Stanford Wins Session I

Update: Final results and notes from the Pac-12 Championships have been added to the top of this article. A recap and highlights of Stanford’s performance from Session I of the conference championships is below.

• Elizabeth Price was named the second Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year in Stanford history. It is the second yearly conference honor of her career after being named Specialist of the Year as a freshman last year.
• Price tied for the Pac-12 title on bars (9.900), tied for second on vault (9.900), and tied for seventh on floor (9.875). She placed fourth in the all-around with a 39.475. She finished first in Session I of the Pac-12 Championships.
• Melissa Chuang tied for fifth on beam with a 9.925.
• Taylor Rice tied for fourth on bars with a 9.875.
• Ivana Hong tied for ninth on bars with a 9.850.

SEATTLE – Elizabeth Price earned four first-place finishes in five events and Stanford delivered a quality team performance to finish first in the first session of the Pac-12 Championships Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinal posted a 196.125 to finish ahead of Arizona (195.525), Washington (195.300) and Arizona State (191.725). Stanford registered the group’s highest scores on bars (49.200) and beam (49.100).

Stanford will find out its final Pac-12 finish after the conclusion of the second session, which begins at 6 p.m. (PT).

Price registered the group’s highest scores on vault (9.900), bars (9.900), floor (9.875) and the all-around (39.475). Price has scored 9.825 or higher in 35-of-39 performances this season and 9.900 or higher in 41-of-64 performances during her collegiate career.

Melissa Chuang picked up a first-place result as well on beam with a 9.925. It was her third score of 9.900 or higher on beam this year. Chuang has hit all nine of her beam routines this season and scored 9.825 in seven-of-10 performances.

Highlights from Stanford's Pac-12 Championships performance.

Stanford had a bit of a slow start on vault with four of six gymnasts scoring in the 9.675 to 9.775 range. Price provided the big score needed with a 9.900 in the fifth position to help the Cardinal start with a 48.850 and move into second place after the first rotation.

After a missed first routine on bars, Stanford found its rhythm and hit its next five routines to score 49.200 in the event and move into first place. Price scored her second 9.900 on the day in the fifth position and Ivana Hong capped the rotation with a stuck landing to score 9.850. Taylor Rice had a strong performance, tying her season high of 9.875.

Stanford took a 98.050 lead at the midway point of the meet and was followed by Arizona (97.600), Washington (97.250) and Arizona State (96.150).

The Cardinal had to cover itself again on beam when its first gymnast missed her routine. Stanford did exactly that, hitting each of its next five routines, including big scores from Chuang (9.925) and Hong (9.875) who finished first and second in the session, respectively.

Stanford posted a 147.150 through three rotations to take a comfortable lead into the final rotation. Arizona (146.625) was in second, followed by Washington (146.275) and Arizona State (144.375).

The Cardinal had to overcome a missed routine on floor as well and did well to cover for the missed routine. Price paced the group with a 9.875, followed by Chaung (9.800), Rachel Daum (9.825) and Haley Spector (9.775).

More details to follow …