Nice First Step

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Stanford women's gymnastics team opened its 2020 season with a strong showing Saturday night in the Collegiate Challenge powered by Under Armour at the Anaheim Arena in the Anaheim Convention Center.

Competing against top-ranked and defending national champion Oklahoma, No. 4 UCLA and No. 9 Cal, the No. 22 Cardinal finished fourth with a score of 195.475. The Sooners placed first at 197.350, followed by the Bruins at 196.575 and the Bears at 196.200.

"It was great to get on podium for the first meet and it was a strong team effort," said head coach Tabitha Yim. "Nice to get the nerves out and I thought there were some real highlights."

Stanford junior Kyla Bryant had an outstanding meet, setting a career-high with a score of 9.950 on bars to tie for second, eclipsing her previous best of 9.900 set last year at the NCAA Corvallis Regional. She also tallied 9.900 on floor, coming up just short of her personal-best of 9.925, which she posted four times last year.

The meet marked the debut of highly-touted freshman Chloe Widner, who looked comfortable throughout and didn't disappoint. The lone Cardinal to compete in all-around, she began her collegiate career by scoring 9.800 on floor, then added 9.850 on vault, 9.825 on bars and 9.850 on beam. Widner placed sixth in all-around with a score of 39.325.

"Chloe was solid in her debut and it was exciting to see new faces break into the lineup: Morgan (Hoang) on beam and Grace (Garcia) on bars. They had each other's back after missed routines and it's a solid place to build off as we head into the season."

Stanford resumes competition next Sunday at 2 p.m. at the NorCal Classic in Davis, Calif. Also participating are host UC Davis, Cal, San Jose and Sacramento State. Live scoring can be found on GoStanford.com.