No. 17 Arizona State at No. 2 Utah
Friday, Feb. 9 | 7 p.m. MST
Watch: https://pac-12.com/womens-gymnastics/event/2018/02/09/arizona-state-utah
Listen: https://espn700sports.com/
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=utah
Gym Devils Travel To Salt Lake City For Meet Against No. 2 Utah
The No. 17 Gym Devils (5-2, 2-1 Pac-12) travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a Top-20 showdown against No. 2 Utah on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. MST. Arizona State's meeting with the Utes constitutes its sixth this season against a Top-25 ranked opponent, its previous five coming against No. 15 Iowa State and No. 16 Auburn on Jan. 6, No. 18 West Virginia on Jan. 14, No. 20 Stanford on Jan. 20 and No. 13 Oregon State on Feb. 3.
Follow Along On Social
Fans can follow the action on Twitter @SunDevilGym and on Instagram @SunDevilGymnastics. Fans are encouraged to tweet with #SunDevilPower in support of the 2018 Gym Devils.
Gym Devil standout freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker netted Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week honors in three consecutive award cycles (Weeks 2-4), as announced/selected by the league office. By virtue of the feat, the Oakland, Calif., native becomes the first gymnast in Arizona State program history to net conference honors in back-to-back-to-back award cycles. Just five 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 on Jan. 28, Leonard-Baker recorded a career-high 39.575 in the all-around to share the title with California's Toni-Ann Williams in ASU's 196.800-194.850 victory over the visiting Golden Bears. The tally puts her in a tie at No. 26 in the record book for the best all-around score in school history. Leonard-Baker also netted three other career highs against California 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). Arizona State's 196.800 effort against the Golden Bears constitutes the program's best team tally since the Gym Devils recorded a 197.750 vs. Iowa State on March 10, 2006, which is the 19th-best team total in Gym Devil history.
In The Rankings
Through five weeks of competition, Arizona State checks in at No. 17 in the Road to Nationals team standings. On an event basis, the Gym Devils rank 21st on vault (48.955), ninth on bars (49.055), 21st on beam (48.815) and 22nd on floor (49.025). During Week 4 of the collegiate gymnastics season, the Gym Devils ranked No. 12 as they tallied a 196.800 in their Pac-12 home opener against California, constituting the program's best team tally since it recorded a 197.750 vs. Iowa State on March 10, 2006. It also accounts for the 19th-best team total in Gym Devil history. During Week 3 of the season, the Gym Devils ranked at No. 14. Week 2 constituted the team's highest rank of the season, coming in at No. 11 after the Gym Devils defeated then-No. 16 West Virginia. By virtue of their season-opening 194.674, the Gym Devils concluded Week 1 ranked at No. 14. ASU 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 appeared 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
The No. 12 Arizona State gymnastics team (5-2, 2-1 Pac-12) battled tough but ultimately fell short to No. 13 Oregon State (3-1, 2-1 Pac-12), 196.725-195.050, Saturday afternoon at Gill Coliseum. Leading the Gym Devil effort was three-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker, who finished second in the all-around with an impressive tally of 39.350. Leonard-Baker also captured the bars title, while adding a second-place finish on floor. Junior Morgan Wilson followed suit by sharing the vault title with Oregon State's Destinee Davis.
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 trip to Salt Lake City, the Gym Devils will host back-to-back home meets, 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. 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 win over the then-No. 23 Wildcats.
ASU will then hit the road again for a Saturday, March 3 meet against Minnesota before traveling to Norman, Okla., for another quad-meet against Oklahoma, Denver and Arkansas on Friday, 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 a pair of freshmen — Cairo Leonard-Baker (Oakland, Calif.) 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
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.
Friday, Feb. 9 | 7 p.m. MST
Watch: https://pac-12.com/womens-gymnastics/event/2018/02/09/arizona-state-utah
Listen: https://espn700sports.com/
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=utah
Gym Devils Travel To Salt Lake City For Meet Against No. 2 Utah
The No. 17 Gym Devils (5-2, 2-1 Pac-12) travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for a Top-20 showdown against No. 2 Utah on Friday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. MST. Arizona State's meeting with the Utes constitutes its sixth this season against a Top-25 ranked opponent, its previous five coming against No. 15 Iowa State and No. 16 Auburn on Jan. 6, No. 18 West Virginia on Jan. 14, No. 20 Stanford on Jan. 20 and No. 13 Oregon State on Feb. 3.
Follow Along On Social
Fans can 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. 2 Utah (6-1, 3-0 Pac-12)
The Utah Utes are led by co-head coaches Megan Marsden and Tom Farden, who enter their ninth season and third seasons respectively… Marsden has led the Utes to six NCAA team championship titles, 20 Super Six appearances, 33 NCAA championship appearances and three Pac-12 team titles… Marsden, a former Utah All-American and NCAA all-around champion, has participated as an athlete or coach in all of Utah's record-tying 10 national team titles and 37 of its record 42 national championship appearances… Since becoming the co-head coach in 2010, Marsden has compiled a 177-62-3 overall record, is a two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2014, 2015) and a two-time NCAA Region Coach of the Year (2011, 2012)… In her previous role, she was named the 2005 National Assistant Coach of the Year and is a two-time Regional Assistant Coach of the Year (2005, 2007)… Marsden's husband, Greg, coached the Utes for 40 years before retiring after the team's second-place finish at the 2015 NCAA championships… Last year, the Utes finished the season ranked No. 5 nationally while also winning the Pac-12 championships and returning to the Super Six finals (fifth place). Currently, Utah is ranked No. 2 in the country (just behind reigning NCAA back-to-back champion Oklahoma) after the fifth week of the NCAA season… Utah's deep roster is led by all-around stars, 2016 Olympic alternate Mykayla Skinner (eight-time All-American) and Makenna Merrell-Giles (six-time All-American). Veterans Maddy Stover, Tiffani Lewis (All-American – VT) and Kari Lee (six-time All-American), along with sophomore sensations Missy Reinstadtler and Kim Tessen, also add depth to the lineup. The Utes welcome talented newcomers Alexia Burch, Sydney Soloski and Lauren Wong.
Raising The Bar
- With a 5-2 record to their credit, the Gym Devils are off to their best start since 2014.
- Arizona State has ranked in the Top-20 nationally for five consecutive weeks, checking in at No. 17 in this week's Road to Nationals standings. The Gym Devils currently rank fifth among Pac-12 squads. ASU also ranks in the Top-25 nationally in each event, sitting at ninth on bars, 21st on beam, 21st on vault and 22nd on floor. The last time the Gym Devils placed in the Top-10 in any event was Week 3 of the 2015 NCAA gymnastics season with a ranking of No. 10 on bars (48.963). Prior to the 2018 season, the Gym Devils had not ranked in the Top-25 since the 2013 season (No. 24) and had not appeared in the Top-15 since 2006 (No. 9).
- The Gym Devils have knocked off four ranked opponents on the season — No. 14 Auburn, No. 20 Iowa, No. 14 West Virginia and No. 20 Stanford — marking the first time since 2006 that the squad has accomplished the feat.
- Arizona State is one of seven Pac-12 programs ranked nationally — the No. 17 Gym Devils are joined in the rankings by No. 2 Utah, No. 4 UCLA, No. 11 Oregon State, No. 16 Washington, No. 20 Stanford and No. 25 Arizona.
- Recording team totals of 196.475 at No. 16 West Virginia on Jan. 14, 196.250 at No. 20 Stanford on Jan. 20 and 196.800 vs. California on Jan. 28, the Gym Devils surpassed the 196+ mark in three consecutive meets for the first time since 2006.
- Arizona State's 196.800 effort in its Pac-12 home opener against California on Jan. 28 constitutes the program's best team tally since the Gym Devils recorded a 197.750 vs. Iowa State on March 10, 2006. It also accounts for the 19th-best team total in Gym Devil history.
- Standout Gym Devil freshman and three-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker currently ranks in the top-50 nationally in three event categories including the all-around (15th, 39.370), bars (15th, 9.885) and floor (32nd, 9.870). Gym Devil junior Morgan Wilson ranks 48th on vault at a season average of 9.835.
- Vault: Team - 49.100 vs. California on Jan. 28 (highest since 2/22/14 against Arizona (49.125)) | Individual - 9.875, Morgan Wilson at Oregon State on Feb. 3
- Bars: Team - 49.325 vs. California on Jan. 28 (highest since 2/24/06 at UNO's Classic (49.500)) | Individual - 9.950, Cairo Leonard-Baker vs. California on Jan. 28
- Beam: Team - 49.325 at Stanford on Jan. 20 (highest since 3/13/09 at UNO's Classic (49.350)) | Individual - 9.900, Katelyn Lentz at Stanford on Jan. 20/Ashley Szafranski at West Virginia on Jan. 14
- Floor: Team - 49.250 vs. California on Jan. 28 (highest since 2/22/2016 against Arizona (49.250)) | Individual - 9.925, Cairo Leonard-Baker vs. California on Jan. 28
- All-Around: Team - 196.800 vs. California on Jan. 28 (highest since 3/10/06 against Iowa State (197.750)) | Individual - 39.575, Cairo Leonard-Baker vs. California on Jan. 28
Gym Devil standout freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker netted Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week honors in three consecutive award cycles (Weeks 2-4), as announced/selected by the league office. By virtue of the feat, the Oakland, Calif., native becomes the first gymnast in Arizona State program history to net conference honors in back-to-back-to-back award cycles. Just five 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 on Jan. 28, Leonard-Baker recorded a career-high 39.575 in the all-around to share the title with California's Toni-Ann Williams in ASU's 196.800-194.850 victory over the visiting Golden Bears. The tally puts her in a tie at No. 26 in the record book for the best all-around score in school history. Leonard-Baker also netted three other career highs against California 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). Arizona State's 196.800 effort against the Golden Bears constitutes the program's best team tally since the Gym Devils recorded a 197.750 vs. Iowa State on March 10, 2006, which is the 19th-best team total in Gym Devil history.
In The Rankings
Through five weeks of competition, Arizona State checks in at No. 17 in the Road to Nationals team standings. On an event basis, the Gym Devils rank 21st on vault (48.955), ninth on bars (49.055), 21st on beam (48.815) and 22nd on floor (49.025). During Week 4 of the collegiate gymnastics season, the Gym Devils ranked No. 12 as they tallied a 196.800 in their Pac-12 home opener against California, constituting the program's best team tally since it recorded a 197.750 vs. Iowa State on March 10, 2006. It also accounts for the 19th-best team total in Gym Devil history. During Week 3 of the season, the Gym Devils ranked at No. 14. Week 2 constituted the team's highest rank of the season, coming in at No. 11 after the Gym Devils defeated then-No. 16 West Virginia. By virtue of their season-opening 194.674, the Gym Devils concluded Week 1 ranked at No. 14. ASU 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 appeared 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
The No. 12 Arizona State gymnastics team (5-2, 2-1 Pac-12) battled tough but ultimately fell short to No. 13 Oregon State (3-1, 2-1 Pac-12), 196.725-195.050, Saturday afternoon at Gill Coliseum. Leading the Gym Devil effort was three-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker, who finished second in the all-around with an impressive tally of 39.350. Leonard-Baker also captured the bars title, while adding a second-place finish on floor. Junior Morgan Wilson followed suit by sharing the vault title with Oregon State's Destinee Davis.
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 trip to Salt Lake City, the Gym Devils will host back-to-back home meets, 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. 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 win over the then-No. 23 Wildcats.
ASU will then hit the road again for a Saturday, March 3 meet against Minnesota before traveling to Norman, Okla., for another quad-meet against Oklahoma, Denver and Arkansas on Friday, 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 a pair of freshmen — Cairo Leonard-Baker (Oakland, Calif.) 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
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.