BERKELEY, Calif. – Led by the best team score at NCAA Regionals meet in program history, No. 19 Stanford topped No. 14 Auburn and Southern Utah in the NCAA Regional Second Round Meet Friday evening in Haas Pavilion, earning a spot in the NCAA Regional Finals Sunday.
No. 3 California won the quad meet with a score of 197.800 and will also advance to the regional finals with Stanford. The Cardinal followed closely behind with a 197.600, while the Tigers totaled a 196.800 and the Flippin' Birds earned a 196.475.
No. 6 Denver and No. 22 Arizona State finished first and second, respectively, in the afternoon second-round quad meet, and will be the other two competitors in Sunday's regional finals.
Stanford's team total of 197.600 is its tenth-best in program history and third-best this season.
Fifth-year Chloe Widner led all competitors in both the afternoon and evening sessions with a new career-best all-around total of 39.700, earning the regional all-around title. She is the first all-around regional champion for the Cardinal since Elizabeth Price won the all-around title at the 2016 Ann Arbor Regional. Widner earned shares of the bars, beam and floor titles, scoring a 9.950 on each event, leaving as a co-regional champion on all three events. Sophomore Anna Roberts also captured a share of the regional floor title with a 9.950 performance and junior Anapaula Gutierrez earned a part of the regional vault title with a 9.900.
All of the Cardinal's event team scores Friday evening sit as one of the program's top-three team totals of the season. Stanford led off with its third-best beam total of the year, followed with its tied-for-third best floor rotation of the year, second-best vault total of the year and ended with its tied-for-second best bars rotation of the season. The Cardinal did not count a score towards its team total below a 9.800 throughout the evening.
Stanford started the night on beam, led off by a 9.850 by sophomore Claire Dean. Dean's tone setter was followed by a 9.900 from freshman Sienna Robinson, a 9.875 from junior Brenna Neault, and the same score from senior Ira Alexeeva. Widner rounded out the scoring routines with her event-title winning 9.950 performance.
It was then onto floor where Dean once again started the rotation strong with a 9.850. Senior Amanda Zeng and freshman Victoria Cluck followed with the same totals, Cluck's a new career high, while Neault posted a 9.875. Roberts and Widner closed the rotation with their matching 9.950 totals. Halfway through the meet, the Cardinal led all teams with a 98.925 team total.
Zeng led off on vault with a 9.800 which propelled a string of 9.850 scores from Neault and Widner in the third and fourth spots of the rotation. Gutierrez's 9.900 was the highlight of the lineup in the fifth spot and Roberts ended the vault rotation strong with a 9.875.
The night ended how it started with another successful, highlight-filled rotation on bars. Gutierrez started things off with a 9.850 and sophomore Ava Sorrento and Neault followed with the same total. Alexeeva broke through with the first 9.900 of the rotation in the four spot, while Roberts posted a 9.825 and Widner anchored with her title-winning 9.950 performance.
Regional finals action between the Cardinal, Golden Bears, Pioneers and Sun Devils on Sunday is set to begin at 5 p.m. from Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. The meet is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+ with Bart Conner and Kathy Johnson Clarke on the call.
