Stanford tops No. 1 UCLA for Pac-10 gym title Stanford tops No. 1 UCLA for Pac-10 gym title (March 28, 2001)

The Stanford women's gymnastics team choose the perfect time to perform their best. A season-high score of 197.850 was good enough for the Cardinal to claim their second Pacific-10 Conference team title since 1998 on Saturday night at the University of Washington.

It was the highest score in the history of the conference meet.

Stanford, ranked sixth, edged top-ranked UCLA 197.850-197.800 to avenge its only loss of the season. Washington was third at 197.475, followed by Oregon State (196.550), Arizona State (195.725), Arizona (195.525) and California (193.750).

"I couldn't be more pleased with my team tonight," said Stanford coach Mark Cook, who was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. "We came out and hit 24 of 24 routines and they did a phenomenal job. It was a tough meet and we just wanted to focus on ourselves and our game plan. The girls finished finals this past week so it was awesome to see how they responded. They are a close-knit team with a lot of energy and I am very proud of them."

Stanford captured the title after taking four of the top eight spots in the all-around competition. Pac-10 Freshman Gymnast of the Year Lindsay Wing finished third with a 39.625, while freshmen Caroline Fluhrer and Robin Phelps tied for fourth at 39.550. The 39.550 was a season-high for both Fluhrer and Phelps. Also for the Cardinal, senior Jen Exaltacion finished eighth at 39.375.

Stanford also claimed event titles in both the beam and the bars. In the beam, Stanford's Lisa Leveille and Wing shared first place at 9.975. Fluhrer tied for first place in the vault with UCLA's Mohini Bhardwaj, the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year, at 9.975.

Stanford advances to the NCAA Regionals on Saturday, April 7.