In its last meet before the Pac-12 Conference Championships, Stanford women’s gymnastics (6-11, 3-4 Pac-12) fell short at the George Washington Quad Meet on Sunday, finishing fourth (193.275) behind No. 18 George Washington (25-4, 6-0 EAGL) (196.500), NC State (9-12, 2-3 EAGL) (194.825) and Yale (8-12-1, 1-3 ECAC) (194.575).
The Cardinal showed individual success but struggled with team consistency throughout the meet, ultimately falling in this final tune-up before postseason competition. Junior Elizabeth Price earned a first-place finish on bars with her 9.925, and freshman Ashley Tai and senior Nicolette McNair tied for first on beam with matching 9.875s, but the team faced adversity on each event.
Starting on the floor exercise, where the team has seen steady improvement throughout the season, Stanford rallied to cover an early fall. Price fought to stay in bounds in her routine to anchor the rotation with a 9.850.
Stanford struggled with control on vault, counting two scores under 9.700 in an up and down rotation. Despite trademark powerful vaulting in previous meets, the Cardinal had trouble sticking landings, lowering their scores.
With big scores on bars needed, Nicolette McNair started the rotation off well with a strong routine netting a 9.825. The senior combined perfect handstands with an impressive full twisting double back dismount to tie for fourth in the event. Sophomore Dare Maxwell matched that score in her routine, setting up a first place finish for Price in the anchor spot.
Trailing their competitors headed into the final rotation on beam, Stanford struggled with the inconsistency that had haunted the team all meet. The Cardinal suffered two falls before strong first-place performances by Tai and Nicolette McNair. In her routine, Tai earned a career-high score following a confident triple layout series and a stuck one-and-a-half twist dismount. Anchoring the team, McNair showed her resiliency in a tough position and delivered a strong beam performance.
This season, Stanford has shown strong individual performances but has struggled to put together top team scores. With a week to recover before the Pac-12 Championships at home, the Cardinal must work on inconsistencies in order to deliver big scores in the postseason.
The Pac-12 Conference Championships will take place next Saturday at Maples Pavilion. Session one will begin at 1 p.m., and session two will follow at 6 p.m. The meet will be streamed on Pac-12 Networks.
Contact Laura Anderson at lauraand ‘at’ stanford.edu.