TEMPE, Ariz. – With a strong 196.550 team total, No. 21 Arizona State gymnastics took down No. 14 BYU and West Virginia in the final home meet of the year to finish the regular season with a winning record (11-10) for the first time since 2014.
"I'm really happy with the performance tonight," Arizona State head coach Jay Santos said. "Everything felt a little off in Denver, we didn't know what it was. We had a nice, long meeting and talked it out. We didn't seem to be very aggressive on Sunday, so one of the big things we talked about was to be more aggressive with what we're doing, go attack and go try to go after those performances that we want to do. They obviously did a way better job tonight."
The last time the Gym Devils (11-10) finished the regular season with a winning record was in 2014 when they went 8-6. This was the second win against a ranked BYU this season after also beating them in a tri-meet at Cal earlier this year. It was the third win over a ranked opponent this season for ASU.
Individually, the Gym Devils had a strong night. In the all-around, Cairo Leonard-Baker tied with BYU's Shannon Evans with a 39.425 for her third all-around title this season. Justine Callis won her third beam title of the year with a 9.900, which was her second time going 9.900 or better this season. She also tied season and career highs in other events. On floor, Leonard-Baker's and Corinne Belkoff's 9.900 tied with gymnasts from both BYU and WVU for that title.
For ASU, this was the last regular season meet and home meet. Seniors were celebrated in the last home meet, but they came to play tonight. Between Callis' best meet of the year and Belkoff taking the floor title, there was a lot to celebrate.
"They had their senior night already," Santos said. "So it's kind of like a little second extra act to their senior night, which is great. I think it's nice that we are able bounce back from Sunday, really put together this meet and send them off well and with passion."
Results
For the fourth time in the last five meets, the Gym Devils scored a 49.000 or better on vault. The back half of the lineup showed up big for ASU, starting with Kaitlyn Szafranski's 9.825. That was her second highest score of the season on vault. Back-to-back 9.850s from Leonard-Baker and Morgan Wilson capped off the first rotation.
Rotation Two – Bars | 49.000
Callis followed up last meet's career-best performance on bars with a new career high in this meet, earning a 9.850. The last two in the lineup earned strong scores for the team. Anne Kuhm got a 9.825, followed by Leonard-Baker in the anchor spot with a 9.875.
Rotation Three – Beam | 49.275
The Gym Devils earned their second-best beam total of the season with a 49.275. with all five scores that counted going 9.800 or better. Callis led the way with a 9.900, which won the individual event title. This was her second 9.900 or better of the season. Ashley Szafranski tied her season high of 9.875. Both Kuhm and Wilson scored 9.850s.
Rotation Four – Floor | 49.250
With two 9.900s, Arizona State ended the meet with a bang. Like on beam, all five scores that counted were 9.800s or better. Both Belkoff and Leonard-Baker scored 9.900s on floor to tie with two other competitors for the floor title. For Belkoff, it tied her career high and was her second title of the year. For Leonard-Baker, it was her fifth floor score of 9.900 or better this year and fifth title this season on floor. Callis, continuing her strong night, scored a 9.825 to tie her season best.
Up next for the Gym Devils is the Pac-12 Championship in Salt Lake City on March 23.
"I'm really happy with the performance tonight," Arizona State head coach Jay Santos said. "Everything felt a little off in Denver, we didn't know what it was. We had a nice, long meeting and talked it out. We didn't seem to be very aggressive on Sunday, so one of the big things we talked about was to be more aggressive with what we're doing, go attack and go try to go after those performances that we want to do. They obviously did a way better job tonight."
The last time the Gym Devils (11-10) finished the regular season with a winning record was in 2014 when they went 8-6. This was the second win against a ranked BYU this season after also beating them in a tri-meet at Cal earlier this year. It was the third win over a ranked opponent this season for ASU.
We finished the regular season with an 11-10 record, the first time with a winning record since 2014! #GymDevils | #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/ozDIoP659T
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) March 14, 2019
Individually, the Gym Devils had a strong night. In the all-around, Cairo Leonard-Baker tied with BYU's Shannon Evans with a 39.425 for her third all-around title this season. Justine Callis won her third beam title of the year with a 9.900, which was her second time going 9.900 or better this season. She also tied season and career highs in other events. On floor, Leonard-Baker's and Corinne Belkoff's 9.900 tied with gymnasts from both BYU and WVU for that title.
For ASU, this was the last regular season meet and home meet. Seniors were celebrated in the last home meet, but they came to play tonight. Between Callis' best meet of the year and Belkoff taking the floor title, there was a lot to celebrate.
"They had their senior night already," Santos said. "So it's kind of like a little second extra act to their senior night, which is great. I think it's nice that we are able bounce back from Sunday, really put together this meet and send them off well and with passion."
Results
- Arizona State, 196.550
- BYU, 195.825
- West Virginia, 195.750
For the fourth time in the last five meets, the Gym Devils scored a 49.000 or better on vault. The back half of the lineup showed up big for ASU, starting with Kaitlyn Szafranski's 9.825. That was her second highest score of the season on vault. Back-to-back 9.850s from Leonard-Baker and Morgan Wilson capped off the first rotation.
Cairo Leonard-Baker and Morgan Wilson score back-to-back 9.850s to close out the first rotation!#GymDevils | #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/H5TTxHo6JS
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) March 14, 2019
Rotation Two – Bars | 49.000
Callis followed up last meet's career-best performance on bars with a new career high in this meet, earning a 9.850. The last two in the lineup earned strong scores for the team. Anne Kuhm got a 9.825, followed by Leonard-Baker in the anchor spot with a 9.875.
Want to see Cairo fly? Check out her bars routine!
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) March 14, 2019
She scored a 9?.8?7?5? for the #GymDevils! pic.twitter.com/MNjZuV12eP
Rotation Three – Beam | 49.275
The Gym Devils earned their second-best beam total of the season with a 49.275. with all five scores that counted going 9.800 or better. Callis led the way with a 9.900, which won the individual event title. This was her second 9.900 or better of the season. Ashley Szafranski tied her season high of 9.875. Both Kuhm and Wilson scored 9.850s.
Justine "Beam Queen" Callis strikes again!! ??
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) March 14, 2019
She scored a 9?.9?0?0? to cap off the third rotation! #GymDevils pic.twitter.com/N1Gnq9fkLk
Rotation Four – Floor | 49.250
With two 9.900s, Arizona State ended the meet with a bang. Like on beam, all five scores that counted were 9.800s or better. Both Belkoff and Leonard-Baker scored 9.900s on floor to tie with two other competitors for the floor title. For Belkoff, it tied her career high and was her second title of the year. For Leonard-Baker, it was her fifth floor score of 9.900 or better this year and fifth title this season on floor. Callis, continuing her strong night, scored a 9.825 to tie her season best.
9?.9?0?0?!!
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) March 14, 2019
The second 9.900 of the night comes from Corinne Belkoff on floor, tying her career high! #GymDevils pic.twitter.com/hI5RYv0QZc
Up next for the Gym Devils is the Pac-12 Championship in Salt Lake City on March 23.