Sign up for Express
New from Palo Alto Online, Express is a daily e-edition, distributed by e-mail every weekday.
Sign up to receive Express!

Login | Register
Sign up for eBulletins
Click for Palo Alto, California Forecast
Palo Alto Online Sports
Increase font Increase font
Decrease font Decrease font
Adjust text size

Morgan's two victories lead Cardinal past Cal  

Photo

Bookmark and Share
It was a night filled with career-highs and season-bests for the Stanford women's gymnastics team in its 196.450-195.775 victory at California.

No. 10 Stanford improved to 7-1 and recorded its highest overall team score of the season. The Cardinal also outscored the Golden Bears on three of four events and had a gymnast finish first on every event.

Stanford was led by senior captain Ashley Morgan's two individual titles on vault and floor exercise.

The All-American had an outstanding meet, tying her career-best on vault (9.925), recording a new season-best on floor (9.925) and tying her season-best on uneven bars (9.850).

It was also a night the Cardinal underclassmen showed flashes of its current strength and future potential.

The underclassmen had a strong night on vault with freshman Taylor Rice finishing second with a career-high score of 9.900, and classmate Melissa Chuang and sophomore Pauline Hanset tying for third with scores of 9.825.

Rice's score ranks third among Cardinal gymnasts this season.

Sophomores Samantha Shapiro and Kristina Vaculik led the way for the Cardinal on uneven bars with scores of 9.950 and 9.900, respectively.

It was a new career-best for Shapiro who finished tied with Cal's Madisyn O'Brien for first in the meet. Vaculik's score was good for third.

Stanford was consistent on bars and received strong performances from all six gymnasts, including scores of 9.850 from Ashley Morgan and Shona Morgan.

Alex Archer made her season debut and tied teammate Amanda Spinner with a 9.750.

After not competing in Georgia last week to rest, sophomore Ivana Hong showed what a week off could do and delivered a new career-high on balance beam to win the event with a 9.925. Spinner finished behind Hong in third with a 9.825. Hong and Spinner currently account for Stanford's top four scores on beam this season.

Entering the week, head coach Kristen Smyth believed her floor team had not performed to its full potential and wanted to see improvements this week at Cal.

The team didn't disappoint.

The Cardinal recorded its highest team score of the season on the event (49.100), capped by Ashley Morgan's score of 9.925 - highest of any Cardinal this season. Shona Morgan delivered a solid routine and finished third with a 9.875.

The victory marked the 28 consecutive over California, dating back to 2000. The Cardinal is 37-1 against the Golden Bears since 1996.

Stanford returns to The Farm for its first home meet of the season next Saturday, Feb. 2, at 4 p.m. (PT) as it takes on UCLA. The meet will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.


Comments
There are no comments yet for this story.
Be the first!

If you were a member and logged in you could track comments from this story.
Add a Comment

Posting an item on Town Square is simple and requires no registration! Just complete this form and hit "submit" and your topic will appear online. Please be respectful and truthful in your postings so Town Square will continue to be a thoughtful gathering place for sharing community information and opinion. All postings are subject to our TERMS OF USE, and may be deleted if deemed inappropriate by our staff
 
We prefer that you use your real name, but you may use any "member" name you wish.

Name: *
Select your Neighborhood or School Community: * Not sure?
Choose a category: *
Since this is the first comment on this story a new topic will also be started in Town Square!
Please choose a category below that best describes this story.

Comment: *
Enter the verification code exactly as shown, using capital and lowercase letters, in the multi-colored box. *
Verification Code:   


Best Website
First Place
2009-2012

 

Palo Alto Online   © 2013 Palo Alto Online
All rights reserved.