Stanford (7-2) and UCLA (6-2) have dominated the conference for the past 13 years, swapping Pac-10 championships every year since 2003. The tide seems to be turning in the Cardinal’s favor this year, as Saturday’s victory over the Bruins was the second one for Stanford this season, even though UCLA held the higher national ranking in each matchup.
In similar fashion to the Jan. 24 meet between the Cardinal and the Bruins, Stanford slightly trailed after the first two rotations on the uneven bars and the vault, 98.525-98.050. The team was able to overtake UCLA on the third rotation, however, due to two Bruin falls on the balance beam that caused a dip in the team’s score and a slow in its momentum.
Meanwhile, Stanford was able to score a 49.275 on the floor, which was by far the team’s best event score of the day. Here, senior captain Carly Janiga shared first place with a 9.90 in what was Stanford’s only individual victory of the day. But the overall floor exercise score was also given a boost with a pair of 9.875 marks from both freshman Ashley Morgan and sophomore Nicole Pechanec.
The Card then maintained the lead by sticking five of its six beam routines on the final rotation and getting a team-high score of 9.85 from junior Shelley Alexander. This success on the beam was a particular accomplishment for Stanford, as historically it has struggled with consistency in the event.
Multiple team members debuted in various areas of competition on Saturday, and their promising returns served to fuel the team’s enthusiasm as a whole. Among these individual highlights was the 9.825 on the vault by freshman Nicole Dayton, who placed second. Dayton had only competed once previously, but she came through in the clutch against UCLA in what was her strongest career performance. Senior captain Allyse Ishino also competed on the floor for the first time in her collegiate career, scoring a 9.80 with a self-choreographed routine. Her performance was highly anticipated by head coach Kristen Smyth, who has been looking to incorporate Ishino into the floor rotation because of her “show-stopping” routines.
The victory for the Card allowed the team to hold its steady position at No. 8 in the national rankings. More importantly, it further boosted the gymnasts’ momentum for the end-of-season competitions, for which they continually strive to prepare. First, however, the team will travel to No. 24 Arizona State for a dual meet on Friday. Last year, the Cardinal handily defeated ASU, 196.775-194.6, and it looks to repeat the win in the away competition this weekend.
Although the matchup shouldn’t pose as much of a challenge as UCLA did, it will provide the team with an excellent opportunity to continue doing what Smyth deems the number-one team goal: “building confidence through consistency.”
“We still haven’t had that meet where we’re hitting 24 routines, but we’re exactly where we need to be as far as being able to get 196-plus scores. We still have improvements and adds to be made, so we’re in a really good position,” Smyth said.
From this good position, the team heads to face the Sun Devils before returning for its final home meet against rival California, North Carolina and Eastern Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 28 in Maples Pavilion. Though the most difficult meets of the regular season may be behind them, Pac-10 Championships and NCAA Finals still lay ahead, so the women of the Stanford gymnastics team are keeping their eyes on the prize.