Stanford women’s gymnastics was ultimately unsuccessful in the NCAA Seattle Regional on Saturday, coming in fourth and rounding up its season with a 195.575 team score. This marks only the second time in the past 11 years Stanford has not qualified into the NCAA Championships.
Junior Elizabeth Price found individual success in the meet, earning a NCAA Regional victory on the uneven bars. Price secured an almost-perfect 9.975 on the event, and her entire team was there to cheer her on as she took the top spot on the podium. She will compete on uneven bars at the national competition in St. Louis on April 14.
The fourth-place team finish saw the end of four Cardinal careers, as seniors Rachel Daum, Danielle McNair, Nicolette McNair and Haley Spector said goodbye. These four seniors led the Cardinal to many victories and saw the squad succeed time and time again, including three NCAA Championship qualifications and a Super Six berth in 2015.
Daum finished off her career strong, competing in the all-around as she has throughout the season. The departing senior scored high marks on the vault and uneven bars, with scores of 9.700 and 9.725, respectively. Daum’s highest score of the meet was on the floor, where she netted a 9.850, the top score for Stanford on the event.
Danielle McNair, one half of the McNair dynamic duo, also proved herself for the final time, notching a 9.250 on bars and a 9.750 on beam. The bars event was the Cardinal’s best event of the meet, ultimately earning a team score of 49.100.
Nicolette McNair, the second part of the twin package, showed strong on Saturday as well, competing in three of the four events, and not earning less than a 9.775 in any of them. McNair snagged a seventh-place finish on bars with a 9.875, coming in second within the Stanford team. She obtained matching scores of 9.775 in both the vault and the beam events, where she has been a reliable performer for the Cardinal in almost every meet this season.
Haley Spector said her final goodbyes to the college competitive field with a stunning 9.775 on the floor event. She, along with a group of other top-notch performances, made up for a fall on floor, and the team ended with a 48.900 in the event.
Despite their best efforts, these seniors were not able to drive the team into the next round of the NCAA Championships. They did, though, prove their worth, and help prove the worth of the entire Cardinal unit.
Stanford will be returning 14 of its NCAA Regional routines next year. The team will start next season with experience under their belts and a whole new wave of freshman ready to learn the ways of the Cardinal. For now, the women will continue their off-season training, as the seniors prepare for their final time on the Farm.
Contact Laura Sussman at laura111 ‘at’ stanford.edu.