No. 7 Stanford women's gymnastics feel just short of a conference championship in 2007, but made sure that they wouldn't feel the same way in 2008 after scoring a 197.000 for the second straight week to bring home the title in 2008. This is the third conference title in the last five seasons. The Cardinal placed first on three of the four events to outlast conference rival Oregon State 197.000-196.550. Defending champion UCLA finished third in the competition with a team score of 196.200.
"This team has worked so hard all year and this is a shining moment for them, and they should celebrate," Stanford head coach Kristen Smyth said. Stanford's last Pac-10 championship came in 2006.
The Cardinal was able to win the meet despite an injury to standout redshirt freshman Allyse Ishino, who was injured in the vault competition. With just two vaulters left to compete, Ishino twisted her knee landing a Yurchenko full.
In the beam, sophomore Carly Janiga tied for the beam title with a score of 9.950, which tied her with Oregon State's Jamie Lanz. Senior Liz Tricase also defended her uneven title for the second straight season with a bar score of 9.950. It was Tricase's third straight Pac-10 uneven bars title.
Senior Tabitha Yim won the all-around title for the second time in her career with a score of 39.550. Yim finishes her Pac-10 career with four individual titles and was also named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year. This is the first Gymnast of the Year honor for Stanford in the history of the program.
Based on their Regional Qualifying Score, the nation's top teams advance to the NCAA Regional Championships, which will determine NCAA Championship qualifiers. Regional selections will be announced Monday, March 31 at 2 p.m. E.T.
Team scores:
1. Stanford 197.000
2. Oregon State 196.550
3. UCLA 196.200
4. Arizona 195.725
5. California 193.400
6. Washington 193.375
7. Arizona State 191.925
All-around:
1. Tabitha Yim, Stanford 39.550
2. Jami Lanz, Oregon State 39.425
3. Ariana Berlin, UCLA 39.400
4. Jordan Schwikert, UCLA 39.375
5. Karin Wurm, Arizona 39.275
6. Anna Li, UCLA 39.25
7. Jen Kesler, Oregon State 39.1
8. Miranda Russell, Arizona 39.05
9. Alexis Greene, Arizona 38.925
10. Tiana Jean, Arizona State 38.875
Vault:
1. Tasha Smith, Oregon State 9.9
2. Tabitha Yim, Stanford 9.875
3. Haley Bogart, Washington 9.85
3. Ashley Houghting, Washington 9.85
3. Yuki Lamb, Oregon State 9.85
3. Mandi Rodriguez, Oregon State 9.85
3. Ashlee Hinkle, Arizona State 9.85
3. Karin Wurm, Arizona 9.85
3. Liz Tricase, Stanford 9.85
3. Kristina Comforte, UCLA 9.85
3. Tasha Schwikert, UCLA 9.85
Uneven Bars:
1. Liz Tricase, Stanford 9.95
1. Tasha Schwikert, UCLA 9.95
3. Nikki Waiss, Washington 9.9
3. Karin Wurm, Arizona 9.9
3. Tabitha Yim, Stanford 9.9
3. Ariana Berlin, UCLA 9.9
3. Anna Li, UCLA
Balance Beam:
1. Jami Lanz, Oregon State 9.95
1. Carly Janiga, Stanford 9.95
3. Tabitha Yim, Stanford 9.925
Floor Exercise:
1. Tasha Smith, Oregon State 9.95
2. Ashley Houghting, Washington 9.925
3. Jordan Schwikert, UCLA 9.9
2008 Pac 10 Conference Awards
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Karin Wurm, Arizona
Freshman of the Year: Brittani McCullough, UCLA
Gymnast of the Year: Tabitha Yim, Stanford
Coach of the Year: Tanya Chaplin, Oregon State