| ||||||||||
Helping the Cardinal continue it's success this season will be assistant coach Larissa Fontaine, who enters her fourth year as a member of the Stanford coaching staff. Fontaine will be primarily responsible for coaching vault and beam this year, two of the Cardinal's strongest events in 2004.
Fontaine, who brings energy and enthusiasm to the team, helped coach four different gymnasts to All-American honors in 2004. Natalie Foley, Caroline Fluhrer, Lise Léveillé, and Lindsay Wing garnered All-American recognition en route to helping Stanford register its most successful season in program history last year.
Under Fontaine's tutelage, the 2003 Cardinal squad received four All-American honors on the beam and vault. Lindsay Wing earned First Team All-American honors on beam, while Glyn Sweets earned Second Team All-American accolades on both the beam and vault, and Natalie Foley garnered Second Team honors on vault.
During her impressive career on the Farm, Fontaine etched her name into the Cardinal record books as one of the most successful gymnasts in Stanford history. Fontaine became the first-ever national individual champion for the Cardinal on vault in 1998 and guided the team to its first-ever PAC-10 championship title in 1998. A five-time All-American, as a senior Fontaine ranked as the top gymnast in the nation in the all-around for three straight weeks. She still holds the Cardinal record in the all-around.
Outside of the gym Fontaine acts as the recruiting coordinator for the Cardinal. As a former Stanford athlete and US national team member Fontaine's experience is a valuable resource for both current and prospective student-athletes.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Larissa on our staff," said Smyth. "She has a rich history here and is in tune with the student athletes and Stanford community."
Fontaine received an MS and BS in mechanical engineering and a BA in English from Stanford University.