Feb. 18, 2011
Sophomore Nicole Dayton and freshman Kristina Vaculik earned their first collegiate victories to highlight Stanford's performance as the Cardinal extended its season-opening winning streak to 14 straight.
However, Stanford's victory was tempered by an ankle injury suffered by fifth-year senior and all-arounder Allyse Ishino during the floor exercise. Ishino rolled her ankle and was unable to finish her routine, and was removed from the balance beam lineup. Coach Kristen Smyth said her staff is waiting on test results to find out the extent of the injury and how long she may be out.
Either way, Ishino, Shelley Alexander and Danielle Ikoma will be honored next week as Stanford celebrates its Senior Day with its final home meet of the season, Sunday, Feb. 27 against Arizona State at Maples Pavilion at 2 p.m.
Dayton shared first on the vault with teammates Alexander and Alyssa Brown with scores of 9.850, to help Stanford capture first places in every event. And Vaculik shared first on the uneven bars with teammates Ishino and Nicole Pechanec, also with 9.850 scores.
Dayton's score tied her collegiate career high, set five days earlier at Michigan.
"Nicole has been a really steady contributer on vault," Smyth said. "And she can go on bars and floor anytime. In the coming weeks, we'll rely on her a lot and she looks ready for the challenge."
Alexander earned her third all-around victory of the season with 39.150 and joined Brown as double winners, with Brown winning the beam (9.825), as well as tying for first on vault.
Brown has been one of the team's steadiest performers all season, scoring at least 9.85 on every bars routine and 9.825 on every vault this season.
"Alyssa Brown has been fantastic," Smyth said. "She's been a rock for us."
Ashley Morgan kept alive her winning streak alive on the floor. Ranked No. 2 in the nation in that event, Morgan scored 9.875 - the highest score of the meet in any event - to earn her sixth consecutive victory.
Stanford extended one other streak, beating Arizona for the 14th consecutive time.
Final scores: Stanford 195.300, Arizona 194.675.
Vault (winners and Stanford): 1 (tie), Nicole Dayton (Stanford), Shelley Alexander (Stanford), and Alyssa Brown (Stanford), each 9.850. Other Stanford: Ashley Morgan 9.825, Allyse Ishino 9.825, Danielle Ikoma 9.775. Team: Stanford 49.200, Arizona 48.900.
Uneven Bars (Winners and Stanford): 1 (tie) Allyse Ishino (Stanford, Nicole Pechanec (Stanford), and Kristina Vaculik (Stanford), each 9.850. Other Stanford: Alyssa Brown 9.825, Shelley Alexander 9.725, Ashley Morgan 9.675. Team: Stanford 49.100, Arizona 48.750.
Balance Beam (Winner and Stanford): 1, Alyssa Brown (Stanford) 9.825. Other Stanford: Shona Morgan 9.800, Shelley Alexander 9.800, Nicole Pechanec 9.650, Danielle Ikoma 9.550, Ashley Morgan 9.525. Team: Stanford 48.625, Arizona 48.025.
Floor Exercise (Winner and Stanford): 1, Ashley Morgan (Stanford) 9.875. Other Stanford: Danielle Ikoma 9.800, Shelley Alexander 9.775, Nicole Pechanec 9.700, Kristina Vaculik 9.225, Allyse Ishino 6.000. Team: Arizona 49.000, Stanford 48.375.
All-Around (Winner and Stanford): 1, Shelley Alexander (Stanford) 39.150. Other Stanford: Ashley Morgan 38.900.
Records: Stanford 14-0, Arizona 9-5.