March 26, 2005
Berkeley, Calif. - Junior Natalie Foley scored a 39.075 in the all-around to capture sixth place and lead the Stanford women's gymnastics team to a fourth place finish at the Pac-10 women's gymnastics championship in Berkeley on Saturday. The Cardinal, who captured the conference title in Tucson last season, posted a team score of 194.600 to finish just ahead of Washington's fifth place mark of 194.425. UCLA claimed its 12th Pac-10 championship with a team score of 197.100.
The Cardinal started the meet off on a strong note, registering a season-high team score on the balance beam with a 48.875. Foley led the squad on the beam, posting a personal season-high of 9.875. Foley's beam score is the second highest posted by a Cardinal gymnast so far this season. Freshmen Tabitha Yim and Lauren Elmore contributed to the team mark with scores of 9.800 and 9.825, respectively. Elmore's score marked a personal season-high.
Stanford moved on to the floor exercise in the third rotation, and Elmore and freshman Aimee Precourt got the Cardinal off to a good start with back-to-back 9.800 scores. Alex Pintchouk scored a 9.725 before freshman Stephanie Gentry injured her ankle during a tumbling pass in her routine and was forced to cut the performance short. The squad posted a team score of 48.475, with a total of 97.350 after competing in two events.
The Cardinal continued the meet on vault in the fifth rotation without Gentry, one of the squad's top competitors in the event. Stanford posted a team mark of 48.475 on vault, with Foley notching a personal season-high score of 9.825 to lead the squad. Junior co-captain Jessica Louie competed on vault for just the third time this season and scored a personal season-high of 9.625.
Coach Kristen Smyth's squad wrapped up the competition on the uneven bars, the team's strongest event this season. Yim scored a team-high 9.900 to capture second place, and Foley capped her performance by matching a personal season-high on bars with a 9.850 score to lead the Cardinal to a team mark of 48.775.
Foley, last season's Pac-10 all-around champion, finished sixth with an all-around score of 39.075, while Elmore notched an all-around mark of 38.925 to place seventh.
Oregon State's Tanya Chaplin was named as the Pac-10 Coach of the Year following the meet, while UCLA's Tasha Schwikert won Freshman of the Year honors and fellow Bruin Kristen Maloney received Gymnast of the Year accolades.
The selections for NCAA Regional competition will be announced on Monday. Regionals will take place at various sites on April 9th.
Pac-10 Championship Final Team Scores
1. UCLA- 197.100
2. Arizona- 195.925
3. Oregon State- 195.900
4. Stanford- 194.600
5. Washington- 194.425
6. Arizona State- 192.975
7. California- 163.550
Top Stanford Finishers
Vault
Natalie Foley- 9.825 (10th- tie)
Uneven Bars
Tabitha Yim- 9.900 (2nd)
Balance Beam
Natalie Foley- 9.875 (10th- tie)
Floor Exercise
Lauren Elmore- 9.800 (12th- tie)
Aimee Precourt- 9.800 (12th- tie)
All-Around
Natalie Foley- 39.075 (6th)