NORMAN, Okla. – Opening up the 2021 season, No. 21 Sun Devil Gymnastics saw their underclassmen shine and four freshmen make their collegiate debut in the loss against the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners on the road on Sunday.
Notable Stats
Arizona State Head Coach Jay Santos
"It was so great to be in an arena and competing again! I'm really excited about how we started the meet. They attacked the first two events and looked confident and aggressive. Once we headed into the second half of the meet, they were much more tentative and some nerves definitely got the best of us in some spots. We have a lot potential to grow from this point and we will need to be able to be aggressive and finish off meets like we started today."
Final Results:
The Gym Devils got off to a strong start on bars. All five scores that counted were a 9.825 or above. Freshmen Sarah Clark and Emily White led the way, each of them scoring a 9.850 in their first college gymnastics routines. Boyer, Leonard-Baker and Scarf all earned 9.825s.
Rotation Two – Vault, 48.975
Freshman Anaya Smith scored a 9.850 in her collegiate debut, proving to be another bright spot in this talented freshman class. Leonard-Baker anchored the rotation with a stuck landing for a 9.825 for the Gym Devils.
Rotation Three – Floor, 48.625
The Gym Devils did not do their best on floor, the highest score being a 9.800. Boyer and Leonard-Baker both reached that mark. ASU needed to count three 9.675s in this rotation.
Rotation Four – Beam, 47.950
The final rotation was the biggest challenge for Arizona State. Megan Thompson had a team-high 9.800, but the team had to count a fall in the event total.
Arizona State will host No. 17 BYU on Saturday, January 16. The Cougars are coming off of a second-place finish at the Best of Utah quad meet.
Meet 1?? in the books ??#GymDevils pic.twitter.com/cSlQs1h8GA
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) January 10, 2021
Notable Stats
- Arizona State (0-1) fell short to Oklahoma (1-0) in the season opener, 197.450 to 194.725.
- Four freshmen made their collegiate debuts in this meet. Sarah Clark was in the lineup for bars (9.850), beam (8.675) and floor (9.675). Emily White had strong showings on bars (9.850) and vault (9.775). Jada Mangahas competed on vault (9.775) and floor (9.575). Finally, Anaya Smith was in the vault lineup, earning a 9.850.
- Only two upperclassmen competed on Sunday: senior Cairo Leonard-Baker and junior Megan Thompson.
- The high score of the day was a 9.850, which was achieved three times, all by freshmen. White and Clark both earned that mark on bars and Smith got the score on vault.
- Three Sun Devils did all-around on Sunday: Juliette Boyer (39.125), Hannah Scharf (38.950) and Cairo Leonard-Baker (38.450).
- Leonard-Baker had solid scores in three of her four events. She earned 9.825s on vault and bars, as well as a 9.800 on floor.
- The Gym Devils shone on bars in the opening rotation, scoring a 49.175. All five scores that counted were a 9.825 or better. Dating back to last season, ASU has had five-straight bars scores of 49.000-plus.
- Anaya Smith's vault score of 9.850 was tied for the second-best score in that event between both teams.
- Assistant coach Kristin White returned to her alma mater today where she was a gymnast from 2007-10.
QuotesWhat a huge rotation on bars for the #GymDevils! All five of our scores that counted are over 9.825, including freshman Sarah Clark's 9.850 capped off by this stick! ??
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) January 10, 2021
??: FOX Sports AZ/OK pic.twitter.com/zWgy4JVU0l
Arizona State Head Coach Jay Santos
"It was so great to be in an arena and competing again! I'm really excited about how we started the meet. They attacked the first two events and looked confident and aggressive. Once we headed into the second half of the meet, they were much more tentative and some nerves definitely got the best of us in some spots. We have a lot potential to grow from this point and we will need to be able to be aggressive and finish off meets like we started today."
Final Results:
- Oklahoma, 197.450
- Arizona State, 194.725
The Gym Devils got off to a strong start on bars. All five scores that counted were a 9.825 or above. Freshmen Sarah Clark and Emily White led the way, each of them scoring a 9.850 in their first college gymnastics routines. Boyer, Leonard-Baker and Scarf all earned 9.825s.
Welcome to college gymnastics, Emily! She made a huge splash on bars in her debut!
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) January 10, 2021
??: FOX Sports AZ/OK pic.twitter.com/cPdlwbbUIT
Rotation Two – Vault, 48.975
Freshman Anaya Smith scored a 9.850 in her collegiate debut, proving to be another bright spot in this talented freshman class. Leonard-Baker anchored the rotation with a stuck landing for a 9.825 for the Gym Devils.
The freshmen are SHOWING UP today! ?? Anaya Smith brings it on vault in her collegiate debut!
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) January 10, 2021
??: FOX Sports AZ/OK pic.twitter.com/31UW2nvGzB
Rotation Three – Floor, 48.625
The Gym Devils did not do their best on floor, the highest score being a 9.800. Boyer and Leonard-Baker both reached that mark. ASU needed to count three 9.675s in this rotation.
Another 9.800 for the #GymDevils, this time from CLB! ??
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) January 10, 2021
??: FOX Sports AZ/OK pic.twitter.com/cHvJThx0Hb
Rotation Four – Beam, 47.950
The final rotation was the biggest challenge for Arizona State. Megan Thompson had a team-high 9.800, but the team had to count a fall in the event total.
Up NextMegan Thompson nailed this series and her routine to get a 9.800! ??
— Sun Devil Gymnastics (@SunDevilGym) January 10, 2021
??: FOX Sports AZ/OK pic.twitter.com/9U6JDr7lbR
Arizona State will host No. 17 BYU on Saturday, January 16. The Cougars are coming off of a second-place finish at the Best of Utah quad meet.