March 20, 2013

STANFORD, Calif. -

The Stanford women's gymnastics team will compete in the second session of the Pac-12 Championships on Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. (PT) in Corvallis, Ore. The Cardinal is seeded fourth and will compete alongside top-seeded Utah, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Oregon State. Seeds 5-8 will compete at 1:30 p.m. (PT).

Since the conference championships began in 1987, UCLA has won 16 titles, and Stanford and Oregon State have five each. No other school has won. Both sessions will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.

For tickets and schedule information, visit the women's gymnastics Pac-12 Championships page.

What: No. 11 Stanford at Pac-12 Championships
When: Saturday, March 23, at 7 p.m. (PT)
Where: Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Ore.

Follow the Action: The meet will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks. Click here to find out if you get the Pac-12 Networks and what channel it is on in your area.

Live updates will be posted on Twitter @StanfordWGym and live stats will be available through www.gostanford.com.

Cardinal Update: Stanford (11-4, 5-2 Pac-12) is coming off a second-place tri-meet finish at No. 2 Oklahoma and North Carolina. Senior Ashley Morgan claimed Stanford's only individual title as she outscored three Oklahoma and two North Carolina gymnasts to finish first in the all-around with a 39.325.

Stanford Top 25 in Each Event: Along with being ranked No. 11 overall, the Cardinal is ranked in the NCAA top 25 in all four events for the fifth consecutive week based on the Regional Qualifying Score. Stanford is eighth on balance beam (49.160 RQS), 10th on uneven bars (49.240 RQS), 11th on vault (49.255 RQS) and 20th on floor (49.130 RQS).

Individuals in the National Rankings: Here are Stanford gymnasts ranked in the top 25 in each event, by Regional Qualifying Scores, with average scores in parentheses:

All-Around: 23rd, Ashley Morgan, 39.330 (39.297)
Vault: 17th, Nicole Dayton, 9.905 (9.886)
Bars: 21st, Kristina Vaculik, 9.880 (9.842)
Beam: 5th, Amanda Spinner, 9.900 (9.869); 8th, Ivana Hong, 9.895 (9.822)
Floor: 22nd, Ashley Morgan, 9.895 (9.884)

Cardinal to Watch

Ashley Morgan - Ashley Morgan is having an outstanding senior season and has claimed a total of nine individual victories. Morgan has excelled in the all-around, earning five first-place finishes in just nine meets. She also notched two individual titles on floor, and one each in vault and bars. Morgan was one of Stanford's most durable and consistent gymnasts and competed in 35 of 36 possible events on the season.

Morgan earned career-bests in the all-around (39.550), floor (9.950) and beam (9.900) in Stanford's victory over Arizona State (Feb. 15). Morgan claimed three individual victories at California, finishing first in vault and floor with 9.925s, and in the all-around with a 39.225. Morgan claimed the all-around title at No. 2 Oklahoma, outscoring three Sooners and two North Carolina competitors.

Morgan finished the season ranked in the Pac-12 top-20 and NCAA top-100 in every event.

Amanda Spinner - The junior All-American has been a staple for Stanford on beam, claiming four individual victories and finishing the regular season ranked first in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation.

Spinner holds three of Stanford's top five scores on beam this season. She scored a 9.825 or higher in eight of nine meets and earned a career-best 9.950 at Utah (Feb. 23). Spinner tied her previous career-high of 9.925 twice this season, first at Georgia (Jan. 21) and then against Arizona State (Feb. 15).

Spinner led a talented Stanford beam team that outscored 13 of 15 opponents and finished the season ranked second in the Pac-12 and eighth in the nation.

Shona Morgan - The junior from Melbourne, Australia, has been one of Stanford's most consistent performers and continued to deliver against Oklahoma and North Carolina. Morgan tallied 9.800s on bars and floor, and posted a 9.775 on beam.

In the previous meet against Oregon State and Cal, Morgan tied her career-high on floor (9.925) to place third, earned a season-best 9.900 on beam and tied her season-high on bars with a 9.850.

Morgan has competed on bars and beam in all nine meets, and on floor in eight of nine competitions this season. She hit 100 percent of her routines among the three events.

Nicole Dayton - The senior co-captain has been strong on vault with four individual victories in nine meets. Dayton earned a second-place finish at Oklahoma and North Carolina after notching a 9.900. She scored a 9.800 or higher in all nine meets this season.

Dayton tied her career-high of 9.950 for the second time this season to claim the individual title at Utah on Feb. 23. Her first 9.950 came in the season-opener at San Jose State (Jan. 4) where she also placed first.

Dayton doubled her total number of individual vault victories from the 2012 season when she claimed two.

Ivana Hong - The sophomore All-American finished third on beam (9.875) and fourth on bars (9.875) against Oklahoma and North Carolina. Hong has scored 9.850 on beam in seven of the eight meets she has competed in this season and claimed three individual victories on the event.

Hong finished first on beam against Oregon State and Cal tying her career-high of 9.925.

In the meet against UCLA on Feb. 2, Hong had a career-best performance in the all-around, scoring at least a 9.875 on all four events. She finished first on uneven bars (9.875), and second on vault (9.900), balance beam (9.900) and floor exercise (9.875).

Taylor Rice - Rice established herself as a regular in Stanford's vault and floor lineups as she improved her scores and consistency throughout the season. Rice earned a season-high 9.900 on vault at California (Jan. 26) to help lead Stanford to its third-highest vault score on the season (49.275).

Rice was part of the floor lineup that produced Stanford's highest team score on the season (49.500), contributing a season-best 9.875 against Oregon State and California.

Kristina Vaculik - The 2012 Olympian earned 9.800s on vault and bars against Oklahoma and North Carolina. She tallied two fourth-place finishes against Oregon State and Cal with a career-best 9.900 on vault and a 9.900 on bars.

She has competed on bars and beam in all nine meets this season and has made six lineups on vault and five on floor.

Rotation Schedule
Here is the rotation order for the second session of the Pac-12 Conference Championships on Saturday:

Utah: floor, vault, bars, beam
UCLA: bars, beam, floor, vault
Oregon State: beam, floor, vault, bars
Stanford: vault, bars, beam, floor

Stanford Versus Other Pac-12 Teams in 2013
The Cardinal is 5-2 against Pac-12 teams this season, with the following results:

Jan. 12 (Tucson, Ariz.): Stanford 196.025, Arizona 195.850
Jan. 26 (Berkeley, Calif.): Stanford 196.450, Cal 195.775
Feb. 2 (Stanford): UCLA 196.925, Stanford 196.200
Feb 15 (Stanford): Stanford 197.275, Arizona State 195.250
Feb. 23 (Salt Lake City): Utah 197.300, Stanford 197.075
March 1 (Stanford): Stanford 197.200, Oregon State 197.175, Cal 195.000

Stanford's Pac-12 History
Stanford has finished no lower than fourth over the past 12 conference championships, including all 11 seasons under head coach Kristen Smyth. In the Smyth Era, Stanford has finished first three times, second three times, fourth three times and third twice. Stanford has won five Pac-12 titles, most recently in 2008 in Seattle. That total is tied for the second-highest in the conference.

Super Six Experience
Stanford has eight gymnasts who were part of the lineups that competed in the 2012 NCAA Super Six finals in Duluth, Ga., on the Cardinal's fourth-place team. They are: Ashley Morgan, Pauline Hanset, Ivana Hong, Nicole Dayton, Shona Morgan, Samantha Shapiro, Becky Wing and Amanda Spinner.

Ashley Morgan was also a member of Stanford's 2010 NCAA Super Six vault, beam and floor lineups.

International Experience
Stanford's roster includes six gymnasts with senior national team experience. The list includes three Olympians, one Olympic alternate, two U.S. senior national team competitors, and four World Championships veterans.

• Sophomore Ivana Hong, a national champion on vault and beam in 2009, was a 2008 U.S. Olympic team alternate. She was a bronze medalist on the beam at the 2009 World Championships and a team gold medalist at the 2007 worlds. Hong also earned a 2007 Pan Am Games bronze in the all-around.

• Sophomore Pauline Hanset represented Belgium, the country of her birth, in a four-nation meet in Germany in 2011.

• Junior Shona Morgan competed for Australia in the 2008 Olympics, finishing 15th in the all-around. She was a five-time national champion and competed in three World Championships.

• Sophomore Samantha Shapiro competed for the U.S. senior national team from 2009-11, winning several international meet titles. Earlier, she won three U.S. junior national championships.

• Sophomore Rebecca Wing competed for Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics. She also competed in two World Championships and two European Championships.

• Redshirt sophomore Kristina Vaculik competed for Canada at the 2012 Olympics, helping the team to a fifth-place finish - its highest-ever team finish. She has won nine Canadian national championships, including three all-around titles (2007,2010, 2012). She is a three-time competitor at the World Championships.