Jan. 24, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. -
Scoresheet in PDF Format
The No. 8 Stanford women’s gymnastics team used a flurry of high-scoring efforts to upset No. 1 UCLA, 196.425-195.825, before a standing-room only crowd of 1,503 at Burnham Pavilion on Sunday.
Six-time All-America Carly Janiga won two events, established one career high and tied another, to lift the Cardinal in a duel between schools that have won the past 13 Pacific-10 Conference team titles.
Stanford (2-1) had 14 season bests and seven collegiate career bests while closing out the Bruins (4-1) with four consecutive 9.9-plus performances on its final rotation, the floor exercise.
“Having UCLA here, it’s an amazing team, a great program, and our team was going to bring their very best,” Stanford coach Kristen Smyth said. “They were really excited. It was an amazing crowd. They wanted to shine, and they did just that.”
Stanford trailed at the meet’s midway point, but gathered momentum when sophomore Alyssa Brown (9.9) and seniors Allyse Ishino (9.9) and Janiga (9.95) reeled off a strong series on the uneven bars to close out the second rotation only 0.10 off the lead.
The third rotation proved to be the meet’s turning point when three Bruins fell during their floor routines and two from Stanford fell during balance beam. However, Janiga thrust Stanford boldly into the lead with a 9.875 on Stanford’s final routine, creating a gap in the team score.
Another UCLA fall, on floor during the final rotation, seemed to seal the victory for Stanford. But the Cardinal left nothing to chance by hitting four consecutive floor routines – from freshman Ashley Morgan (9.925), sophomore Nicole Pechanec (a tie for first with a career-high 9.95), Shelley Alexander (9.9) and Janiga (9.95) – to close the meet.
In all, Stanford had eight 9.9 performances – compared with one over its first two meets – to tally team season highs on bars (49.325), floor (49.575) and overall points.
“They showed resiliency,” Smyth said. “They showed they’re not going to be frazzled by anything that happens around them. They competed with confidence and poise.
“With a younger team, our goal is to build confidence through consistency. They’re getting better every weekend, and building the confidence to know they can compete against anybody in the country.”
The Cardinal showed it on Sunday in what could be the first of as many as five meetings with UCLA this year. They will meet again in a dual meet Feb. 14 at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion and then March 27 at the Pac-10 Championships in Tucson, Ariz., Beyond that, they could see each other again at the NCAA Championships, in the team preliminaries and Super Six finals in Gainesville, Fla.
Stanford will once again get to compete against the likes of UCLA sophomore Vanessa Zamarripa, who scored a 9.975 on beam and a 9.95 on vault, and all-round winner Anna Li, who edged defending Pac-10 all-round champion Janiga (season-best 39.550) with a 39.575. Janiga (No. 4) and Li (No. 6) entered the meet ranked among the top all-arounders in the country.
UCLA is the defending Pac-10 champ, but the teams have traded conference titles each year since 2003. If the trend continues, this would be Stanford’s year.
SCORING
Team Results
1. Stanford - (VT- 49.075; UB- 49.325; BB- 48.450; FX- 49.575; FINAL- 196.425)
2. UCLA - (VT- 49.300; UB- 49.200; BB- 49.300; FX- 48.025; FINAL- 195.825)
Individual Results (Winners and Stanford scores)
Vault: Vanessa Zamarripa (UCLA) 9.950. Stanford: Shelley Alexander 9.90, Danielle Ikoma 9.80, Allyse Ishino 9.80, Ashley Morgan 9.80, Carly Janiga 9.775, Blair Ryland 9.75.
Bars: Carly Janiga (S) and Anna Li (UCLA), each 9.95. Other Stanford: Alyssa Brown 9.90, Allyse Ishino 9.90, Nicole Pechanec 9.80, Shelley Alexander 9.775, Danielle Ikoma 9.175.
Beam: Vanessa Zamarripa (UCLA) 9.975. Stanford: Carly Janiga 9.875, Ashley Morgan 9.85, Allyse Ishino 9.775, Alyssa Brown 9.75, Catherine Nguyen 9.20, Danielle Ikoma 8.825.
Floor: Carly Janiga (S) and Nicole Pechanec (S), each 9.95. Other Stanford: Ashley Morgan 9.925, Shelley Alexander 9.90, Tenaya West 9.85, Blair Ryland 9.75.
All-around: Anna Li (UCLA) 39.575. Stanford: Carly Janiga 39.550.
Records: Stanford 2-1, UCLA 4-1.
