STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford grew stronger when Aleeza Yu signed a National Letter of Intent recently to join the Cardinal in the fall of 2016.
Yu joins the Cardinal from Ontario, Canada, as a four-year honor roll student with a wealth of international gymnastics experience. She has been a Canadian National Team member since 2011 and a member of the Senior National Team since 2014.
Yu competed with the 2014 World Team and the 2014 Pacific Rim Team. She won a team silver medal at the 2014 Pacific Rim competition and added an individual bronze on floor.
Yu trained at Gemini Gymnasics Club under Elena Davydova and Valery Yahchybekov.
So excited to be officially signed with Stanford! Cant wait to continue my gymnastics career at Stanford! ❤️🌲 pic.twitter.com/tBAsBWmKz4
— Aleeza Yu (@aleezayu) April 13, 2016
“Aleeza is a beautiful gymnast and well-rounded scholar-athlete,” said Stanford head coach Kristen Smyth. “She is wonderfully artistic, extremely consistent, and has gorgeous lines. She is also a bright student and we are thrilled that she will be joining SWG next year.”
A strong all-around performer, Aleeza is especially exceptional on bars and beam. She has elegant lines and a high level of difficulty that should make her a standout in NCAA competition.
“I chose Stanford because I knew that Stanford would not only provide me with the chance to pursue my academic and athletic goals, but also challenge me to open up to more opportunities beyond what I could ever imagine,” said Yu.
Yu joins a Stanford team that competed in its ninth NCAA Championships in the past 10 years and 16th overall, tied for the highest score at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional and picked up four regular season wins against NCAA Championships teams.