018: Cairo Leonard-Baker
-Jan. 23, 2018: Cairo Leonard-Baker
-Jan. 16, 2018: Cairo Leonard-Baker