TEMPE, Ariz. - Coming off of a strong 2018 campaign, Arizona State gymnastics is looking to build off of last year's success to get to the next level.
The Gym Devils have a lot of momentum going into the 2019 schedule, which features six teams that advanced to the 2018 NCAA National Championships. They are led by head coach Jay Santos, who was named the 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Additionally, they return NACGC/W Regular Season Second Team All-American Cairo Leonard-Baker, who was also named the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. The 2019 roster returns 14 letterwinners and adds three freshmen.
In 2018, Arizona State ended the season at No. 23, improving 18 spots ahead of the 2017 finish. The Sun Devils also improved their average team score from 195.145 to 196.545. The team qualified for NCAA regionals for the first time since 2014 and sent Leonard-Baker to NCAA nationals as an all-around.
In addition to success in the gym, the team excelled in the classroom as well. A program-best nine athletes received 2018 Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including a conference-best four on the first team.
Arizona State will have two consistent student-athletes returning in the all-around, Leonard-Baker and Anne Kuhm. The sophomore and senior both competed in the all-around in 12 of the 13 meets last season. Leonard-Baker won four all-around titles in 2018. Her best score came in the meet against California when she earned a 39.575. Kuhm's best performance came in the home meet against Arizona when she scored a career-best 39.450 in the all-around, earning her second place individually.
Each week leading up to the season, we will preview an event. We will look at the Sun Devils who will return to that event and the newcomers. Next week, we will preview the Gym Devils who will be competing on vault.
The Gym Devils have a lot of momentum going into the 2019 schedule, which features six teams that advanced to the 2018 NCAA National Championships. They are led by head coach Jay Santos, who was named the 2018 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Additionally, they return NACGC/W Regular Season Second Team All-American Cairo Leonard-Baker, who was also named the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. The 2019 roster returns 14 letterwinners and adds three freshmen.
In 2018, Arizona State ended the season at No. 23, improving 18 spots ahead of the 2017 finish. The Sun Devils also improved their average team score from 195.145 to 196.545. The team qualified for NCAA regionals for the first time since 2014 and sent Leonard-Baker to NCAA nationals as an all-around.
In addition to success in the gym, the team excelled in the classroom as well. A program-best nine athletes received 2018 Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including a conference-best four on the first team.
Arizona State will have two consistent student-athletes returning in the all-around, Leonard-Baker and Anne Kuhm. The sophomore and senior both competed in the all-around in 12 of the 13 meets last season. Leonard-Baker won four all-around titles in 2018. Her best score came in the meet against California when she earned a 39.575. Kuhm's best performance came in the home meet against Arizona when she scored a career-best 39.450 in the all-around, earning her second place individually.
Each week leading up to the season, we will preview an event. We will look at the Sun Devils who will return to that event and the newcomers. Next week, we will preview the Gym Devils who will be competing on vault.