Women’s gymnastics (0-8, 0-7 Pac-12) fell to Arizona State (3-1-5, 3-1-3 Pac-12) on Senior Night Monday, 195.975-196.575. Led by junior Kyla Bryant, the Cardinal put up an outstanding performance on floor, but were unable to match ASU’s performance on beam and vault.
Stanford started on vault, where Bryant led the team with an impressive 9.900. Freshman Chloe Widner (9.800) and senior Kaylee Cole (9.775) followed with strong performances of their own.
Junior Grace Garcia (9.550) and sophomore Madison Brunette (9.575) had uncharacteristically low scores at the end of the rotation, and the Cardinal ended vault with a 48.775, immediately falling behind the Sun Devils, who opened the dual with a 49.300 on bars.
The Cardinal then took to the bars themselves, where they finished with a solid 49.225 score. Garcia came back after vault with a 9.875 to lead the team. Sophomore Grace Waguespack, Brunette and Bryant all followed close behind with three 9.850s, and sophomore Eve Micco scored a 9.800 to round out the group.
Meanwhile, the Sun Devils excelled on vault to help secure the victory. With two 9.900s, ASU surpassed the Cardinal’s 48.775, finishing the event with a 49.225. At the end of the second rotation, the Cardinal were already behind, 98.000-98.525, a deficit Stanford proved unable to climb out of.
Stanford struggled on beam, with two falls during the event. The team started out fairly strong with a 9.825 from sophomore Wesley Stephenson, a 9.875 from Widner and a 9.775 for Cole. However, both senior Ashley Tai and junior Taylor Lawson fell during their routines.
Bryant finished off beam with a score of 9.775, leading the team to a 48.350 overall score. However, ASU’s strong floor performance gave the Sun Devils a full point of cushion ahead of the Cardinal at the end of the rotation.
Stanford excelled on floor, doing its best to pull out a come-from behind victory. All five athletes competing in the event finished with career highs. Cole finished out her senior day with an impressive 9.900, and Widner matched Cole’s total.
Sophomore Morgan Hoang scored a 9.925. She was followed by Bryant, who electrified the audience and earned herself a 9.975 in the process. Finally, Lawson was able to carry the momentum of her teammates and shake off her beam fall to finish the meet with a 9.925. The Cardinal ended the event with an outstanding 49.625 score. This was Stanford’s best score on floor in 16 years.
After the meet, seniors Kaylee Cole, Ashley Tai and Aleeza Yu were recognized for their contributions to the team over the last four years.
The Cardinal travel to Salt Lake City for their next meet this Friday, March 6, against No. 4 Utah. This will be their last meet of the regular season, followed by the Pac-12 championships on March 21.
Contact Natalie Hilderbrand at nhild ‘at’ stanford.edu