Cal’s win against Utah last week was a flex, it established The Golden Bears as the PAC-12 regular season champions, a feat not achieved in the program’s 50-year history. This week Stanford isn’t the only team Cal will be competing against, Cal is also in a neck-in-neck battle with LSU for the no. 2 NQS ranking. The Golden Bears were able to grab back the second-place position from LSU this week after putting up a 198.100 against Utah last week. The ball is in LSU’s hands this week since they have an away meet (even though the venue is only a seven-minute drive from LSU’s campus) and have the opportunity to drop a 197.225. To stay ahead, The Golden Bears will be looking to put up another 198+ performance.
In last week’s meet against UCLA, Stanford was able to put up a respectable 196.725. Importantly The Cardinals were able to welcome Anna Roberts back to their vault lineup, fielding six gymnasts rather than the five that they’ve only been able to put up for the past few meets. Notably Anapaula Gutierrez was missing from the vault lineup last week so I’ll be watching to see if she makes it back this week.
Rotation 1: Stanford Vault, Cal Bars
Dean – Stanford: FTY, lacking some distance and amplitude. 9.775
Lauzon – Cal: Maloney to Pak, clean, late on the half turn, lands the full-in with some locked legs and bounces out of it. 9.9
Zeng – Stanford: Stuck FTY, some piking coming down. 9.875
Cesario – Cal: Good first cast, floaty Jaegar into bail, smooth, great cast, stuck DLO. Great work. 9.925
Neault – Stanford: Full-on, pike off, gets good distance and is clean in the air but takes a big hop. 9.775
Li – Cal: Her usual humongous Jaegar, some feet, good Pak, gets the last handstand, good blind full into stuck double tuck. 9.950
Gutierrez – Stanford: Glad to see her back in the lineup again. Yurchenko 1.5, some bent knees coming down, small hop forwards. 9.875
Frazier – Cal: Maloney to Pak, great half turn, double layout with a shuffle back. 9.975 – Oh? Did we not catch the hop?
Roberts – Stanford: Big 1.5, good amplitude and great form in the air. Takes a big step forwards. 9.800
Williams – Cal: Maloney to Pak, half turn with a small arch, good last handstand, double layout dismount with an identical landing to Frazier’s. 9.950
Nguyen – Stanford: Yurchenko 1.5 – clean form in the air but takes a sizeable hop forwards. 9.850
Brown – Cal: Clean Pak, catches a bit close and has some trouble casting out of it, struggles on the low bar a bit and has to do an extra cast in between the toe-on and VL, toe-on pike-half dismout with a hop back. 9.875
After 1: Stanford 49.175, Cal 49.700
Cal’s monstrous 49.700 on bars puts them well on track for a 198. Stanford has a good opening with a season-high on vault.
Rotation 2: Stanford Bars, Cal Vault
Williams – Cal: Good leadoff FTY, hop back. 9.775
Gutierrez – Stanford: Jaegar into bail, some leg separations, double-front half out, tiny hop to the side.
Cesario – Cal: FTY, good body position in the air, tiny hop back. Jim thinks Cesario is Kyen Mayhew *facepalm* 9.825
Sorrento – Stanford: Maloney to Pak, some feet form, half turn is a bit short, strong double layout to finish, hop. 9.9
Frazier – Cal: DTY, twists early off the table, but one of her best landings. 9.925
Neault – Stanford: Maloney to Pak, half turn is good, toe-full to double tuck with a hop forwards. 9.875
Lauzon – Cal: 1.5, great amplitude as always, slightly off center and takes a small hop. 9.9
Alexeeva – Stanford: Higgins to piked Jaegar, Pak with some leg separations, blind full is a bit late, connects into a stuck double tuck.
Silvers – Cal: 1.5 – Not as much amplitude as some others in this lineup but nearly sticks the landing, just a tiny hop in place. 9.850
Roberts – Stanford: Wonderful Pak, misses her feet on the toe-on and comes off. Remounts toe-on to VL, some leg separations, stuck double layout. Shame about the fall because everything else was great. 9.400
Mayhew – Cal: 1.5 – too much power and has a large bound forwards. 9.775
Widner – Stanford: Good first cast, big Tkatchev, blind full to bail handstand, good positions, gets the last cast, double layout with a tiny hop into a dab.
After 2: Stanford 98.700, Cal 98.975
Stanford’s 49.525 matches its season high on bars thanks to 9.925s from Widner and Alexeeva. Cal had an okay vault rotation but some unsteady landings will chip away Cal’s lead over Stanford to just 0.275.
Rotation 3: Stanford Beam, Cal Floor
Dean – Stanford: Aerial to LOSO, hip break, good connection through the dance series, 1.5 dismount with a step. 9.775
Williams – Cal: Front layout to Rudi, controlled, Sissone to Ferrari, good positions, 1.5 to layout, almost looks like she buckled but does a floaty layout out of it. Great start. 9.9
Nguyen – Stanford: Aggressive LOSO LOSO, some arm wavering, breaks her dance series with a wobble, stuck double-full dismount. Looked pretty tentative throughout that. 9.800
Kane – Cal: Front full to Rudi, finds the landing just some crossed legs, great positions in the dance series, floaty 1.5 to layout. 9.950
Robinson – Stanford: BHS LOSO, switch leap to split jump, aerial to beat jump, she looks so confident on every skill, stuck 1.5 dismount. Does a MAG salute I’m dead. 9.950
Cesario – Cal: Floaty 1.5 to front-full, switch leap to switch ring half, could show more extension, double tuck to finish with a slight slide back with her front foot. 9.950 is pretty generous.
Neault – Stanford: BHS BHS LOSO, solid, beat jump to split ring jump, looks confident, stuck 1.5 dismount. 9.950, oh heyy.
Mayhew – Cal: Front double-full to pike, great, switch ring to switch half, nice, 1.5 to full to finish, short and takes a shuffle back. 9.9 is also A LOT considering that last pass.
Alexeeva – Stanford: I love her mount, double wolf turn, solid, BHS LOSO, solid, switch half to beat jump, some feet but gets the split position, stuck gainer full off. 9.975
Lauzon – Cal: Front double-full to front tuck, switch ring to switch half, great positions, perfect, back 1.5 to full, drills the landing. At this rate that has to be a 10. 9.975
Widner – Stanford: BHS LOSO, front aerial to split jump, great connection, full-turn with the smallest lean, stuck gainer full. Wouldn’t be surprised if that goes 10. It does, her first career 10.0
Frazier – Cal: Big double layout to open, switch ring to switch half, front tuck to double-tuck, sort of a shuffle on the landing? 9.975, yep.
After 3: Stanford 148.375, Cal 148.725
Stanford’s 49.675 almost catches its program record of 49.750. Widner’s 10.0 is the first for Stanford since Elizabeth Price. Floor scoring was a rollercoaster, but Cal’s 49.750 is a new program record for floor.
At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if we go 199
Rotation 4: Stanford Floor, Cal Beam
Li – Cal: Front aerial and sllooowwwlllyyy connects it to the back tuck but is completely off and misses completely. Split jump to ring jump, leg up wobble, gainer full dismount with two tiny steps. 9.075, the pressure is on.
Dean – Stanford: Rudi to open, back 1.5 to full, switch half to Popa. Good opening routine. 9.875
Williams – Cal: Double wolf, solid, front aerial to split jump, solid, BHS LOSO, good control, switch leap to split, smooth connection, gainer full dismount with not the best body position but sticks the landing. 9.950, career-high for her.
Zeng – Stanford: Front layout to Rudi, good landing but could get more amplitude, double tuck, large lunge back, switch full to Popa. 9.900
Cesario – Cal: BHS LOSO, great, switch leap to pause to switch half, arm waver, stuck 1.5 dismount. 9.950? You’re telling me Cesario’s beam with an arm waver was equivalent to Williams’ wobbleless routine?
Neault – Stanford: Double pike, lunge back, switch leap to Ferrari, Rudi, some leg form but finds the landing nicely, 1.5 to layout with some knees. 9.925
Frazier – Cal: Front aerial to LOSO, solid, split jump to ring jump, small tilt to the side, stuck 1.5 dismount. 9.950 guh
Roberts – Stanford: Front layout to Rudi, a lot more amplitude than any of the other layout Rudis in this lineup so far, didn’t catch the dance series, EDM floor music isn’t matching the choreo before the last pass, double tuck is short and has to take a lunge.
Lauzon – Cal: BHS BHS LOSO, solid, switch leap to split jump, her double-full dismount is so magical, some crossed legs but sticks it. Gets a 10.0 but I’m not mad about it.
Nguyen – Stanford: Big double layout, some knees but great landing, switch side to Popa, short on the straddle positions, 2.5 to front pike, shoots the front pike out horizontally, shuffle back.
Perea – Cal: Wolf double, solid, confident through the front toss to back tuck series, switch leap to split jump to beat jump, side somi to 1.5 dismount. I couldn’t see the landing but I think she stuck it? Oh just kidding she had a tiny scoot. 9.975, oh babe that’s not –
Widner – Stanford: Front layout to full, stuck, double pike, controls it perfectly, just some feet in the air, switch side to Popa. Amazing finish for Stanford.
FINAL: Stanford 197.975, California 198.550
The scoring in those last two rotations were in a different universe, but Cal’s 49.825 on beam matches its program record and a 198.550 is The Golden Bears’ highest team score ever. Stanford’s 197.975 is the team’s second-highest score ever and highest since March 2004. Quite a turnaround from the 193 it showed in January.
VT: Frazier (Cal) 9.925
UB: Frazier (Cal) 9.975
BB: Lauzon (Cal), Widner (Stanford) 10.0
FX: Frazier (Cal), Lauzon (Cal), Widner (Stanford) 9.975
AA: Frazier (Cal) 39.825
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Live blog by Daniel Rothwell
