March 5, 2006
Los Angeles, Ca - Two of the nation's top collegiate women's gymnastics teams collided on Sunday afternoon at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion when No. 12 Stanford visited No. 8 UCLA.
UCLA and Stanford are ranked 1-2 in the West. In the end, the Stanford Cardinal posted a dramatic a 195.950 - 195.150 victory over the Bruins, who have won four NCAA titles since 2000. San Jose State also competed and tallied a score of 193.225.
Once again, the star for Stanford was sophomore Liz Tricase, who was featured this week in "Faces in the Crowd" in Sports Illustrated. For the third straight meet, Tricase posted a perfect 10.000 on Bars. Tricase had entered the week ranked second in the nation on Bars while UCLA's Kristina Comforte was ranked fourth and her Bruin teammate, Kate Richardson, was ranked tenth. Her 10.000 gave her the first place win while Comforte and Richardson each tied for second with scores of 9.900. Tricase also placed second on Vault (9.900).
Stanford scored an important victory on Beam. The Cardinal was ranked eleventh in the nation while UCLA was ranked seventh. However, Stanford scored the upset with a team score of 48.600 while UCLA was awarded 47.525 points. Comforte won the event for UCLA with a score of 9.900, but Stanford dominated the standings with a second place finish by Natalie Foley (9.875), a third place finish by Alex Pintchouk (9.850), and fifth and sixth place finishes, respectively, by Kelly Fee (9.825) and Nicole Ourada (9.725).
Both teams tied on Bars with scores of 49.200.
The victory upped Stanford's record to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in the Pac-10.
The competition doesn't get any easier for the Cardinal next week. On March 10, Stanford travels to Alabama to face the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide. Stanford will host the NCAA West Regional on April 8 (6 p.m.) at Maples Pavilion.
Cardinal Catalogue
Stanford freshman Heather Purnell, a member of the 2004 Canadian Olympic team, made her collegiate debut in the All-Around (38.425) against UCLA ... A 9.850 on Beam by Alex Pintchouk is a career-best.
Team Scores
Stanford 195.950, UCLA 195.150, San Jose State 193.225
Vault - UCLA 49.175, Stanford 49.075, San Jose State 48.575
Bars - Stanford 49.200, UCLA 49.200, San Jose State 48.100
Beam - Stanford 48.600, UCLA 47.525, San Jose State 48.275
Floor Exercise - UCLA 49.250, Stanford 49.075, San Jose State 48.275
All-Around
1. Kristina Comforte, UCLA, 39.525
2. Nicole Ourada, Stanford, 39.125
3. Kate Richardson, UCLA, 38.925
Vault
1. Kate Ricardson, UCLA, 9.925
2. Glyn Sweets, Stanford, 9.900
2. Liz Tricase, Stanford, 9.900
Bars
1. Liz Tricase, Stanford, 10.000
2. Kate Richardson, UCLA, 9.900
2. Kristina Comforte, UCLA, 9.900
Beam
1. Kristina Comforte, UCLA, 9.900
2. Natalie Foley, Stanford, 9.875
3. Alex Pintchouk, Stanford, 9.850
3. Jordan Schwikert, UCLA, 9.850
Floor Exercise
1. Jordan Schwikert, UCLA, 9.925
2. Kristina Comforte, UCLA, 9.900
3. Ariana Berlin, UCLA, 9.875