Similar to men’s gymnastics in its season opener against William & Mary, Stanford women’s gymnastics (0-1, 0-1 Pac-12) struggled to put up at least five athletes across three of the four events in a 192.625 – 133.375 season-opener loss against San Jose State.
Although the Cardinal did not have a full team ready at the meet, Stanford wanted to get its feet wet in collegiate competition and “showcase individual performances,” according to an email from Stanford Athletics spokesperson Tyler Geivett. No athlete competed in the all-around this meet.
However, there were some bright spots in each rotation that hint at future team success for Stanford.
Senior Kyla Bryant earned two event titles on vault with a 9.800 and the uneven bars with a 9.850. Fellow senior Grace Garcia was just 0.025 shy of tying Bryant in the latter with a 9.825.
Freshmen Amanda Zeng and Sandra Jessen contributed respectable scores in their first outing as Cardinal team members. Zeng earned a 9.700 on vault and a 9.625 on floor exercise, while Jessen added a 9.600 to the Cardinal’s vault rotation.
Junior Morgan Hoang and sophomore Chloe Widner broke the 9.800 barrier on the balance beam and floor exercise, respectively. Both claimed their respective event titles.
Although Stanford captured all four individual event titles, the squad’s lack of athletes made a victory infeasible. The team looks to capitalize on its bright spots and have more Cardinal ready for competition to boost its National Qualifying Score for post-season competition.
The Cardinal will face Bay Area rival No. 9 Cal (4-1, 3-1 Pac-12) at home on Mar. 3 in its second meet of the season.