By Diana Ly, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 17 Arizona State women's gymnastics team (6-4; 3-3 Pac-12) captured a pivotal Territorial Cup point in a wire-to-wire, 196.725-195.025, victory over in-state rival Arizona Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. In the effort, the Gym Devils surpassed the 196+ mark for the fifth time this season. Of pertinent note, the team's 196.725 effort constitutes its 21st-best in program history.
"There are so many positive takeaways from today's victory," noted Arizona State head coach Jay Santos. "The team continued to show its consistency across all four events which will be a huge confidence booster heading into our upcoming stretch of road meets. We have really been honing in on the smaller details of our performance and that absolutely showed tonight."
The Gym Devils swept the event rotations, recording tallies of 49.125, 49.025, 49.175, 49.400 on vault, bars, beam and floor, respectively.
Leading the Arizona State effort was four-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker and 2012 French Olympian Anne Kuhm. Leonard-Baker won the all-around title recording a 39.475, while Kuhm followed close behind finishing in second with a 39.450. ASU also swept the individual event titles. In addition to her all-around title, Leonard-Baker added first-place finishes on bars and floor, posting scores of 9.875 and 9.950 respectively. Kuhm added a vault title to her resume with a 9.900. Junior Justine Callis earned her first title of the season, capturing with beam with a career-best 9.900 to her credit.
Starting the meet on vault Kuhm led the way with a career-high 9.900. Leonard-Baker added a 9.850 (tied career-best) while Junior Morgan Wilson recorded a 9.825. The Gym Devils ended the rotation by earning their season-best on the event with a 49.125.
Entering the outing's second rotation with a slight advantage, ASU earned a 49.025 on bars and was led by Leonard-Baker's 9.875. Kuhm added a 9.825, while three Gym Devils including Callis, Wilson, and Junior Kaitlyn Szafranski, earned 9.775's to close out the rotation.
Spearheaded by a career-best 9.900 effort from Callis the Gym Devils posted a solid 49.175 on beam. Sophomore Ashley Szafranski earned second-place on the event with a 9.875. All-around powerhouses, Kuhm and Leonard-Baker, added a pair of 9.800's.
High-energy from the crowd and solid landings helped the Gym Devils cap the meet with a season-best 49.400 on floor. Leonard-Baker once again came in clutch for ASU earning a career-best 9.950. Kuhm earned a 9.925, while K. Szafranski and Sophomore Jessica Ginn earned a pair of 9.850's. All three also earned career-bests on the event.
"The energy in the arena today was electric and our fans were incredible," said Santos. "A big shout out to the 924 Crew for all of their support this season."
The Gym Devils will close out the regular season with three consecutive road meets. Up next, the Gym Devils will travel to the Midwest to face Big Ten opponent, No. 19 Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. The meet is slated for a 3 p.m. MT start on Saturday, March 3 and will be live streamed on the Big Ten Network (BTN) Plus.
TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 17 Arizona State women's gymnastics team (6-4; 3-3 Pac-12) captured a pivotal Territorial Cup point in a wire-to-wire, 196.725-195.025, victory over in-state rival Arizona Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. In the effort, the Gym Devils surpassed the 196+ mark for the fifth time this season. Of pertinent note, the team's 196.725 effort constitutes its 21st-best in program history.
"There are so many positive takeaways from today's victory," noted Arizona State head coach Jay Santos. "The team continued to show its consistency across all four events which will be a huge confidence booster heading into our upcoming stretch of road meets. We have really been honing in on the smaller details of our performance and that absolutely showed tonight."
The Gym Devils swept the event rotations, recording tallies of 49.125, 49.025, 49.175, 49.400 on vault, bars, beam and floor, respectively.
Leading the Arizona State effort was four-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker and 2012 French Olympian Anne Kuhm. Leonard-Baker won the all-around title recording a 39.475, while Kuhm followed close behind finishing in second with a 39.450. ASU also swept the individual event titles. In addition to her all-around title, Leonard-Baker added first-place finishes on bars and floor, posting scores of 9.875 and 9.950 respectively. Kuhm added a vault title to her resume with a 9.900. Junior Justine Callis earned her first title of the season, capturing with beam with a career-best 9.900 to her credit.
Starting the meet on vault Kuhm led the way with a career-high 9.900. Leonard-Baker added a 9.850 (tied career-best) while Junior Morgan Wilson recorded a 9.825. The Gym Devils ended the rotation by earning their season-best on the event with a 49.125.
Entering the outing's second rotation with a slight advantage, ASU earned a 49.025 on bars and was led by Leonard-Baker's 9.875. Kuhm added a 9.825, while three Gym Devils including Callis, Wilson, and Junior Kaitlyn Szafranski, earned 9.775's to close out the rotation.
Spearheaded by a career-best 9.900 effort from Callis the Gym Devils posted a solid 49.175 on beam. Sophomore Ashley Szafranski earned second-place on the event with a 9.875. All-around powerhouses, Kuhm and Leonard-Baker, added a pair of 9.800's.
High-energy from the crowd and solid landings helped the Gym Devils cap the meet with a season-best 49.400 on floor. Leonard-Baker once again came in clutch for ASU earning a career-best 9.950. Kuhm earned a 9.925, while K. Szafranski and Sophomore Jessica Ginn earned a pair of 9.850's. All three also earned career-bests on the event.
"The energy in the arena today was electric and our fans were incredible," said Santos. "A big shout out to the 924 Crew for all of their support this season."
The Gym Devils will close out the regular season with three consecutive road meets. Up next, the Gym Devils will travel to the Midwest to face Big Ten opponent, No. 19 Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. The meet is slated for a 3 p.m. MT start on Saturday, March 3 and will be live streamed on the Big Ten Network (BTN) Plus.