(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The No. 17 Arizona State Gym Devils (5-3, 2-2 Pac-12) are set to take on the No. 13 Washington Huskies (4-5, 2-1 Pac-12) as they return home to Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday.
After two consecutive road losses at Oregon State and Utah, the Gym Devils look to bounce back against the Washington Huskies. This meet will be critical for ASU to secure the coveted night session at the Pac-12 Championships later this season.
Last week at Utah, ASU fell short to the Utes 197.075-195.400. French Olympian and junior transfer, Anne Kuhm, led the Gym Devils with a career-high and third place finish in the all-around with a score of 39.225. Kuhm finished behind Utah’s Kari Lee and MyKayla Skinner. Three-time Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week Cairo Leonard-Baker helped lead the Sun Devil effort, placing third on the uneven bars and fourth in the all-around behind Kuhm with a 39.200.
While the Gym Devils have fallen short in their last two outings, the Huskies are coming off their best meet of the season against Oregon State, recording a 197.000. Washington will be looking to senior Hailey Burleson and sophomore Evanni Roberson to lead the Gym Dawg effort. It will be a tight race in the all-around as Leonard-Baker ranks No. 16 nationally and Burleson ranks No. 17.
By event, the Gym Devils rank 24th on vault (48.938), 14th on bars (48.988), 22nd on beam (48.817), and 23rd on floor (49.033). However, the Huskies will have the upper hand on every event ranking 18th on vault (48.988), 11th on bars (49.029), 13th on beam (49.017), and 9th on floor (49.163).
For vault, ASU will be looking to Morgan Wilson who scored a 9.825 during her last outing. Wilson has been a consistent vaulter for the Sun Devils averaging 9.8+ every meet. Key vaulters for the Huskies include Burleson, Roberson, and sophomore Haley Roy, who each have season highs of 9.875. Roy also performs a vault with a 10.0 start value which will be an advantage since ASU does not have a gymnast with a 10.0 vault in their lineup.
While the Huskies and the Gym Devils match closely on the bars, it has been ASU’s best event as of late. The Gym Devils will rely on Leonard-Baker who is currently ranked No. 14 on the uneven bars and earned the third place title last weekend. As for the Gym Dawgs, they will look to junior Monica Riley who matched her career-high of 9.900 against Oregon State.
On the beam, ASU will look toward sophomore Ashley Szafranski and junior Katelyn Lentz, who scored season-highs of 9.900 earlier this season. The Gym Devils will need to earn scores like that after Washington set a new season high on beam against the Beavers with a score of 49.350. Key gymnasts for the Huskies include Burleson who recorded a 9.925 last week as well as senior Joslyn Goings and sophomore Madison Copiak who notched scores of 9.900.
As for the floor, although it is the Sun Devil’s worst event on paper, it was the only event where they surpassed an event cumulative of 49+ against the Utes. The Sun Devils will count on Kuhm and Leonard-Baker who earned a 9.875 during their last outings. Unfortunately for the ASU, floor is the best event for the Gym Dawgs, and they will rely on Burleson, Roberson and sophomore Maya Washington who all have earned scores of 9.900.
You can check out the Gym Devil and Gym Dawg action this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in Wells Fargo Arena. The meet will air live on Pac-12 Networks.
