As the No. 2 Stanford women’s gymnastics team defeated No. 24 Arizona 195.300 to 194.675 last Friday, the Card lost its most dominating competitor, fifth-year senior, Allyse Ishino, to an ankle injury. The Cardinal beat the Wildcats in every event, save for Ishino’s injury during her floor routine.
Ishino’s injury is expected to keep her off of the mats for three to five weeks, but her ankle will most likely be strong enough by the NCAA Championships in mid-April. Before rolling her ankle, Ishino earned a three-way tie for first on the bars with two of her Stanford teammates, junior Nicole Pechanec and freshman Kristina Vaculik, who both matched her score of 9.850.
As a result of Ishino’s injury, Stanford’s floor score waned significantly, as she earned a 6.000, unable to finish her routine. Even so, Arizona’s 49.000 did not prove sufficient enough to overtake the Cardinal in the end, and Stanford edged the Wildcats for victory.
Stanford’s 195.300 score was actually the Card’s lowest team score all season, but that doesn’t mean Stanford didn’t take anything away from the competition. Stanford competitors took first place in every single event.
On the vault, senior Shelley Alexander, junior Alyssa Brown and sophomore Nicole Dayton tied for first, each with a score of 9.850. Yet another three-way tie occurred on the bars with Ishino’s, Pechanec’s and Vaculik’s victories. In the rest of the events, each Stanford victor stood solo.
Junior Alyssa Brown placed first on the beam with a score of 9.825, sophomore Ashley Morgan finished first on floor with a score of 9.875 and the all-around victory went to Alexander, who earned a combined score of 39.150.
Even though the string of 9.900 scores from last week’s meet at the Chicago Style, against Michigan and Nebraska, came to an end, Stanford still managed to stay strong and undefeated. Several Cardinal competitors matched their season-high scores in various events.
Senior Danielle Ikoma scored a 9.800 on floor, a score she hasn’t obtained since the Pac-10 Showcase, where Stanford placed first. Similarly, Dayton also matched her season-high score of 9.850. On the vault, her season high of 9.850 is also her career high, a score Dayton actually also received at the Chicago Style meet.
With yet another 9.850, Vaculik matched both her season and career-high scores on the bars. Her only other 9.850 on the bars was also earned at the Chicago Style meet on Feb. 11. Only a freshman, Vaculik is an example of the all-around talent on the Cardinal squad, ranging all over each of the four classes.
Stanford has now beaten Arizona in 11 of the last 13 matchups.
This coming Sunday, Stanford is scheduled to compete against Arizona State on Stanford’s Senior Day at Maples Pavilion at 2 p.m.