STANFORD, Calif. – Looking to close out its home season with a victory, No. 23 Stanford entertains No. 25 Arizona on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. Seating is limited and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.
The Cardinal (5-9, 0-5 Pac-12) matched its season high in floor exercise last Sunday against Utah and ranks 12th nationally. The GymCats (3-5, 1-4 Pac-12) rank 24th on beam and 25th in floor.
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Live stream: https://pac-12.com/live/stanford-university
Live scoring: GoStanford.com
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased in advance and online. Seating is limited at Burnham Pavilion. The meet theme is Girl Scout Day.
Home finale: Seniors Taryn Fitzgerald, Hailee Hoffman and Nicole Hoffman will compete in their last home meets. They were recognized last Sunday and responded with season or career-highs.
• Competing in her fourth season, Fitzgerald matched a season-best on vault against Utah with 9.800 and has participated in every meet. A two-time WCGA Scholastic All-America and Pac-12 All-Academic second team selection, the Houston native is majoring in product design.
• Competing in her third season, Hailee Hoffman scored a career-high 9.875 in floor exercise against Utah and has participated in every meet in 2019. She was chosen to the 2017 Pac-12 All-Academic second team and was 2018 Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention. A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Hoffman is majoring in product design.
• Competing in her third season, Nicole Hoffman recorded a career-best 9.825 on beam against Utah. She is a three-time WCGA Scholastic All-America and was 2017 Pac-12 All-Academic second team. A native of Bedford, N.Y., Hoffman is majoring in psychology.
All-around force: Sophomore Kyla Bryant has won five all-around titles this the season and 13 overall events. She ranks No. 31 nationally in all-around, posting a season high 39.475 at Cal on Jan 21.
Bar improvement: In 2018, the Cardinal had a tough time filling out its lineup card on bars due to injuries. This season, the squad has depth and has improved steadily with Bryant, sophomore Taylor Lawson, junior Aleeza Yu, Flam and freshmen Grace Wagusepack and Madison Brunette contributing.
Scouting report: Arizona posted season highs on bars (49.100) and floor (49.225) at UCLA last week. Six GymCats earned season bests and four tallied career highs.
Youth is served: The 17-member Cardinal roster features 11 underclassmen, including five first-year student-athletes. Hoang (floor, beam), Wesley Stephenson (bars, beam), Waguespack (bars) and Brunette (bars) have competed. Hoang collected her first collegiate title in a tri-meet against Sacramento State and Seattle Pacific by scoring 9.875 in floor exercise.
Post-meet takeaways: Stanford head coach Tabitha Yim offered the following observations after the Utah meet.
On quick turnaround: "We had three meets in nine days, so we knew this would be our biggest test, mentally. We had a slow start, but what I was pleased about is that they never gave up. They grinded through it and got better on each event."
Biggest takeaway: "We've put together made routines across all four events for two meets in a row. That shows character and strength. What we're doing is working. We just need a little more confidence."
Senior Day: "Each one of them has a compelling story about their journey to Stanford and all have overcome major injuries. They've really had to battle back to get where they are today. To see them perform as well as they did was such a nice way to send them out."
Next step: "We've had a few days to practice and hone-in on the details. Arizona and UCLA are big opportunities for us to make that jump. I'd like to see us continue to be gritty, hit all our routines, and really start going for those big-hit routines."
Rankings/Ave/High
STANFORD (23) 195.343/196.125
Arizona (25) 195.297/195.975
Vault
STANFORD (27) 48.814/49.150
Arizona (32) 48.743/48.850
Uneven Bars
STANFORD (32) 48.625/49.050
Arizona (24) 49.886/49.100
Balance Beam
STANFORD (29) 48.700/49.075
Arizona (27) 48.174/49.125
Floor Exercise
STANFORD (12) 49.129/49.250
Arizona (25) 48.936/49.225
Starting Lineups (tentative)
Vault
1. Kaylee Cole
2. Taryn Fitzgerald
3. Madison Brunette
4. Rachael Flam
5. Aleeza Yu
6. Grace Garcia
Exh: Morgan Hoang
Uneven Bars
1. Taylor Lawson
2 Grace Waguespack
3. Aleeza Yu
4. Madison Brunette
5. Kyla Bryant
6. Rachael Flam
Exh: Eve Micco
Balance Beam
1. Taryn Fitzgerald
2. Wesley Stephenson
3. Taylor Lawson
4. Kaylee Cole
5. Lauren Navarro
6. Kyla Bryant
EXH: Rachael Flam
Floor Exercise
1. Kaylee Cole
2. Hailee Hoffman
3. Rachael Flam
4. Taylor Lawson
5. Morgan Hoang
6. Kyla Bryant
