STANFORD, Calif. – After notching its first Pac-12 victory of the season against Arizona, No. 24 Stanford travels to Los Angeles on Sunday for a big test against No. 2 UCLA at iconic Pauley Pavilion in its final regular-season meet. Competition starts at 1 p.m. and it will be televised by Pac-12 Network.
The Cardinal scored a season-high 196.525 points and recorded season-bests on bars (49.200) and beam (49.125) while sweeping every event against the Wildcats. Rachael Flam (vault), Kyla Bryant-Madison Brunette (bars), Wesley Stephenson (beam) and Bryant (floor and all-around) led a balanced performance at sold out Burnham Pavilion.
Stanford and UCLA have already faced off this season. The Bruins visited Maples Pavilion on Jan. 27 and emerged with a 197.225-195.125 triumph in front of a sellout crowd of more than 6,000 at Maples Pavilion, the largest home turnout in program history.
Bryant won the all-around, shared second on the uneven bars and tied for third on floor.
Social Hour: Twitter @StanfordWGym Instagram @stanfordgymnastics Facebook stanfordwgym
TV: Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson (play-by-play) and Amanda Borden (analyst). A live stream will be available at pac-12.com or on the Pac-12 Now app.
Live scoring: GoStanford.com
Clean routines: The Cardinal hit all 24 routines at the Gymquarters Mardi Gras Invitational on Feb. 15 and 23-of -23 against Arizona on Feb. 24.
Standouts against Arizona: Bryant (9.925) and freshman Morgan Hoang (9.875) matched career-highs on floor; freshman Brunette (9.875) and sophomore Catherine Rogers (9.800) established career-bests on bars; sophomore Flam (9.875) tied her career-high and junior Aleeza Yu (9.850) earned a career-best on vault; and Stephenson scored a career-high 9.875 on beam.
All-around force: Bryant has six all-around titles this the season and has captured 16 overall events. She is tied for 19th nationally in all-around, posting a season high 39.475 at Cal on Jan 21. Bryant also ranks No. 16 in floor exercise.
Bar improvement: In 2018, the Cardinal had a tough time filling out its lineup card on bars due to injuries. This season, the squad has depth and has improved steadily with Bryant, sophomore Taylor Lawson, Yu, Flam and freshmen Grace Wagusepack, Brunette and Rogers contributing.
Youth is served: The 17-member Cardinal roster features 11 underclassmen, including five first-year student-athletes. Hoang (floor, beam), Wesley Stephenson (bars, beam), Waguespack (bars) and Brunette (bars) have competed. Hoang collected her first collegiate title in a tri-meet against Sacramento State and Seattle Pacific by scoring 9.875 in floor exercise.
Scouting report: UCLA is coming off a narrow 197.775-197.575 loss to top-ranked Oklahoma. Kyla Ross posted her third perfect 10 of 2019 on vault and her fourth on bars. Katelyn Ohashi secured her fourth 10 on floor. Ross ranks No. 1 in the nation on bars and in all-around and No. 2 on vault. Ohashi is No. 1 in floor exercise and No. 2 on beam.
Tabitha's Takes: Stanford head coach Tabitha Yim offered the following observations heading into Sunday's meet.
On the rematch with UCLA: "They're just in a different place. It's always exciting to go against the top teams in the country to see where we are. We have to control what we can control."
On performing in front of a big crowd: "It's a great opportunity to compete in a championship environment. We have been working on the little details to prepare for postseason and this will provide us with another great test."
Rankings/RQS/High
STANFORD (24) 195.685/196.525
UCLA (2) 197.800/198.025
Vault
STANFORD (31) 48.850/49.150
UCLA (2) 49.285/49.425
Uneven Bars
STANFORD (30) 48.935/49.200
UCLA (2) 49.530/49.700
Balance Beam
STANFORD (24) 48.930/49.125
UCLA (1) 49.450/49.575
Floor Exercise
STANFORD (15) 49.125/49.325
UCLA (1) 49.635/49.750
Starting Lineups (tentative)
Vault
1. Kaylee Cole
2. Taryn Fitzgerald
3. Kyla Bryant
4. Rachael Flam
5. Aleeza Yu
6. Madison Brunette
Exh: Morgan Hoang
Uneven Bars
1. Taylor Lawson
2 Grace Waguespack
3. Aleeza Yu
4. Madison Brunette
5. Kyla Bryant
6. Rachael Flam
Exh: Eve Micco
Balance Beam
1. Taryn Fitzgerald
2. Wesley Stephenson
3. Taylor Lawson
4. Kaylee Cole
5. Lauren Navarro
6. Kyla Bryant
EXH: Rachael Flam
Floor Exercise
1. Kaylee Cole
2. Hailee Hoffman
3. Rachael Flam
4. Taylor Lawson
5. Morgan Hoang
6. Kyla Bryant