In a stunning display of talent and passion, the Stanford women’s gymnastics team defeated No. 1 UCLA in Sunday’s home meet in Burnham Pavilion. The Bruins (4-1) arrived on the Farm expecting a victory, but the Cardinal’s competitive spirit, combined with consecutive outstanding performances, put Stanford on top with a win of 196.425-195.825. The win improves Stanford’s record to 2-1 and as the current No. 8 team, the Cardinal can expect to climb in the NCAA rankings and watch its southern California rivals slip from their top position.

And what was the primary source of the Cardinal success? More than anything else, it was the one aspect of the sport that the team has been striving to improve since day one: consistency. A large number of high-scoring performances right from the start gave the Stanford women just the confidence and momentum they needed to continue through the competition. Determined to build off of each other’s prior performances, eight teammates yielded scores of 9.9 throughout the day, an especially incredible feat considering that they had only one 9.9 over the course of their first two meets.

Junior Shelley Alexander was one particular standout on Stanford’s first event of the day, the vault. The 9.9 she achieved so early in the competition proved to her teammates that they were capable of delivering repeated solid performances and upsetting the visiting Bruins.

Though the remaining vault scores were strong, it was during Stanford’s second rotation on the uneven bars that the team became very optimistic about the meet’s outcome. The team stuck four out of six dismounts and head coach Kristen Smyth noted how impressed she was by her team’s aggressive approach to the bars performances. It still wasn’t enough to put Stanford in the lead at the halfway point of the meet, however, as the Bruins still led by 0.10, mostly due to outstanding scores in the first two rotations from UCLA sophomore Vanessa Zamarripa.

Thus, it was crucial for the Stanford women to deliver high scores on the third event, the beam, which also happens to be the one they have been struggling with the most. This struggle was evident in multiple falls during the competition, yet they were fortunately paralleled with several UCLA falls on the floor. As a result, Stanford managed to take the lead after the third rotation.

“Consistency on the beam has been an issue in practice. We are in the process of finding the best lineup and for us it is a matter of getting more confidence,” Smyth said.

Sophomore Catherine Nguyen, who has been unable to compete frequently because of injury, made her second-ever beam performance (9.2) on Sunday. Smyth was proud of the way Nguyen stepped in to the lineup and stated that “Catherine is someone who will make a big difference.”

“We needed that 9.2,” Smyth said.

Likewise, senior Carly Janiga delivered once again, achieving a 9.875 which contributed to her season-best all-around score of 39.550. For the first time this year, however, Janiga was barely edged for the all-around title by UCLA’s Anna Li, who earned a 39.575. Nonetheless, her outstanding performances confirmed that she is deserving of her position as the No. 4 all-around competitor in the nation.

The final event of the day, the floor, clinched the victory for Stanford and according to Smyth, “ended the day with an exclamation point.” The team’s significant preparation and grueling training for this event paid off, as four of the six performances received scores of 9.9 or higher.

And it was this exhilarating end to the competition that the standing-room only crowd of 1,503 had been eagerly awaiting. In fact, Smyth and the team felt that the extreme support from the stands was a serious contribution to their confidence and ultimate success. It is this same fan turnout that they hope to maintain for the season’s two remaining home meets.

First, however, the Cardinal will head to Corvallis to take on Oregon State this Friday night at 7 p.m. In what should be a tough meet, the team doesn’t plan to make any additions to the lineup, as they hope to repeat the consistency of Sunday’s performances. Furthermore, with a good workout of competitors who haven’t yet made their way in to the lineup, the team hopes to gain depth in the roster and prepare for the rest of the season, including another inevitable match-up with UCLA. Armed with the confidence from beating the best, the Stanford women can enter any gym knowing that anything, even a national championship, is well within their reach.