STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford will compete at the NCAA Championships for the eighth time in nine years, and 15th time overall, as it heads to Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend.
The Cardinal will compete in the first of two six-team semifinal groups on Friday at 11 a.m. (PT) at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. The top three teams from each semifinal will advance to the Super Six team finals on Saturday at 4 p.m. The top four individual finishers in each semifinal (including ties) will qualify for the NCAA Individual Event Finals on Sunday at Noon.
Stanford is seeking its seventh Super Six berth since 2002. The Cardinal is one of seven teams in the nation to make at least six Super Six appearances in the past 13 years (2002-14).
What: Stanford at NCAA Championships
When: April 17-19
Where: Fort Worth Convention Center Arena • Fort Worth, Texas
NCAA Championships Schedule
Semifinals: Friday, 11 a.m. PT (session I); 5 p.m. (session II)
Super Six: Saturday, 4 p.m.
Individual Event Finals: Sunday, noon
Broadcast Information
Friday: Semifinals, NCAA.com
Saturday: Super Six, ESPN3.com
Sunday: Individual Event Finals, ESPN3.com
Wednesday: Super Six tape delay broadcast, ESPNU, 4 p.m. PT
Follow the Action
• The meet will be streamed online and live stats will be available via GoStanford.com. Fans can follow along on Twitter @StanfordWGym and #gostanford.
Cardinal Update
• Stanford’s season has been highlighted by multiple individual standout performances and a consistent ascent in scoring. The Cardinal has scored above its season average in each of its past four meets.
• After battling through injuries for a majority of the season, the Cardinal is the healthiest it’s been during postseason competition and expects to be in the mix for a trip to the Super Six and a national title.
• Stanford enters the NCAA Championships with a 14-10-1 record, a Regional Qualifying Score of 196.720 and a season average of 196.248 in 12 meets.
• The Cardinal is ranked in the top 25 in all four events based on its Regional Qualifying Score: bars (4th, 49.420), beam (9th, 49.225), vault (T-14th, 49.280) and floor (20th, 49.185).
• Stanford registered its third-highest score of the season to finish second at the NCAA Morgantown Regional (April 4) and qualify to the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal’s team score was its third-highest all-time at a regional competition.
• Stanford recorded a meet-best 49.225 on beam and earned the second-highest scores on vault (49.375) and floor (49.225) at the regional compeition. Seven Cardinal gymnasts combined for 10 top-10 finishes. Stanford has scored above its season average in each of the past four meets.
• Ivana Hong claimed the NCAA Morgantown Regional beam title with a career-best 9.950 and tied for third on bars with a 9.900. She has earned four of Stanford’s top-five scores on beam this season.
• Taylor Rice tied for second on vault with a career-high 9.950 and placed third on floor with a 9.900. She added a 9.825 on beam. Rice has hit 91 percent (43-of-47) of her routines this season.
• Pauline Hanset provided leadership and big scores, tying for third on beam with a career-best 9.900 and fourth on floor (9.875).
Senior Leadership
• Stanford’s senior class has contributed to 81 Stanford victories and qualified to the NCAA Championships each of their four years of their collegiate careers.
• Four of Stanford’s five seniors (Pauline Hanset, Ivana Hong, Samantha Shapiro and Rebecca Wing) competed at the 2012 NCAA Championships Super Six as freshmen. The lone senior to not compete at the 2012 championships was Kristina Vaculik who took a year off from school to prepare for the 2012 London Olympics with Team Canada.
• Pauline Hanset (environmental engineering) has been steady and provided clutch routines all season, competing in vault, beam and floor in all 12 meets. She has hit 33-of-36 routines (92 percent) on the year. Hanset earned a first-place finish on floor at San Jose State (Jan. 9) with a 9.875.
• Ivana Hong (human biology), technically a redshirt junior, claimed the third regional title of her career this year when she placed first at the NCAA Morgantown Regional beam championship with a career-best 9.950. She has hit 22-of-24 (92 percent) of her routines this season.
• Samantha Shapiro (engineering), a two-time NCAA Championships runner-up on bars, has hit 11 consecutive routines for scores of 9.800 or higher. She has also exceled on floor, competing in 10-of-12 meets in the event.
• Kristina Vaculik (human biology), a three-time All-American in 2014, missed the first four meets this year due to illness. She’s back to her All-America form and has competed in the all-around in each of the past three meets. Vaculik has registered scores of 9.875 or higher in all four events this season.
• Rebecca Wing (engineering) has excelled in the leadoff position on bars and beam, competing in all 12 meets this season. She registered two victories on beam this season, first against Oregon State (9.900, Jan. 26) and then against Washington (9.900, March 2).
Special Price
• Freshman Elizabeth Price was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Year – an annual award given to the conference’s top non-all-around gymnast. She claimed a share of the Pac-12 title on bars and has logged 11 victories in 16 routines: vault (6), bars (4) and floor (1).
• Price has scored 9.925 or higher in 13-of-16 performances and began her collegiate career with seven consecutive victories. Six of her 11 wins came against Pac-12 competition.
Rice Does It All
• Taylor Rice (international relations) has been a staple in the Cardinal lineup, competing in at least three events in all 12 meets and performing in the all-around in 8-of-12 competitions. She has hit 43-of-47 (91 percent) of her routines this season and claimed 11 individual victories: all-around (5), floor (4), beam (1) and vault (1).
• Rice set career bests in the all-around four times and recorded career highs in all four events throughout the season.
Stepping Up for the Team
• Due to injuries and illnesses early in the season, healthy Cardinal gymnasts were asked to step up into prominent lineup spots – sometimes competing with lineups consisting of five individuals. Rachel Daum, Jenna Frowein, Danielle McNair, Nicolette McNair and Haley Spector filled those roles exceptionally, helping keep Stanford’s average team and event scores among the top-20 in the country.
Rotation Schedule
• Here is the rotation order for the first session of the NCAA Championships:
Florida: bye, floor, vault, bye, bars, beam
Utah: beam, bye, floor, vault, bye, bars
Michigan: bars, beam, bye, floor, vault
UCLA: floor, vault, bye, bars, beam, bye
Georgia: vault, bye, bars, beam, bye, floor
Stanford: bye, bars, beam, bye, floor, vault
Stanford Titles and Honors
• A listing of collegiate titles and honors for current Stanford gymnasts.
Ivana Hong, RS Junior, Human Biology
2015 NCAA Morgantown Regional beam champion (9.950)
2015 All-Pac-12 first team (bars)
2013 Norman Regional champion (beam)
2013 Norman Regional champion (vault)
2013 All-Pac-12 first team (beam)
2012 All-America first team (beam)
2012 All-America second team (vault)
2012 Pac-12 champion (vault)
2012 All-Pac-12 second team (vault)
Nicolette McNair, Sophomore
2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
2014 All-Pac-12 first team (vault, bars)
Elizabeth Price, Freshman
2015 Pac-12 Specialist of the Year
2015 All-Pac-12 first team (bars)
2015 Pac-12 champion on bars (9.950)
Taylor Rice, Junior, International Relations
2015 All-Pac-12 first team (all-around)
2013 All-America second team (floor)
Samantha Shapiro, Senior, Engineering
2015 All-Pac-12 second team (bars)
2014 All-America first team (bars)
2014 Baton Rouge Regional champion (bars)
2014 All-Pac-12 second team (bars)
2012 All-America first team (bars)
Kristina Vaculik, RS Senior, Human Biology
2014 All-America first team (all-around, bars, beam)
2014 Baton Rouge Regional champion (bars)
2014 All-Pac-12 first team (all-around)
Super Six Experience
• Stanford has four gymnasts who were part of the lineups that competed in the 2012 NCAA Super Six finals in Duluth, Ga., on the Cardinal's fourth-place team. They are: Pauline Hanset, Ivana Hong, Samantha Shapiro and Rebecca Wing.
Stanford NCAA Championships Facts
• Team is competing in its 15th NCAA Championship meet.
• Has reached the Super Six six times.
• Most recent Super Six appearance was 2012 (fourth place).
• All of team's Super Six appearances have come since 2002 (head coach Kristen Smyth’s first season).
• The Cardinal is one of seven teams in the nation to make six Super Six appearances in the past 13 years (2002-14).
• The program's highest finish has been third in 2004 and 2008.
• Team's highest NCAA score was 197.500 in 2012 Super Six (fourth place).
• There have been two individual NCAA champions from Stanford.
• Larissa Fontaine tied for first on vault in 1998 (9.8625).
• Carly Janiga won the bars in 2010 in Gainesville, Fla.
• Janiga’s score of 9.9375 is the program's highest on the event in NCAA competition.
• Stanford has had 30 individual All-Americans that have garnered a total of 101 honors.
• Program has 21 first-team All-Americans in its history.
• Those individuals totaled 57 first-team All-America honors.
• Current assistant coach Tabitha Yim has the most first-team All-America honors in school history, with 13 from 2005-08.
• The highest all-around finish was Carly Janiga's third in 2010 (39.525).
Stanford Against NCAA Opponents
• Here are the results from Stanford’s most recent matchup against each opponent in Session I:
Florida: April 4, 2015 (Morgantown, W.Va.), NCAA Morgantown Regional: Florida (first) 197.475, Stanford (second) 197.000.
Utah: March 21, 2015 (Salt Lake City, Utah), Pac-12 Championships: Utah (first) 198.150, Stanford (third) 197.175.
Michigan: April 18, 2014 (Birmingham, Ala.), NCAA Championships Semifinals: Stanford (fourth) 196.600, Michigan (fifth) 196.425.
UCLA: March 21, 2015 (Salt Lake City, Utah), Pac-12 Championships: UCLA (second) 197.350, Stanford (third) 197.175.
Georgia: April 18, 2014 (Birmingham, Ala.), NCAA Championships Semifinals: Georgia (second) 197.300, Stanford (fourth) 196.600.
• Here are the results from Stanford’s most recent matchup against each opponent in Session II:
Oklahoma: April 18, 2014 (Birmingham, Ala.), NCAA Semifinals: Oklahoma (first) 197.500, Stanford (fourth) 196.600.
LSU: April 18, 2014 (Birmingham, Ala.), NCAA Semifinals: LSU (third) 197.100, Stanford (fourth) 196.600.
Alabama: March 7, 2014 (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), Dual Meet: Alabama (first) 198.250, Stanford (second) 196.300.
Auburn: April 5, 2014 (Baton Rouge, La.), NCAA Baton Rouge Regional: Stanford (second) 197.275, Auburn (fifth) 195.050.
Nebraska: April 20, 2012 (Duluth, Ga.), NCAA Semifinals: Stanford (third) 197.125, Nebraska (fifth) 196.625.
Oregon State: March 21, 2015 (Salt Lake City, Utah), Pac-12 Championships: Stanford (third) 197.175, Oregon State (fourth) 196.900.
International Experience
• Stanford's roster includes six gymnasts with senior national team experience. The list includes two Olympians, two Olympic alternates, three U.S. senior national team competitors, and three World Championships veterans.
• Redshirt Junior Ivana Hong, a national champion on vault and beam in 2009, was a 2008 U.S. Olympic team alternate. She was a bronze medalist on the beam at the 2009 World Championships and a team gold medalist at the 2007 worlds. Hong also earned a 2007 Pan Am Games bronze in the all-around.
• Senior Pauline Hanset represented Belgium, the country of her birth, in a four-nation meet in Germany in 2011.
• Senior Samantha Shapiro competed for the U.S. senior national team from 2009-11, winning several international meet titles. Earlier, she won three U.S. junior national championships.
• Senior Becky Wing competed for Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics. She also competed in two World Championships and two European Championships.
• Redshirt senior Kristina Vaculik competed for Canada at the 2012 Olympics, helping the team to a fifth-place finish - its highest-ever team finish. She has won nine Canadian national championships, including three all-around titles (2007, 2010, 2012). She is a three-time competitor at the World Championships.
• Freshman Elizabeth Price was a member of the U.S. Senior National Team from 2012-14 and a member of the Junior National Team from 2010-12. She was an alternate on the gold-medal winning 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. Price claimed the 2013-14 International Federation of Gymnastics World Cup Series all-around title.
In the Rankings
• Stanford is ranked in the top 25 in the following events based on its Regional Qualifying Score:
Vault: T-14th, 49.280
Bars: 4th, 49.420
Beam: 9th, 49.225
Floor: 20th, 49.185
• Stanford gymnasts are ranked in the top 25 in the following events based on their Regional Qualifying Score:
All-Around
Taylor Rice, 19th, 39.395
Vault
Elizabeth Price, T-6th, 9.945
Bars
Ivana Hong, T-17th, 9.900
Beam
Ivana Hong, T-11th, 9.905