(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)
Arizona State gymnastics took on the Arizona Wildcats in their final meet at Desert Financial Arena and did not disappoint.
The Sun Devils started off the meet on vault red hot in the first round as freshman Anya Smith led the team in this category with an outstanding score of 9.900. Sophomore Hannah Scharf followed with a 9.850 score giving ASU a 49.075-48.850 lead after round one.
Round two was more of the same for the Sun Devils with senior Cairo Leonard-Baker setting a meet-best 9.900 mark on bars and freshman Sarah Clark trailing right behind her scoring 9.875. The performances on the bar from Leonard-Baker and Clark helped ASU maintain its lead over the Wildcats.
Trouble started to arise for the Sun Devils when Scharf and Clark had challenges keeping their balance on the beam. The Wildcats were able to take advantage of this opportunity and performed well enough on floor to take the lead for the first time 147.025-146.700.
The Sun Devils showed their resilience as a team with a huge performance on floor rallying back and coming out with the 196.100- 196.075 victory. Arizona State was able to secure its third straight victory after clutch performances on floor from Scharf and Leonard-Baker.
Saturday was not only special because of a win against a big Pac-12 opponent, but after the meet seniors Cario Leonard-Baker and Maya Williams were honored for their four years at ASU.
“Cairo is going to be a legacy athlete for us, one of the most decorated gymnasts this program has had,” said head coach Jay Santos. “Right from the start as a freshman, she has brought that fire, that competitiveness so we are going to be hard pressed and sad to see her go.
“Cairo has been the rock for the last four years that we have needed. She came in as a freshman and she was our spark that really got this turn around going four years ago.”
In her time at ASU, Williams Competed twice on floor and once on beam and was a 2019 WCGA Scholastic All-American.
Leonard-Baker has been an all-time great gymnast for the Sun Devils, winning two team MVPs over the years and competing in the Pac-12 championships multiple times.
Leonard-Baker was touched by the ceremony after the meet and said she wants to bring a long lasting legacy to ASU.
“It means everything to me,” said Leonard-Baker. “That legacy of being a part of something that was so big and we are still building each and every day. Being a big part of that moving up the latter which we have done these past four years just means everything to me.
It feels so good that future Sun Devils coming in could say I’m going to be the number 7 seed in the nation or maybe higher as we go and that’s so amazing that I helped do that. It’s a great feeling.”
The Sun Devils are currently on a three meet winning streak with only one meet left until the Pac-12 Championships on March 20th. They will travel to Idaho to face Boise State on March 12 to finish off the regular season.
