April 12, 2008
Stanford women's gymnastics goal all season long has been to return to the "Super Six" and win it. The Cardinal has nearly reached their first goal as they qualified Saturday evening to the NCAA Championships for the second season in a row. Stanford produced a team score of 197.525, a season-high and took second place in the NCAA Central Regional to host LSU. The Cardinal are now one of twelve teams remaining in the hunt for the national championship.
The Cardinal was able to win the beam routine and finished no worse than second in all four of the rotations.
Senior Tabitha Yim finished second in the all-around with a score of 39.825. Sophomore Carly Janiga finished tied for third in the all-around competition with a score of 39.500. Junior Nicole Ourada finished fifth in the all-around with a score of 39.350.
On vault,the Cardinal were powered by Yim's 9.950, which was second best to only LSU's Ashley Clare-Kearney, who scored a perfect 10. Ourada finished tied for fourth with a score of 9.900 and senior Liz Tricase was also tied for fourth with a score of 9.900. The Cardinal finished with a 49.525 score on vault.
Stanford had a harder time with bars Saturday night but Tricase, the three-time Pac-10 bar champion finished with a score of 9.950 in the event, which was the best in the meet. Yim and Janiga finished tied for third on bars with matching scores of 9.900. The Cardinal finished with a team score of 49.150.
On beam the Cardinal won the event behind 9.950's by Yim and Kelly Fee, and a 9.900 by Janiga. The Cardinal finished with a team score of 49.500, two-tenths of a point ahead of second place LSU.
In the final event, the Cardinal got great floor routines by Yim and Ourada, which powered them to the berth in the NCAA Championships. Yim finished with a score of 9.925 and Ourada finished with a 9.875, which was tied for fourth. Yim finished alone in second place in the rotation.
The night was special in many ways for Stanford after the persevered after a tough beginning on bars. In what was a very intense atmosphere at the Maravich Center, the Cardinal showed their experience in coming away with the second place finish.
Yim on the evening added to her accolades after being named West Regional Gymnast of the Year before the meet.
The team score of 197.525 is a season-high for the Cardinal, who is peaking at the right time. The top five team scores for Stanford have come in the last six matches, and the team has been clicking on all cylinders.
Ohio State finished third in the competition with a team score of 195.125. Missouri finished fourth with a team score of 195.100.
Head coach Kristen Smyth was pleased with how her team responded Saturday night.
On Stanford's performance tonight...
"We put forth an outstanding effort tonight. I was so proud of how they stayed together in a tough enviornment. We hit 24 routines, which is always one of our goals. LSU is a great team. It was a great atmosphere. This was the first time this year we've been in an SEC atmosphere, so that always adds a bit and brings the best out of the kids, and LSU had a great night. We opened the door a little bit on bars. Going into Nationals, I feel really good about where this team is now and our chances for performing really well in two weeks."
The next stop for Stanford is a trip to Athens, Ga. for the NCAA Championships. Stay tuned to www.gostanford.com for more coverage of this historical meet for Stanford women's gymnastics.
MEET RESULTS
1. LSU - 197.625 (VT - 49.625 UB - 49.275 BB -49.325 FX - 49.400)
2. Stanford - 197.525 (VT - 49.525 UB - 49.150 BB - 49.500 FX - 49.350)
3. Ohio State - 195.125 (VT - 48.775 UB - 48.900 BB - 48.675 FX - 48.775)
4. Missouri - 195.100 (V T - 49.025 UB - 48.750 BB - 48.600 FX - 48.725)
6. Kent State - 193.700 (VT - 48.825 UB - 47.950 BB - 48.800 FX -48.125)