Stanford Captures Fifth Regional Title

April 10, 2010

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -

Complete Results in PDF Format

The Stanford women's gymnastics team established momentum at the outset of the NCAA Southeast Regionals and built from there - through three sublime rotations that gave the Cardinal the buffer it needed to win handily and advance to the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive season.

Shelley Alexander, a junior captain, won the vault (9.95) and the balance beam (9.90) to help Stanford score 196.775 points and finish first among six teams, and capture the school's fifth regional title.

Stanford and Michigan (195.800) advanced out of that regional, one of six around the country, and will be among 12 teams to compete in Gainesville, Fla., in the NCAA team preliminaries. The top three in each six-team session advance to the Super Six finals the next day. The meet concludes April 24 with the individual event finals.

For Stanford, it all began on its first rotation, the floor exercise. Tenaya West led off with a solid 9.80, and everyone else scored even higher, with Allyse Ishino and Carly Janiga hitting 9.90s.

"Their tumbling was great, their showmanship, their performance quality," Stanford coach Kristen Smyth said. "One routine built on another."

Stanford's floor score of 49.300 was eclipsed one rotation later, by its vault, when the Cardinal gymnasts stuck every landing.

"I don't think I've ever seen an event like that before," Smyth said.

Four 9.90s were spread across the team's six gymnasts, with Alexander leading the way. The team scored 49.400, its second-highest on the vault all season.

"The first two events were absolutely lights out," Smyth said, and Stanford had built 98.700.

The bars gained another 49.275 points. Though Stanford's beam performance wasn't on par with the others, Alexander closed it out after a teammate's fall and hit her second winning routine.

For Alexander, the meet was spectacular. She set personal collegiate career bests on the vault and in the all-around (39.500). In the latter, she placed third overall, between teammates Janiga (second, 39.525) and Ishino (fourth, 39.350). Never in her collegiate career, had she won multiple events in a single meet.

"It was a fantastic effort," Smyth said. "I couldn't have asked for any more from those three."

Alexander held key positions in the lineup, leading off the bars and anchoring the vault, beam and floor.

"On the beam, she knew we had a miss and rose to the occasion," Smyth said. "She competed in only one event at Pac-10s and I think that fired her up and used that as motivation to go out and prove something to herself."

Stanford next heads to the nationals for the eighth time in 10 years. In contrast to last season, when the team seemed to lose its confidence in the regionals, this Cardinal team seems to be gaining momentum (there's that word again).

Despite a late beam fall that prevented Stanford from hitting all 24 routines for the first time this season, the elements seem in place to produce the overall command performance that has been elusive all season.

"The girls all really believe in themselves and seem to be putting it all together," Smyth said. "We've got great positive energy. We just need to open up and let the great work come out."

Team results
1. Stanford (V- 49.400; UB- 49.275; BB- 48.800; FX- 49.300; OVERALL- 196.775)
2. Michigan (V- 49.300; UB- 49.375; BB- 47.975; FX- 49.150; OVERALL- 195.800)
3. Southern Utah (V- 48.825; UB- 48.625; BB- 48.825; FX- 49.050; OVERALL- 195.325)
4. West Virginia (V- 48.800; UB-48.600; BB- 48.850; FX- 48.850; OVERALL- 195.100)
5. Kent State (V- 48.775; UB- 48.800; BB- 48.550; FX- 48.700; OVERALL- 194.825)
6. North Carolina State (V- 48.925; UB- 48.525; BB- 46.800; FX- 49.175; OVERALL- 193.425)

Individual Results
Winners and Stanford competitors

Vault: 1, Shelley Alexander (Stan) 9.95. Other Stanford: Allyse Ishino 9.90, Carly Janiga 9.875, Ashley Morgan 9.875, Alyssa Brown 9.80, Blair Ryland 9.80.

Uneven Bars: 1, Jordan Sexton (Michigan) 9.95. Stanford: Carly Janiga 9.90, Alyssa Brown 9.875, Allyse Ishino 9.875, Jenny Peter 9.825, Shelley Alexander 9.80, Nicole Pechanec 9.775.

Balance Beam: 1, Shelley Alexander (Stan) 9.90. Other Stanford: Carly Janiga 9.875, Danielle Ikoma 9.80, Allyse Ishino 9.70, Alyssa Brown 9.575, Tenaya West 9.10.

Floor Exercise: 1 (tie), Natalie Beilstein (Michigan) and Kylee Botterman (Michigan), each 9.90. Stanford: Allyse Ishino 9.875, Carly Janiga 9.875, Shelley Alexander 9.85, Ashley Morgan 9.85, Nicole Pechanec 9.85, Tenaya West 9.80.

All-Around: 1, Kylee Botterman (Michigan) 39.550. Stanford: Carly Janiga 39.525, Shelley Alexander 39.500, Allyse Ishino 39.350.