Individuals Set For NCAA Championships On Friday

TEMPE, Ariz. – Individual qualifiers Cairo Leonard-Baker and Hannah Scharf are heading to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the NCAA Championships on April 16, representing Sun Devil Gymnastics.
 
This is the third postseason in a row that Arizona State has had an individual representative at the NCAA Championships, with Leonard-Baker going each of the last two postseasons. Individual qualifiers are the top all-around competitors and the top event specialist on each event from each regional who are not on an advancing team.
 
Both Scharf and Leonard-Baker will be in the semifinal I. Scharf will rotate with Michigan while Leonard-Baker will be on bars in the third rotation with fellow Pac-12 team Cal. The all-around and individual event champions will be awarded to the individuals with the highest cumulative score during semifinal competition. The top four gymnasts (including ties) are First Team All-Americans and the next four (including ties) are Second Team All-Americans.
 
Hannah Scharf
Sophomore Hannah Scharf, from Ontario, Canada, has been shining bright for the Gym Devils. She earned WCGA Regular Season All-America honors and was All-Pac-12 First Team in the all-around and honorable mention on vault and floor. She is the first Gym Devil to get conference honors for three events since Ashley Kelly in 2006. She is currently ranked No. 16 in the all-around on Road to Nationals. Scharf has seven all-around titles, five floor titles and two beam titles this season. She also has earned career highs on bars, beam, floor and in the all-around and has matched her career best on vault.
 
Scharf earned her berth after scoring a solid 39.425 in the all-around on Friday. That performance was highlighted by a 9.925 on floor and a 9.900 on vault. This is the first postseason the sophomore Canadian has experienced as the 2020 season was cut short before the end of the regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Cairo Leonard-Baker
Cairo Leonard-Baker has been a strong presence in her senior campaign, as to be expected. She earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors on bars, her fourth season in a row to get conference honors in earn of her seasons. The last Gym Devil to do so was Ashley Kelly (2003-06). She has scored a 9.900 or better 13 times this season with four events titles, two on bars and two on floor. She also has had four meets with multiple scores of 9.900 or better.
 
Leonard-Baker is heading back to nationals after scoring a 9.950 on Friday, tying for the regional title. The senior from Oakland, California, is no stranger to nationals. In 2018, Leonard-Baker advanced as an all-around competitor. In 2019, she competed on bars and earned a Second Team All-America honor for her performance.
 
How to Watch
The semifinal I will be on April 16 at 10 a.m. MST/12 p.m. CDT and will be live on ESPN2. The second semifinal starts at 3 p.m. MST/5 p.m. CDT, also on ESPN2.