STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford grew stronger with the addition of Ashley Tai who will join the Cardinal in the fall of 2016.
Tai comes to The Farm from Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, California, and completes Stanford's incoming class that also includes Kaylee Cole and Aleeza Yu.
Tai won the all-around at the 2014 National Invitational Tournament and is a four-time qualifier to the Junior Olympic National Championships. In 2016, Tai also won the vault and floor titles at the Northern California State Championships.
Tai trained at Technique Gymnastics in Rancho Cordova, California, under coaches Lise Poarch and Rick Newman.
“Ashley is a great competitor, passionate, mentally tough, and extremely motivated to improve in the college environment,” Stanford head coach Kristen Smyth said. “We are so happy she chose Stanford University and already feel like she is a big part of our SWG family.”
Tai is a versatile gymnast with success on many different events. At the 2010 Junior Olympic National Championships, she won the national beam title, and at the 2014 National Invitation Tournament, she finished second on vault, third on bars, and first in the all around.
Smyth expects her to make an immediate impact on vault and beam, and to provide crucial depth for the Cardinal on bars and floor.
"Stanford has always been my dream school,” said Tai. “It will allow me to pursue both the highest level of academics and athletics. I'm extremely excited to be a part of an amazing team and a phenomenal group of students."
Tai 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.