The Cardinal fought back from a deficit of over a point after one rotation to take a late lead, but Cal retook the lead on the last routine of the day to win The Big Meet 195.475-195.325 Sunday afternoon in Berkeley.
No. 13 Stanford (4-4-1, 2-2 Pac-12) opened on the parallel bars and had a few stumbles to put the team score at 47.925, not the start the Cardinal was looking for in Big Meet. After one rotation, No. 20 Cal (11-1, 3-1 Pac-12) led by 1.15 points.
Minutes later, however, Stanford came up with one of its most clutch performances of the season on the vault. With only five names in the lineup, all five scores would had to count, and all five vaults were stellar.
The five vaults all scored 9.775 or higher, adding up to a 49.300, .225 higher than Cal’s team score on the vault. Pauline Hanset scored 9.850, Danielle McNair recorded a 9.775, Taylor Rice scored 9.85, Nicolette McNair recorded a 9.9 and Kristina Vaculik scored a career-high 9.925.
Rice came up big again on floor in the third rotation, leading the Cardinal’s five scores with a 9.9. Hanset and Haley Spector both scored 9.825, Jenna Frowein posted a 9.75 and Sami Shapiro scored a 9.625 to put Stanford’s team score at 48.925.
Stanford headed into the final rotation -- the Cardinal on beam, the Bears on floor -- trailing 146.250 to 146.150, a margin of just 0.1 points. And while most teams struggle on the beam, the Cardinal has been strongest on that rotation this season.
Rebecca Wing opened with a 9.85 to give the Cardinal the strong start it needed. Human biology major Ivana Hong provided the Cardinal’s top score of 9.875, Rice and Vaculik each scored 9.825, and Hanset scored a 9.8 for a very strong team total of 49.175.
The comeback effort fell just short, due to a great performance in the final routine of the day. Cal’s Tori Ann Williams scored a 9.975 to give the Bears the narrow victory.
The Cardinal returns home for its next competition against Pac-12 foe UCLA. The meet will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. at Maples Pavilion and will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.