Jan. 31, 2009
TUCSON, Ariz. - It wasn't an ideal night for the Stanford women's gymnastics team, but the No. 4 Cardinal found a way to beat Arizona and keep its undefeated record intact.
Stanford's 195-575-195.175 victory over the No. 24 Wildcats in a Pacific-10 Conference dual meet Friday night at McKale Center extended its best-ever start to 8-0. However, the Cardinal's record was the least of its concerns after falling behind after the first rotation and then struggling on the balance beam, which had been the team's strongest event.
In all, Stanford was outscored in two events and finished with a season-low score. Still, Stanford got the performances it needed to hold off Arizona (0-4), to extend its series winning streak to eight.
Carly Janiga scored 9.9's on the vault and uneven bars on her way to capturing the all-around competition with 39.45 points, the second-highest of her four all-around scores this season.
Janiga, ranked fifth in the nation in all-around, won three events and set or equaled season-bests in each: the vault (9.875), bars and floor. Teammate Shelley Alexander also competed in the all-around and scored 38.475, with a best of 9.875 on the vault.
Janiga was the only one to keep pace with three Arizona gymnasts who scored 9.9 on the vault to put the Wildcats ahead after the initial rotation which began with Stanford on bars. Freshman teammate Alyssa Brown scored a 9.875, her collegiate best in the event.
Blair Ryland's season-best 9.825 helped Stanford to a season-best in the vault (49.35).
Stanford returns to action Feb. 8 (2 p.m.), against No. 3 UCLA at Burnham Pavilion.
The following are the team scores, winners, and individual Stanford results:
Overall
Team: 1, Stanford 195.575; 2, Arizona 195.175.
All-around: 1, Carly Janiga 39.45. Also, Shelley Alexander 38.475.
Vault
Team: 1, Stanford 49.35; 2, Arizona 49.2.
Individual: 1 (tie), Carly Janiga (Stanford), Sarah Tomczyk (Arizona), Colleen Fisher (Arizona), Deanna Graham (Arizona), each 9.9. Also, Shelley Alexander 9.875, Alyssa Brown 9.875, Nicole Ourada 9.875, Blair Ryland 9.825, Danielle Ikoma 9.8.
Uneven Bars
Team: 1, Stanford 48.825; 2, Arizona 48.025.
Individual: 1, Carly Janiga (Stanford) 9.9. Also, Kelly Fee 9.775, Nicole Pechanec 9.75, Alyssa Brown 9.75, Shelley Alexander 9.65, Nicole Ourada 9.275.
Balance Beam
Team: 1, Arizona 48.725; 2, Stanford 48.45.
Individual: 1, Briana Bergeson (Arizona) 9.9. Also, Nicole Ourada 9.875, Kelly Fee 9.8, Carly Janiga 9.775, Heather Purnell 9.75, Allyse Ishino 9.25.
Floor Exercise
Team: 1, Arizona 49.225; 2, Stanford 48.95.
Individual: 1 (tie), Carly Janiga (Stanford), Rebecca Cardenas (Arizona), Sarah Tomczyk (Arizona), each 9.875. Also, Danielle Ikoma 9.8, Nicole Pechanec 9.775, Shelley Alexander 9.75, Blair Ryland 9.75, Kelly Fee 9.65.
Records: Stanford 8-0, Arizona 0-4.