BATON ROUGE, La. – Cairo Leonard-Baker won the Baton Rouge Regional bar title with a 9.925 as No. 21 Arizona State gymnastics took third in the second session of the second round on Friday, falling short of advancing to the finals.
"I'm really proud of what the team did today," Arizona State head coach Jay Santos said. "We were up against some tough competition and there wasn't much room for mistakes if we were going to advance. There were many positive takeaways and I'm happy with how the team really fought hard throughout the meet and battled for every tenth tonight. I'm pleased with how they approached the meet and the high energy they had."
The Gym Devils fell short of advancing to the third round on Saturday, which ends their successful and record-breaking season. They scored a 195.425, which was behind LSU's 197.200 and Auburn's 197.075. Auburn, Minnesota, LSU and Utah are the four teams that will compete for spots at nationals in Saturday's final meet.
Leonard-Baker took first on bars between both second-round sessions, winning the regional title with her score of 9.925. Though individual bids are not official until after Saturday's regional final, she is a lock to participate at nationals as an individual on the uneven bars.
"Cairo did a fantastic bar routine tonight and I'm so excited for her," Santos said. "Being the regional bar champion against so much strong competition is a huge accomplishment."
Leonard-Baker was Arizona State's lone all-around competitor, scoring a 39.350. She led the team on both bars (9.925) and floor (9.850). On vault, Morgan Wilson earned the highest vault score for ASU with a 9.875. On beam, Justine Callis scored a 9.800 for the Gym Devils' best score in that event.
Results
After a rocky start, Corinne Belkoff came through for the Gym Devils, scoring a 9.800. She has not scored below a 9.800 in her last five floor routines. Kaitlyn Szafranski matched that score, and Leonard-Baker capped off the rotation with a 9.850 to lead the team. The sophomore has scored at least a 9.825 in all but two meets this season.
Rotation Two – Vault | 49.025
The Sun Devils put together a solid vault rotation, their third meet in a row scoring a 49.000-plus in this event. There were three that scored a 9.800 or better. Jessica Ginn reached 9.800, Leonard-Baker scored a 9.825 and Wilson scored a team-best 9.875.
Rotation Three – Bars | 49.025
Leonard-Baker put up a 9.925 on bars for the highest score of both sessions today. It was her eighth 9.900-plus score on bars this season. Ashley Szafranski also brought in a solid score, earning a 9.800 for her routine, tying her season high.
Rotation Four – Beam | 48.500
The final rotation for ASU was on beam. Callis had the best score with a 9.800. All season, she has scored below a 9.800 just once. Three others scored a 9.700 or better on beam tonight for Arizona State.
The third round will be held on Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT. The top two teams from that meet will move on to nationals in two weeks. The individuals that will move on to nationals will be determined after Saturday's round of competition, but the scores from today are what will qualify those individuals. The top individuals in each event who are not part of the two qualifying teams will compete at nationals.
"I'm really proud of what the team did today," Arizona State head coach Jay Santos said. "We were up against some tough competition and there wasn't much room for mistakes if we were going to advance. There were many positive takeaways and I'm happy with how the team really fought hard throughout the meet and battled for every tenth tonight. I'm pleased with how they approached the meet and the high energy they had."
The Gym Devils fell short of advancing to the third round on Saturday, which ends their successful and record-breaking season. They scored a 195.425, which was behind LSU's 197.200 and Auburn's 197.075. Auburn, Minnesota, LSU and Utah are the four teams that will compete for spots at nationals in Saturday's final meet.
Leonard-Baker took first on bars between both second-round sessions, winning the regional title with her score of 9.925. Though individual bids are not official until after Saturday's regional final, she is a lock to participate at nationals as an individual on the uneven bars.
"Cairo did a fantastic bar routine tonight and I'm so excited for her," Santos said. "Being the regional bar champion against so much strong competition is a huge accomplishment."
Leonard-Baker was Arizona State's lone all-around competitor, scoring a 39.350. She led the team on both bars (9.925) and floor (9.850). On vault, Morgan Wilson earned the highest vault score for ASU with a 9.875. On beam, Justine Callis scored a 9.800 for the Gym Devils' best score in that event.
Results
- LSU, 197.200
- Auburn, 197.075
- ASU, 195.425
- George Washington, 194.675
After a rocky start, Corinne Belkoff came through for the Gym Devils, scoring a 9.800. She has not scored below a 9.800 in her last five floor routines. Kaitlyn Szafranski matched that score, and Leonard-Baker capped off the rotation with a 9.850 to lead the team. The sophomore has scored at least a 9.825 in all but two meets this season.
Rotation Two – Vault | 49.025
The Sun Devils put together a solid vault rotation, their third meet in a row scoring a 49.000-plus in this event. There were three that scored a 9.800 or better. Jessica Ginn reached 9.800, Leonard-Baker scored a 9.825 and Wilson scored a team-best 9.875.
Rotation Three – Bars | 49.025
Leonard-Baker put up a 9.925 on bars for the highest score of both sessions today. It was her eighth 9.900-plus score on bars this season. Ashley Szafranski also brought in a solid score, earning a 9.800 for her routine, tying her season high.
Rotation Four – Beam | 48.500
The final rotation for ASU was on beam. Callis had the best score with a 9.800. All season, she has scored below a 9.800 just once. Three others scored a 9.700 or better on beam tonight for Arizona State.
The third round will be held on Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT. The top two teams from that meet will move on to nationals in two weeks. The individuals that will move on to nationals will be determined after Saturday's round of competition, but the scores from today are what will qualify those individuals. The top individuals in each event who are not part of the two qualifying teams will compete at nationals.