STANFORD, Calif. – No. 25 Stanford returns to the postseason for the 36th consecutive year on Friday night when it competes in the nine-team NCAA Corvallis Regional in Corvallis, Ore.
Other participating schools are No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Denver, No. 12 Boise State, No. 15 and host Oregon State, No. 18 Washington, No. 24 Southern Utah, No. 32 Iowa and No. 33 Arizona.
The other regional sites are Ann Arbor, Mich., Athens, Ga. and Baton Rouge, La.
This year, a new regional format is being used. The First Round is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. and pits No. 8-seed Iowa against No. 9-seed Arizona. The winner advances to the Second Round on Friday.
The Second Round will consist of two quad meets. At 2 p.m., No. 2-seed Denver, No. 3-seed Boise State, No. 5-seed Washington and No. 6-seed Southern Utah will compete. In the 7 p.m. evening session, No. 1-seed Florida, No. 4-seed Oregon State, No. 7-seed Stanford and the Iowa-Arizona winner will compete.
The top two teams from each Second-Round session advance to the regional final on Saturday at 7 p.m. The top two teams Saturday night qualify for the NCAA Championships, April 19-20 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Social Hour: Twitter @StanfordWGym Instagram @stanfordgymnastics Facebook stanfordwgym
TV: The meet will stream live in partnership with FloGymnastics and is available at http://bit.ly/2TQgNFv.
Live scoring: GoStanford.com
Cardinal at NCAA Regionals: Stanford captured regional crowns in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2016.
Last year: The Cardinal competed at the NCAA Salt Lake Regional in Salt Lake City, Utah. Current team members Taryn Fitzgerald, Kaylee Cole, Kyla Bryant, Rachael Flam, Taylor Lawson, Lauren Navarro and Catherine Rogers participated. Bryant scored a career-best 9.925 on floor and 9.900 on beam, while Flam added a career-high 9.875 on floor. Cole and Navarro matched season-highs with 9.850's on floor.
Clean routines: The Cardinal hit all 24 routines at the Gymquarters Mardi Gras Invitational on Feb. 15, 22-of-24 against Utah on Feb. 18, 23-of-23 against Arizona on Feb. 24, and 22-of-24 at UCLA on March 10.
Pac-12 Championships rewind: The Cardinal is coming off a seventh-place showing at the Pac-12 Championships. Fitzgerald tallied a career-high 9.850 on beam and Bryant established a career-best 39.525 in all-around.
All-around force: Bryant has won 17 events, including seven all-around titles this season. She is No. 26 nationally in all-around (39.380) and No. 28 in floor exercise (9.915).
Bryant has posted 9.900 or higher in floor exercise five times; 9.900 on beam twice; 9.900 on bars once; and produced a season-best 9.875 on vault in the Pac-12 Championships.
Youth served: The 17-member Cardinal roster features 11 underclassmen, including five first-year student-athletes. Morgan Hoang (floor, beam), Wesley Stephenson (bars, beam), Grace Waguespack (bars) and Madison 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.
Tabitha's Takes: Stanford head coach Tabitha Yim offered the following observations heading into the NCAA Regionals:
On building for the postseason: "Our focus for this meet is really just controlling the things we can control. We're really excited about this new format and we're also excited about where our team is right now. Everyone is peaking at the right time and the lineups are coming together. Our No. 1 priority is to hit 24 of 24 routines. If we do, we put ourselves in the best position to survive and advance."
On the growth of Kyla Bryant: "She's done a great job for us. Something we've noticed in the past month is her shift to being really intentional and purposeful in her training so she can capitalize on the scores that are building in front of her. There's a great sense of cohesiveness and everyone understands their role. The Pac-12 Championship was her best meet of the season."
On the maturity of your freshmen: "We talk a lot about being persistent and consistent with your effort and how that yields results over time. If there's a class that has really embraced that message and put these words into action, it is 100 percent the freshmen class. They have continued to improve every week."
Rankings/RQS/Season-High
STANFORD (25) 195.995/196.525
Florida (4) 197.760/198.025
Denver (5) 197.545/197.775
Boise State (12) 196.725/197.175
Oregon State (15) 196.320/197.450
Washington (18) 196.505/196.975
Southern Utah (24) 196.045/196.575
Iowa (32) 195.705/196.450
Arizona (33) 195.700/196.450
Stanford RSQ/Season-Highs
Vault
(32) 48.930/49.150
Uneven Bars
(31) 49.045/49.200
Balance Beam
(29) 48.985/49.125
Floor
(18) 49.255/49.325
Tentative Starters
Floor Exercise
1. Kaylee Cole
2. Hailee Hoffman
3. Rachael Flam
4. Taylor Lawson
5. Morgan Hoang
6. Kyla Bryant
Vault
1. Kaylee Cole
2. Taryn Fitzgerald
3. Kyla Bryant
4. Rachael Flam
5. Aleeza Yu
6. Madison Brunette
Uneven Bars
1. Taylor Lawson
2. Grace Waguespack
3. Aleeza Yu
4. Madison Brunette
5. Kyla Bryant
6. Catherine Rogers/Rachael Flam
Balance Beam
1. Taryn Fitzgerald
2. Taylor Lawson
3. Wesley Stephenson/Nicole Hoffman
4. Ashley Tai
5. Lauren Navarro
6. Kyla Bryant