A championship finish this past Saturday propelled Stanford’s No. 19 women’s gymnastics team to their ninth NCAA Championship appearance in the past 10 years. In a competitive field, Stanford tied for first place with No. 6 Auburn University at the NCAA Ann Arbor regional meet.

Fifth-year senior Ivana Hong had a strong showing on beam, earning a 9.900 to tie for first in the event, her third regional championship on beam. After battling back from an injury, Hong made her mark and will get to finish her career at nationals.

Other key performances by the Cardinal gymnasts gave Stanford the drive it needed to finish strong during regional qualifications. On vault all six gymnasts hit their routines, with five scoring a 9.700 or higher. Price again led the Cardinal with a score of 9.850.  

On bars the Cardinal notched their second-highest score this season of 49.500 with four gymnasts scoring a 9.900 or higher. A particularly important 9.900-scoring routine by freshman Dare Maxwell kept Stanford on track, as it came after a missed routine that could have threatened their final score.

With a late push in the sixth rotation, Auburn was able to tie for first and earn a spot to compete in the NCAA championships. No. 7 University of Michigan tried to put together a late surge, but it wasn’t enough to match Auburn and Stanford. The Wolverines placed third by five-hundredths of a point. Michigan was followed by Eastern Michigan, Penn State and New Hampshire.

The Cardinal are next set to compete at the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas on April 15-16.

Contact Taylor Duarte at taylor3 ‘at’ stanford.edu.