NCAA Ann Arbor Regional
No. 18 Stanford (14-10, 7-8 Pac-12)
No. 6 Auburn (12-8, 8-7 SEC)
No. 7 Michigan (20-6, 15-3 Big Ten)
No. 24 Eastern Michigan (15-3-1, 5-1 MAC)
Penn State (11-7, 12-6 Big Ten)
New Hampshire (16-10, 5-5 EAGL)
Sat., April 2 • 3 p.m. (PT)
Crisler Center • Ann Arbor, Mich.
Live Stream | Live Statistics • Available via GoStanford.com
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 18 Stanford will pursue a spot at the NCAA Championships this Saturday at 3 p.m. (PT) when it competes at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional.
The Cardinal (14-10, 7-8 Pac-12) will look to earn its sixth regional title and qualify to the NCAA Championships for the ninth time in the past 10 years. Stanford has competed at the Ann Arbor Regional twice before, placing fourth in 2011 and second in 2001.
The Cardinal has qualified to the NCAA regional competition in 33 consecutive years and 36 overall.
Joining Stanford in Ann Arbor will be top-seeded Auburn, and (in order of seeding) Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Penn State and New Hampshire. The top two teams in the regional competition will receive a berth to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
Highlights of Stanford at the Pac-12 Championships.
Stanford’s NCAA Regional History
• Stanford has qualified in 33 consecutive seasons and 36 overall.
• The Cardinal has finished in the top two to advance to the NCAA’s in eight of the past nine seasons.
• Under head coach Kristen Smyth, Stanford has won four regional titles, were runners-up seven times, and have a third- and two fourth-place finishes.
• The Cardinal has had 27 gymnasts combine for 45 individual titles, including 40 since 1998.
• Stanford is seeking its sixth NCAA regional title, all since 1999.
Individual Cardinal Experience at NCAA Regional
• The following are current Stanford gymnasts (11) who competed as part of past regional lineups:
Three: Taylor Rice (2013, 2014, 2015), Ivana Hong (2012, 2013, 2015)
Two: Nicolette McNair (2014, 2015), Danielle McNair (2014, 2015), Jenna Frowein (2014, 2015)
One: Melissa Chuang (2014), Rachel Daum (2014), Elizabeth Price (2015), Haley Spector (2015)
Super Six Experience
• Stanford has six gymnasts who were part of the lineups that competed in the 2015 NCAA Super Six finals in Fort Worth, Texas, on the Cardinal’s fifth-place team. They are: Ivana Hong, Danielle McNair, Nicolette McNair, Elizabeth Price, Taylor Rice and Haley Spector.
• Hong also competed at the 2012 NCAA Championships in Duluth, Georgia, helping Stanford place fourth.
Ivana Hong has made two Super Six appearances in her career.
Consistently One of the Best in the Country
• Stanford is one of seven teams in the nation to make at least seven Super Six appearances in the past 14 years (2002-15). (Alabama-13, Utah-11, Georgia-10, UCLA-9, Florida-9, Stanford-7, Nebraska-7)
• Stanford returned to the NCAA Championships for the 12th time in the past 15 years in 2015, six gymnasts combined for nine All-America honors and the Cardinal finished fifth at the NCAA Championships with a 197.250 – the team’s second-highest score ever at an NCAA Championships competition.
• A misconception about the Cardinal is that it starts slow and comes out of nowhere during championship season. However, it should not be a surprise and is not a fluke, as evidenced by the team consistently finishing among the top in the nation.
• The Cardinal coaching staff enters each season with a carefully calculated outline of goals for different points during the season. A major focus for the beginning of the season is on consistency, building depth in lineups and health. As the season continues, the Cardinal adds difficulty and unique elements to routines to ensure it peaks during postseason competition.
Four Named All-Pac-12
• The Cardinal was well-represented on the All-Pac-12 team with Elizabeth Price (all-around) and Melissa Chuang (beam) named to the first team, and Taylor Rice (all-around) and Ivana Hong (beam) earning second team honors.
• It is the fourth all-conference honor for Hong, second for Rice and Price, and the first for Chuang.
Melissa Chuang earned the first All-Pac-12 honor of her career.
Strong Individual Showings at Pac-12 Championships
• Stanford won Session I of the Pac-12 Championships with a 196.125 and placed fifth overall at the meet.
• Elizabeth 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 and Ivana Hong tied for ninth on bars with a 9.850.
Price Continues to Dominate
• Elizabeth Price became the second Cardinal gymnast to earn Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year honors in program history this season. She also claimed Regular Season All-America recognition in the all-around, vault and bars. She has accumulated four honors through her first two years after earning first-team honors on vault as a freshman in 2015.
Elizabeth Price was named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year - the second in Stanford history.
Consistency from McNair
• Nicolette McNair has been one of Stanford’s most consistent gymnasts this season. She has scored 9.800 or higher in 26-of-30 routines this season and has hit 99-of-107 routines (93 percent) on vault, bars and beam in her career.
Hong Provides Leadership
• Ivana Hong has been a leader in and out of the gym throughout her career and has continued her role in her final season. She was named one of six finalists for the AAI Award – presented to the nation’s most outstanding senior women’s gymnast.