Wrapping up their three-week road stint, the fourth ranked Red Rocks take on Arizona State in the desert this Saturday night. The 19th ranked Sun Devils are averaging a 195.338 so far this season, tied with fellow PAC-12 foe, Oregon State, however they have seen steady improvement each week, opening the season with a 195.000, followed by a 195.675 and a 196.125 last week against UCLA.
ASU’s season includes just one win, a 2.125-point victory of Texas Woman’s University, but the highlight of their season may be besting UCLA on the beam. Scoring 49.325, the Sun Devils edged out the Bruins, who scored an equally impressive 49.250. Senior Justine Callis’s 9.9250 effort was just what the Sun Devils needed to edge out UCLA, who as a unit, rank third nationally on the beam. The performance earned Callis PAC-12 Specialist of the Week honors, the first such award for any Sun Devil since 2013.
All-Around competitor Cairo Leonard-Baker provides the most consistency to the Sun Devils’ roster, averaging a 39.208 this season, with impressive scores coming on the bars (9.975 against UCLA) and a 9.900 on her first floor routine of the season. As a freshman, Leonard Baker became the first Sun Devil to ever earn the PAC-12 Freshman of the Year and was a second-team All-American in the all-around. With her steady improvement matching the pace of the rest of the team, Utah’s MyKyla Skinner may face some stout competition from the talented sophomore.
Fans will be able to watch this weekend’s matchup live on the PAC-12 Network starting at 6:30 PM MT. The Red Rocks will make their long-awaited return to the Huntsman Center on February 1st at 7:00 against the Arizona Wildcats.