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Leonard-Baker Continues Standout Campaign at Nationals

Leonard-Baker Continues Standout Campaign at NationalsLeonard-Baker Continues Standout Campaign at Nationals
All-Around Qualifier Cairo Leonard-Baker at 2018 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships | St. Louis, Mo.
Friday, April 20 | 10 a.m. PT | Chaifetz Arena

Watch: ESPN2 - http://www.espn.com/watch/
Live Results: https://on.ncaa.com/2HahzIa
Purchase Tickets: https://on.ncaa.com/2H8hAAb

Leonard-Baker's Standout Freshman Campaign Continues at Nationals
With a plethora of season accolades in tow, Gym Devil freshman Cairo Leonard-Baker will represent the Maroon and Gold at the 2018 National Collegiate Championships in St. Louis, Mo., April 20-21. The competition will get underway, Friday, April 20, beginning at 10 a.m. PT, with Leonard-Baker slated to rotate in Olympic order with No. 3 UCLA, beginning on vault. ESPN2 will carry coverage of the session, with viewing available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.

Team semifinal and all-around competition will be conducted in two sessions Friday, the first taking place at 1 p.m. with the second scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to Super Six competition Saturday, April 21, at 7 p.m. ET. All-around and individual event winners will be awarded at the conclusion of the second semifinal.

NCAA National Championships | Semifinal 1 | Rotation Order
1. UCLA, Cairo Leonard-Baker (ASU), Samantha Cerio (Auburn) | Vault, Bye, Bars, Beam, Bye, Floor
2. Nebraska, Jovannah East (Bowling Green), Abby Milliet (Auburn)| Bye, Bars, Beam, Bye, Floor, Vault
3. Alabama, Drew Watson (Auburn) | Bars, Beam, Bye, Floor, Vault, Bye
4. LSU, Brianna Brown (Michigan) | Beam, Bye, Floor, Vault, Bye, Bars
5. Arkansas, Lauren Bridgens (Penn State), Jamie Stone (Ohio State) | Bye, Floor, Vault, Bye, Bars, Beam
6. Georgia, Lynnzee Brown (Denver) | Floor, Vault, Bye, Bars, Beam, Bye

Leonard-Baker's Laurels

  • 2018 Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year —Became the first gymnast in program history to garner the recognition, and just the second Gym Devil in Arizona State's illustrious history to earn yearly honors, joining Katie Freeland (Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year; 1996).
  • Five-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week honoree — Joined prestigious company - Utah's MyKayla Skinner and California's Toni-Ann Williams - as just one of three gymnasts in conference history to garner the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year honors five or more times.
  • NACGC/W Regular Season second-team All-American in the all-around — Became the first Gym Devil to earn regular season honors since they were instituted in 2013. She also joined 27 other Sun Devil gymnasts in program history who have combined to earn 83 All-America awards. 
  • Second-Team All-Pac-12 honoree in the all-around and on bars  —  Became the 35th Sun Devil gymnast in program history to garner an All-Conference selection. In total, Arizona State gymnasts have captured 44 All-Conference honors since the conference began picking teams in 1980.  
Freshman Phenom — Leonard-Baker By the Numbers: 
  • 2: Became the second Gym Devil in program history to earn weekly league honors on five separate occasions, joining 2004 national champion and five-time All-American Ashley Kelly in the feat.
  • 3: Number of events that Leonard-Baker ranks in the top-30 nationally, along with her national ranking among freshman in the all-around. Also the number of consecutive weeks that Leonard-Baker earned Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the week (weeks 2-4).
  • 4: Number of post-season honors garnered. Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, All Pac-12 Second-Team (AA, UB), and NACGC/W Regular Season Second-Team All-American in the All-Around. Also national ranking among freshman on bars and floor.
  • 5: Number of Pac-12 Weekly honors. Also represents her conference (Pac-12) ranking on bars. 
  • 6: Current conference (Pac-12) ranking in the all-around -39.470 (RQS).
  • 9: Current conference (Pac-12) ranking on floor - 9.905 (RQS).
  • 11: the number of times that Leonard-Baker has scored 39.000+ in the all-around this season.
  • 12: the number of all-around and event titles that Leonard-Baker accumulated this season. Also the number of times that Leonard-Baker has competed in the all-around this season.
  • 13: Number of 9.900+ earned this season.
  • 15: Current national All-Around ranking with a 39.470 (RQS).
  • 20: Current national bars ranking with a 9.905 (RQS).
  • 26: All-around rank in the record book for career-best all-around score of 39.575 earned vs. California (1/28/18). Also Leonard-Baker's current national ranking on floor with a 9.905 (RQS).
  • 28: the number of top-three finishes in the all-around and on each event that Leonard-Baker accumulated this season.
  • 9.875: Career-best on beam at Stanford on January 20, 2018.
  • 9.900: Career-best on vault at Pac-12 Championships (March 25, 2018), earning a fourth place finish.
  • 9.950: Career-best on bars vs. California (1/28/18) and floor vs. Arizona (2/24/18). Her career-high vs. California earned her an event title on bars. 
  • 39.575: Career-best all-around score. Leonard-Baker's mark also constitutes the best all-around score for Arizona State since April Boone notched a 39.600 on March 16, 2007.

Arizona State at Nationals 
As a team, the Gym Devils have qualified for the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships 19 times in program history, marking the 10th-most in NCAA history. Over the years, Arizona State has accumulated 10 individual NCAA titles, its most recent coming from Sun Devil Legend Ashley Kelly on beam in 2004. The last time Arizona State was represented at the NCAA Championships was in 2016 when Taylor Allex earned a berth as a vault specialist.

Season Event Bests

  • Vault: Team - 49.125 vs. Arizona on Feb. 24 (highest since 2/22/14 against Arizona (49.125)) | Individual - 9.900, Cairo Leonard-Baker at Pac-12 Championships/Anne Kuhm vs. Arizona on Feb. 24
  • 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 and vs. Washington on Feb. 17
  • Beam: Team - 49.325 at Stanford on Jan. 20 (highest since 3/13/09 at UNO's Classic (49.350)) | Individual - 9.900, Justine Callis vs. Arizona on Feb. 24/Katelyn Lentz at Stan- ford on Jan. 20/Ashley Szafranski at West Virginia on Jan. 14
  • Floor: Team - 49.400 vs. Arizona on Feb. 24 (highest since 3/10/2006 against Iowa State (49.425)) | Individual 9.950, Cairo Leonard-Baker vs. Arizona on Feb. 24
  • 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

Last Time Out
Arizona State traveled to Happy Valley for the University Park Regional held at Penn State's Rec Hall. Slotted as the third seed, the Gym Devils placed third overall with a solid 195.750. The effort marked the program's best at NCAA Regionals since April 6, 2013 when the Gym Devils finished third with a 194.425 at the NCAA West Regional. Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Cairo Leonard-Baker, also earned an individual all-around berth to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships with a tally of 39.200. Sophomore Ashley Szafranski had a stellar individual performance, tying for second on bars with a pair of Florida gymnasts, Megan Skaggs and Rachel Gowey. At the conclusion of the competition, ASU captured a pair of regional recognitions as second-year head coach, Jay Santos, earned NACGC/W South Central Region Head Coach of the Year honors and Senior Associate Athletic Directors, Scottie Graham and Deana Garner-Smith, won NACGC/W South Central Regional Administrator of the Year honors.

Historic Season in Retrospect 
The 2018 season proved a monumental one for the Gym Devil program. Under second-year head coach, Jay Santos, the Arizona State Women's Gymnastics made tremendous strides and celebrated a number of team and individual accomplishments on the season, including: 

  • The Gym Devils Improved 18 spots from their 2017 national finish of 41, capping the season ranked at No. 23 nationally.
  • Arizona State knocked off four ranked opponents this 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.
  • For the first time since 2006, the Gym Devils recorded seven 196+ marks in a season.
  • After eclipsing the mark only four times in 2017, Arizona State scored 49.000+ in 33 event rotations on the season.
  • Arizona State capped the season as one of five Pac-12 programs ranked nationally — the No. 23 Gym Devils were joined in the rankings by No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Utah, No. 9 California, No. 11 Washington.
  • For the first time since 2006, the Gym Devils earned a 49.000+ RQS on all four events this season with a 49.065, 49.165, 49.135, 49.185 on vault, bars, beam, and floor respectively.
  • The Maroon and Gold ranked in the Top-20 nationally for 12th consecutive weeks.
  • Arizona State clinched a regional team berth, earning a No. 3 seed and making its first postseason appearance as a team since 2014. 
  • Head coach Jay Santos garnered two postseason awards this season by being named Pac-12 Coach of the Year and NACGC/W South Central Region Head Coach of the Year. 
  • Sr. Associate AD's, Scottie Graham and Deana Garner-Smith, earned NACGC/W South Central Regional Administrator of the Year honors.
  • Five different Gym Devils won at least one event title, for a total of 16 first-place finishes and 64 top-three finishes
  • Arizona State swept all four events and the all-around vs. Arizona on February 24, 2018 earning a pivotal Territorial Cup point. 
  • Captured wins at four meets during the regular season. This constitutes the most wins for the Gym Devils in a single season since legendary coach, John Spini's, last season with ASU in 2014.
  • ASU placed a program-best nine student-athletes on the Pac-12 All-Academic Teams. Winners include: Justine Callis (HM), Nichelle Christopherson (1st), Jessica Ginn (1st), Morgan Hart (2nd), Katelyn Lentz (1st), Ashley Szafranski (2nd), Heather Udowitch (1st), Morgan Wilson (HM), and Graycee Rushton (HM).