Pac-12 Gymnastics Week 10 Recap: New Cal program record clinches regular season title, Chloe Widner’s 10 leads Stanford to 197
In Week 10, Cal set a new program record to clinch the Pac-12 gymnastics regular season title in a victory over Stanford. In the final season of the Pac-12 as we know it, the Bears are now the outright regular season champions after going undefeated in conference dual meets. The Cal-Stanford rivalry meet proved to be one of the most exciting of the season, with Stanford recording their best score of the season by a large margin.
#2 Cal @ #22 Stanford
Final score: Cal 198.550 – Stanford 197.975
Stanford
Against their biggest rival, the Cardinal put in their best meet of the season. While hosting senior night, Stanford recorded their first 197 of the year in grand fashion. The near-198 was the second highest score in program history.
After one of their best vault rotations of the season (49.175), the Cardinal put on a show on bars with a 49.525 and four scores of 9.9 or better. The Cardinal would follow up their stellar bars with great beam and floor. Stanford recorded a 49.675 on beam, their second highest in team history, before posting a 49.600 on floor. Of course, the highlight was Chloe Widner nailing her beam routine for a well-deserved perfect 10 – the first of her five-year collegiate career, fittingly coming in her final home meet. Widner would then anchor floor with a 9.975, showing tremendous control on her passes.
Widner wasn’t the only Cardinal setting a career high at Maples Pavilion Sunday. Ava Sorrento (bars – 9.9), Sienna Robinson (beam – 9.95), Amanda Zeng (vault – 9.875), and Taralyn Nguyen (floor – 9.925) all notched career highs as well.
It’s notable that this score was over a point higher than anything Stanford has reached all season. There was generous scoring for some routines on both teams in this meet, but make no mistake, this was absolutely Stanford’s best meet of the season. Stanford’s gymnasts are typically really clean in their execution, and they finally had the opportunity to show what they can do when they get sticks, execute, and are healthy for all four rotations.
Next, Stanford heads to the Utah tri-meet on Friday before the Cal tri-meet on Sunday. Two meets in one weekend is a great test for the Cardinal ahead of the postseason.
Cal
It took Cal only two weeks to break their program record again, with an outstanding 198.550 against Stanford to clinch their first ever sole Pac-12 regular season gymnastics title. This is the second highest total in the NCAA so far this season, with Oklahoma owning the highest with a 198.675.
The Bears started out hot quickly on bars, with their first five gymnasts sticking for five straight 9.9 scores or better.
After a 49.275 on vault, the Bears set their program record on floor with a 49.750, dropping a 9.9 in the rotation. Jordan Kane continues to be an underrated piece in the floor lineup, putting up a career-high 9.95. Mya Lauzon and eMjae Frazier closed out the rotation with matching 9.975s.
Finally, the Bears went to beam, where they tied their program record with a 49.825. Each counting score went 9.95 or better, with Lauzon earning her second perfect 10 of the season. Frazier’s 9.95 would help her tie her own program all-around record of 39.825. Frazier now ranks No. 2 in the all-around nationally while Lauzon is fourth.
Cal closes out the regular season with two tri-meets next week: one against UC Davis and San Jose State and another against Sacramento State and Stanford.
#5 Utah @ #19 Arizona
Final score: Utah: 197.875 – Arizona: 195.725
Arizona
An unfortunate bars rotation led the GymCats to post their lowest score of the season, and their lone score below a 196 this year. Arizona was simply off on bars, having to count two falls for a total score of a 47.950 on the event.
This score kept Arizona out of contention for a high home score during the second half of the meet. Still, there were some highlights for the Wildcats. Fifth-year Malia Hargrove celebrated senior night by sticking her Yurchenko 1.5 for a 9.925 and a tie for the event title. On floor, the Wildcats earned a 49.375, with both Emily Mueller and Emma Strom adding 9.9s.
The Wildcats have two meets in Week 11: a Wednesday showdown with Southern Connecticut before a Sunday quad meet at Illinois.
Utah
Utah continues to do what Utah does, posting another high 197 road score to stay consistent heading into the postseason.
Despite a fall in the first rotation, the Red Rocks finished with a strong 49.525 on bars. This score came thanks in large part to Ella Zirbes continuing to hit her stride on the event with a 9.925 and Grace McCallum earning a perfect 10 – her second overall of the season.
McCallum also tied for the win on floor with teammate Jaylene Gilstrap, posting a 9.950 on the way to a 49.575 on the event. This meet also saw the return of Makenna Smith to the beam and floor lineups after she was pulled a week ago for precautionary measures.
Jaedyn Rucker tied for the vault title with a 9.925, and Maile O’Keefe was near-perfect once again on beam with a 9.975 to top the field.
Utah will host senior night next week in a tri-meet against Stanford and Utah State.
#25 Washington @ #16 Oregon State
Final score: Oregon State: 197.225 – Washington: 196.950
Oregon State
The Beavers celebrated Ariana Young and Sydney Gonzales for senior night at Gill Coliseum while notching a win and another 197. It was a special meet, especially for Young, whose family was in attendance wearing shirts with her photo and name on them. In her final home floor routine, Young stuck her opening double pike pass on the way to a 9.9 routine to close out her career at Gill.
The Beavers were strong on both bars and floor in this meet, scoring a 49.450 on both events. Sage Thompson and Jade Carey led the way on bars, per usual, with a pair of 9.95s. Jennifer McMillan proved to be an underrated piece for the Beavers as well, with a 9.925 on bars and a 9.85 on beam. On floor, Sophia Esposito’s 9.925 led the team while Young and Karlie Chavez followed closely with 9.9s. Jade Carey won beam with a 9.95 and finished second in the all-around with a 39.4; after starting the season on only a couple event, Carey has now competed all-around the past five weeks.
Oregon State will next head to Boise State for a tri-meet on Sunday.
Washington
Washington put in another strong team score, with a high 196 against the Beavers. This was their second highest score of the season and a good road score for the GymDawgs.
After a 49.050 on bars and a 49.150 on vault, Washington picked things up during their floor rotation with a 49.325. Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Lana Navarro, and Emily Innes each earned a 9.9 on the event.
The GymDawgs closed out the meet on a high note, with a 49.425 on beam. Five out of six gymnasts found their landings on dismounts, ensuring that no one scored lower than a 9.875 on the event. Chelsea Hallinan and Taylor Russon tied for the team lead with a 9.9. After recent bobbles on the event, Hallinan returned to form as the team’s leadoff. Russon added another 9.9+ score on beam, showcasing one of the more consistent ring jumps in her routine.
Washington will host a quad meet against BYU, Sacramento State, and Southern Utah on Friday.
#10 UCLA @ #18 Arizona State
Final score: Arizona State: 196.625 – UCLA: 196.325
Arizona State
As Hannah Scharf took the floor for one of her final home routines of her collegiate career, all she needed to do was hit to clinch the upset for her team. After sealing her first two passes, Scharf controlled her double pike landing. She dropped to the floor for her final ending pose, raising her arm to hold up the shape of the Sun Devils pitchfork to the roar of the crowd. It was a seemingly perfect moment for the fifth-year to seal the victory for a program she has contributed so much to with a stellar 9.925.
Heading into their final rotation on floor, the Sun Devils trailed by over five-tenths. However, a couple of falls on beam from UCLA’s final two routines meant that the Sun Devils would have a chance to complete the comeback.
While this was a victorious end to the meet, there were still some areas the Sun Devils could have done better. They notched a 49.150 on both vault and bars, which they know they can score better on. On beam, ASU had some bobbles and a fall that earned them a 49.025. The highlight on beam of course was a stunning routine from Emily White, that was arguably better than the 9.925 it earned.
The Sun Devils will host Southern Connecticut on Friday night next week.
UCLA
This was not a meet to remember for the Bruins, who recorded their lowest score of the season at Arizona State. Not only were the Bruins without Emma Malabuyo, who was competing at the Baku World Cup this weekend, but they rested Selena Harris.
Naturally, missing the No. 10 all-around gymnast in the country in Harris would cost UCLA at least some tenths in this meet. Still, UCLA had the lead and a shot at a 197 through the first three rotations, before a disastrous beam cost them.
After three strong routines to open the rotation from Emily Lee, Katelyn Rosen, and Emma Andres, the back half struggled. Chae Campbell had a couple balance checks before Frida Esparza and Katie McNamara each fell, forcing the Bruins to count a fall. UCLA will be happy to get Malabuyo and Harris back next week. Ciena Alipio was also missing, but is expected to be back soon from a non-gymnastics injury.
It’s not ideal to see this kind of performance from UCLA so close to the postseason, but the good news for them is they are expected to have several gymnasts and routines back. The Bruins know what they’re capable of; the question will be if they can put it together come conference championships in two weeks.
Next up, UCLA will face a talented first-year Clemson team on Saturday for senior day.
