(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
It was a star-studded competition in Norman, Oklahoma Friday night, as the No.12 Arizona State Gym Devils took on No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 10 Arkansas, and No.15 Denver in a quad-meet at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Arizona State held their own among the fierce competition, recording a 195.700 to tie for third with No. 10 Arkansas. As for the top two teams, No. 1 Oklahoma posted their sixth 198+ score this season with a 198.100 while No. 15 Denver received a 196.525.
“I think they did good on vault and bars with mixed routines on floor and beam which kind of held us back,” Head Coach Jay Santos said. “We had some good routines, but we certainly didn’t have enough of those good routines tonight. Going into the final meet of the season I think we really need to focus on cleaning up all those little details so we’re not giving so much away.”
Five-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker and 2012 French Olympian Anne Kuhm paved the way for the Sun Devil effort. In a competitive field, Leonard-Baker finished fourth in the all-around with a 39.225 and was the top freshman all-arounder in the meet. Kuhm also earned a 39.150 in the all-around for a seventh-place finish.
“I think we could have done better, but overall we definitely held our own and kept our positivity high throughout the meet and celebrated all the little things,” Leonard-Baker said. “Sometimes we focus too much on the scores when we do hit good routines. Going into next week, I think we just need to remember to have fun keep the energy high.”
Current No. 1 national all-arounder, OU sophomore Maggie Nichols, took home the all-around title at the meet with a 39.725. Denver’s sophomore Maddie Karr took second with a 39.550. Sooner junior Nicole Lehrmann rounded out the top-three with a 39.525. Oklahoma also took home every event title, with five different gymnasts taking at least a part of an individual title.
ASU began its meet on floor where all-around duo Kuhm and Leonard-Baker both delivered strong performances, posting a 9.875 and 9.825, respectively. Junior Justine Callis also added a 9.775 along with a pair of 9.75s from sophomore Jessica Ginn and junior Kaitlyn Szafranski to bring the team total to 48.975.
The home team, Oklahoma, began their night on vault where they went 49.525 to lead the first rotation. Junior Brenna Dowell and freshman Anastasia Webb tied and won the event with a 9.925. OU added two 9.90s from senior AJ Jackson and Nichols to cap off the rotation.
Arkansas started off strong on the uneven bars with four scores of 9.80 or better. Senior Braie Speed led the Razorback effort with a 9.900 along with sophomore Hailey Garner who added a 9.875, bringing their team cumulative to a 49.175.
Denver was on the beam in the first rotation where it earned a team total of 48.950. The Pioneers suffered a fall in the middle of their rotation; however, Karr came back with a 9.825 and they were able to drop the fall. Senior Nikole Addison, freshman Lynzee Brown, and junior Kaitlyn Schou rounded out the rotation with three 9.800s.
Heading into the second rotation, Oklahoma led the pack with a 49.525 followed by Arkansas (49.175), ASU (48.975) and Denver (48.950).
The Gym Devils headed to the vault in the second rotation where they earned a 49.000, their only 49.000 event score of the night. Counting four scores of 9.800+, Leonard-Baker led the way with a 9.825 followed by Kuhm, K. Szafranski and junior Morgan Wilson who each contributed a 9.800.
The Sooners moved to the bars where they put up a season-high 49.625 to extend their lead. Jackson got the ball rolling with a 9.900 in the leadoff position tying her career-high. Webb followed with an impressive 9.925 with a stuck dismount. Senior Stefani Catour tied her career-high with a 9.925. The defending co-national champions, Lehrmann and Nichols, anchored the Sooners with Lehrmann putting up a 9.950 to win the event, while Nichols posted a 9.925 to close out the rotation.
Arkansas was on the beam in the second rotation where sophomore Jessica Yamzon led off with a 9.875. However, things got rocky for the Razorbacks in the middle of the rotation and were forced to count a fall, but they were able to rebound after Garner posted a career-high 9.925.
The Pioneers moved to the floor in the second rotation where they earned a 49.200 and the team’s highest road score of the season. Karr had the team’s highest score with a 9.90 and a fourth place overall finish. Schou rounded out the rotation for Denver with a 9.875.
At the halfway point, OU extended it lead with a 99.150, followed by Denver (98.150), ASU (97.975), and Arkansas with a 97.625.
The Gym Devils moved to bars where they had an unusually low 48.900 event total. Leonard-Baker once again propelled the team effort with a 9.825 followed by Kuhm’s 9.800. Callis and Wilson also contributed with a pair of 9.775s.
“It’s hard when you feel like they [the team] did a good job and don’t get rewarded for it,” Santos said. “We just try to focus on the performance and not so much the score.”
OU continued to pull ahead in the third rotation on the balance beam. The Sooners were led by Nichols near-perfect 9.975 as well as sophomore Bre Showers’ 9.900. Lehrmann and Catour added a 9.875 and 9.85, respectively, to propel the team to a 49.375.
The Razorbacks moved to the floor where freshmen Sarah Shaffer and Sophia Carter posted a 9.875 bringing their team total to a 49.050.
As for Denver, Karr paved the way for the Pioneers on vault with a massive 9.900 followed by Addison’s 9.825 and Schou’s 9.775. The team finished with a 49.875.
Going into the final rotation, Oklahoma led with a 148.600. Denver trailed slightly behind with a 147.125 followed by ASU (146.875) then Arkansas (146.675).
Arizona State concluded its meet on the balance beam. Callis anchored the Gym Devils with a 9.850. Sophomore Ashley Szafranski added a 9.825 to the team total with her unique skills and combinations. Leonard-Baker and Wilson rounded out the meet with a 9.750 and 9.725, respectively, bringing the final event score to a 48.825.
“I think we did good tonight but we could definitely be better,” Kuhm said. “We started of strong on floor and vault and bars we’re good too. But I don’t think we were as confident as we normally are on beam so that’s what we would like to work on for next week.”
The Sooners closed out their senior meet by tying their season-high on floor with a 49.575. In her final routine at the Llyod Noble Center, Jackson took home the event title with a 9.950. Nichols and Webb put up matching scores of 9.925 to propel OU to their sixth 198+ team score this season.
Arkansas concluded its meet on vault where four girls posted a 9.800 or better. Shaffer tied her career-high with a 9.875.
Denver finished its meet strong, earning a 49.400 on bars to tie their second-highest score in program history. Karr and freshman Mia Sundstrom shared the team’s top score with a pair of 9.90s, tying Sundstrom’s career-high.
Reflecting on their performance as a whole, Callis said, “Overall, I think we did a great job handling the pressure and staying in our own little bubble, but we did make some uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the meet that we’re going to go back in the gym and fix before next week.”
The Gym Devils will travel to Northern California for their final regular season competition in a quad meet with host Sacramento State, No. 11 Oregon State, and UC Davis on Friday, March 16. The meet is slated to begin at 7 p.m. MST.
