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Ali Gradischer
Women's Gymnastics

A Sweet Season: 2021-22 Year in Review

STANFORD, Calif. - The Cardinal made impressive strides throughout the 2022 season, earning its first dual meet win over UCLA since 2016, jumping 38 spots in the rankings from the 2021-22 season, and recording two consecutive scores of 197.000+ to close the team's season for the first time since 2015.

Stanford welcomes the No. 1 ranked class of recruits to The Farm for the 2023 season, hoping to build upon the script it flipped this year and reach for bigger heights in the campaigns to come. 
 

Rankings and TitlesAs a team, Stanford captured 10 event titles, up from just two a year ago. The Cardinal recorded one title on vault, two each on bars and beam, and a team-high five titles on floor. 

Individually, Cardinal gymnasts collected 20 individual event crowns, led by super senior Kyla Bryant who tallied 12 on the year for a total of 62 in her illustrious Stanford career.
 

NameEventScoreCompetition
Kyla BryantBars9.95

at California, Jan. 16

Kyla BryantBeam9.925

at California, Jan. 16

Kyla BryantFloor9.925

at California, Jan. 16

Kyla BryantAll-Around39.675

at California, Jan. 16

Kyla BryantVault9.925

vs. California, Feb. 4

Kyla BryantFloor9.950

vs. California, Feb. 4

Kyla BryantFloor9.975

vs. UCLA, Feb. 12

Kyla BryantAll-Around39.575

vs. UCLA, Feb. 12

Kyla BryantBeam9.975

Stanford Quad Meet, Feb. 21

Brenna NeaultAll-Around39.525

Stanford Quad Meet, Feb. 21

Jade ChrobokVault9.900

vs. Arizona State, March 4

Brenna NeaultBeam9.925vs. Arizona State, March 4
Taylor LawsonFloor9.950vs. Arizona State, March 4
Kyla BryantVault9.875

at Washington Tri Meet, March 6

Grace WaguespackBars9.900

at Washington Tri Meet, March 6

Kyla BryantFloor9.900

at Washington Tri Meet, March 6

Kyla BryantVault9.900

vs. San Jose State, March 30

Chloe WidnerBeam9.900

vs. San Jose State, March 30

Taylor LawsonFloor9.900

vs. San Jose State, March 30

Anapaula GutierrezAll-Around39.225

vs. San Jose State, March 30

 

Upset? We're not upset.The Cardinal's first dual meet win of the 2022 season was a memorable one, as No. 19 Stanford topped No. 16 UCLA 196.900-196.850 with season-best team scores on vault, bars and floor, alongside 13 performances that set or matched career or season best efforts.

Bryant went home with event titles on the floor and in the all-around competition, totaling a score of 39.575 and leading Stanford to its first win over UCLA since March 6, 2016.

Four members of the Stanford program entered 2022's 9.90+ club, as an uneven bars routine from freshman Brenna Neault and floor routines from freshman Anapaula Gutierrez, senior Morgan Hoang, and super senior Taylor Lawson each matched or broke the elusive scoring barrier. Bryant continued her success as a previous 9.90+ club member with barrier-breaking performances on bars and floor.

A Regionals Trip for the Record BooksAfter fighting for the final spot in the Seattle Regional with a round one win over San José State, the Cardinal made a statement in the second round (semifinal) and regional finals with back-to-back team scores of 197.000-or-better for the first time since the 2015 season.

The highlight of Stanford's regional trip came at the semifinals meet, as the Cardinal upset regular-season ranked No. 13 Oregon State (197.450-197.425) and No. 19 Illinois (197.450-197.375) to earn a spot in the regional finals.

The Cardinal's score of 197.450 was not only a season-best team total by almost half of a point but the best score by a Stanford team in the regional championships since 2008 and the second-best score at a regional meet in program history.

Three of Stanford's four event totals either matched or set season-best marks, led by a 49.450 on bars that sealed the result of the night's meet. Nine scores throughout the night either set or matched season or career bests, including four bars scores during the final rotation. 

Stanford finished its 2022 season in Seattle with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Regional Championships, scoring the program's second-best total of the year, 197.250.
 


A Trip to the NCAA ChampionshipsSuper senior Kyla Bryant qualified as an individual for the 2022 NCAA Championships based on her performance at the 2022 NCAA Regional Semifinals in Seattle, Wash. The Athens, Ga. native earned a 9.95 on floor in competition on Thursday, March 31, which solidified her as the region's top-performing floor gymnast that did not qualify for the championships with their program. 

The fifth year joined a list of distinguished Cardinal gymnasts to qualify for the NCAA Championships as an individual, including current head coach Tabitha Yim and NCAA Individual Champions Elizabeth Price and Carly Janiga. Bryant was the first Stanford student-athlete to qualify for the national championship meet since Price did in her 2018 senior season. 

At the championship event, Bryant's score of 9.9375 marked the program's best-ever floor score at NCAAs and her effort also matched the second-best score ever recorded by a Stanford gymnast on any event at the national-championship meet. Bryant's performance also earned her NCAA First-Team All-America honors, as she finished as one of the top four on her event in the first session. 


The Athens, Ga. native stole the spotlight with her final collegiate performance and earned all 9.90+ scores from the six judges, including 9.95s from four judges. Her effort topped current head coach Tabitha Yim's score of 9.925 at the NCAA Championships in 2005 and former Cardinal Elizabeth Price's score of 9.925 at the NCAA Championships in 2018, both of whom previously held the record for best score in program history on floor while at a national-championship event. 
 


Throughout the 2022 season, Bryant did not earned less than a 9.90 on floor in 12 appearances, highlighted by a career-best matching 9.975 in Stanford's upset of UCLA Feb. 12. She ended her career with an AAI finalist nod and two selections to the All-Pac-12 squads (floor- first team, all-around- honorable mention). 
 

AAI FinalistStanford women's gymnast Kyla Bryant was one of six finalists for the AAI Award , presented to the nation's most outstanding senior women's gymnast. 

The two-time AAI award nominee and 2021 Pac-12 Co-Champion on floor added another impressive honor to her illustrious career as a Stanford gymnast. 

Bryant joined Ivana Hong (2016 AAI Award Finalist) and Elizabeth Price (2018 AAI Award Winner) as Stanford gymnasts since 2015 honored by the organization for excellence during their college careers. 

14 Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Selections A program-record 14 student-athletes were named to the Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll, the most by any women's gymnastics program in the conference. 

Stanford gymnasts earning the honor were Ira Alexeeva, Madison Brunette, Kyla Bryant, Jade Chrobok, Morgan Hoang, Eve Micco, Isabela Onyshko, Kelly Ramm, Wesley Stephenson, Addie Stonecipher, Sze En Tan, Grace Waguespack, Chloe Widner, and Amanda Zeng

The Winter Academic Honor Roll includes student-athletes who participated in the conference-sponsored sports of men's and women's basketball, women's gymnastics, men's and women's swimming and diving and wrestling. Any student-athlete with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or above who has served at least one year in residence at Stanford is eligible for the recognition.

SCHOLAR-AthleteAt the conclusion of the Pac-12 Championships, Madison Brunette was named the 2022 Pac-12 Gymnastics Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Brunette was just the second recipient of the award in program history and was the first Stanford gymnast to be awarded since the 2010 season. The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to the top senior gymnast in the conference.

A leader in and out of the gym, Brunette boasts career-best scores of 9.850 (vault), 9.875 (bars), and 9.990 on floor. Her top collegiate vault score of 9.850 came at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships Session #1 while her 9.90 on floor was earned on senior night inside Maples Pavilion. The Seattle, Wash. native hit all of her routines in her senior season.

In the classroom, Brunette holds a 3.83 GPA in the nation's best biology program. The senior spends time as a research assistant in the Heller Lab, performing experiments examining the effect of lactate kinetics and thermoregulation on human performance. She is also a member of Stanford's Athletes in Medicine (AIMS) organization, acting as its community service coordinator.
 

Individual Accolades
Sophomore Ira Alexeeva
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll

Junior Madison Brunette
- 2022 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Super Senior Kyla Bryant
- All-Pac-12 (floor- first team, all-around- honorable mention)
- AAI Award nominee
- NCAA Championships qualifier (floor)
- Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week (Jan. 18) Sophomore Jade Chrobok
- Pac-12 Academic Honor RollSenior Morgan Hoang 
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Super Senior Taylor Lawson 
- Pac-12 Coaches' Choice (March 8) Senior Eve Micco 
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Sophomore Isabela Onyshko
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Junior Kelly Ramm
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll Senior Wesley Stephenson
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
- Pac-12 Coaches' Choice (Jan. 18) Junior Addie Stonecipher 
- Pac-12 Academic Honor RollSophomore Sze En Tan
- Pac-12 Academic Honor RollSenior Grace Waguespack
- Pac-12 Academic Honor RollJunior Chloe Widner 
- Pac-12 Academic Honor RollSophomore Amanda Zeng 
- Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll