Women’s gymnastics seeks NCAA berth, men host Oklahoma

April 1, 2016, 2:43 a.m.

No. 18 Stanford women’s gymnastics (14-10, 7-8 Pac-12) is headed to Ann Arbor this weekend to try and earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. On Saturday, the team will take on No. 6 Auburn (12-8, 8-7 SEC), No. 7 Michigan (20-6, 15-3 Big Ten), No. 24 Eastern Michigan (15-3-1, 5-1 MAC), Penn State (11-7, 12-6 Big Ten) and New Hampshire (16-10, 5-5 EAGL) for the top two spots, which will be given berths to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

(RAHIM ULLAH/The Stanford Daily)
Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Elizabeth Price (above) will play a large role in the Cardinal’s quest for a berth in the NCAA Championships, which they would achieve by finishing in the top two of the NCAA Regionals. (RAHIM ULLAH/The Stanford Daily)

The teams competing will be some of the best from this season, and the Cardinal will be in for a tough match.

Stanford will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the ninth time in 10 years, so the pressure is on. Yet the team will have to get past some tough competition in No. 6 Auburn and No. 7 Michigan.

Auburn is coming out of a fourth-place finish in the SEC Championships, in which it earned a team score of 196.975, while Michigan came in first at the Big Ten Championships with a score of 197.125.

Stanford, too, has had some success as of late, earning first place in the first round of the Pac-12 Championships before ending in fifth with a 196.125.

Besides the first two teams, individual gymnasts who win events will also have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Championships.

This will be an opportune moment for gymnasts such as sophomore Elizabeth Price to stand out and continue her impressive run of individual wins that have also helped the team.

***

Women’s gymnastics is not the only team with an exciting weekend ahead. No. 2 men’s gymnastics will be hosting the MPSF Championships on Saturday at Burnham Pavilion.

This competition may be the most intense of the season thus far, featuring opponents No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 Cal and No. 11 Air Force.

This is the first competition for the Cardinal in a bit under a month, since a loss to Oklahoma in early March.

Having ended their regular season with all but one first-place finishes, the Cardinal are sure to bring their all to the MPSF Championships. Afterwards, they will have a couple weeks of break before the NCAA Preliminaries on April 15 at Ohio State University.

Despite the Cardinal’s most recent loss against Oklahoma, the Cardinal will put up a tough match for the Sooners. The team ended its regular season on a high note, with several gymnasts earning season and even career-bests.

The Cardinal will also have an advantage because they will be competing on their home turf, an advantage that Oklahoma had the last time that they met.

All in all, Stanford will be looking for a good meet that will provide it the momentum to do well in the NCAA Championships in a couple weeks.

The competition will take place in Burnham Pavilion on Saturday, April 2 at 4 p.m. 

 

Contact Laura Sussman at laura111 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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