Stanford Season Preview by Greg

For the inside view on the Stanford Cardinal, go to their Booster Club web site.  There you will find great photos from EliteFlight Photography and articles about the team, and bios written by each gymnast.  At the official Stanford website, an official season preview has been posted.  This article will focus on the team from an independent perspective, and will include more technical detail.

The Stanford Cardinal in 2003 made the step up and joined the exclusive ranks of Super Six Participants.  Only a select handful of teams have ever made the Super Six finals since the concept was first inaugurated by the NCAA.  Now, with an experienced core and some outstanding freshman talent, the Stanford Cardinal are poised to continue that climb and contend for the National Title.  To be contenders, Coach Kristen Smyth and staff must contend with the loss of some experienced athletes.

Departed from the Cardinal in 2003 are graduated seniors Katy Herbert, Kristen Jensen, and Becky Meldrum.  Herbert, a frequent All-Arounder and former All-American, provided consistent and strong routines on all four events, especially on BB.  Jensen and Meldrum were solid depth players, especially on UB.  A fourth athlete, Abby Gair, took a medical retirement this fall.  She was also outstanding on UB (Shoushounova, Full In Double Layout).  A fifth athlete who did not compete last year at all, Robin Phelps, has left due to personal reasons.

The Returners

Kelsey Stillinger is one of two Cardinal seniors, and she focuses on BB and V (Hristakieva).  After an ACL injury sidelined her early in her NCAA career, she has come back strong.  Fellow senior Alissa Cooper worked V and UB for the team successfully several times last year.  With new upgrades planned, she will be called upon to help the team out, especially on UB.

The Junior class provides the core of the Stanford team.  Lindsay Wing finished 1st AA (t) at the Regionals, but may not even make the lineup on vault (Yurchenko Tuck 1 1/2 twist) in this strong vaulting team.  Beam (2nd at 2001 NCAAs) is her strong suit (bhs, layout, Korbut; back 2 1/2 twist dismount), as is her expressive dance on FX (back layout 2 1/2 twists).  Wing has consistently improved her UB, and is now one of the top Cardinal athletes (uprise full to Gienger; double front)

Caroline Fluhrer is another solid AA threat, and is capable of posting high scores on any event.  She returned as an AAer for the NCAA Championships last year, after recovering from a mid season knee injury.  UB is especially strong (great invert work, Pike Jaeger), but her graceful style comes through on BB (threw a Kochetkova as a frosh) and FX (front layout 2/1 twist to punch front) as well.   She is also a former Pac-10 Vault Co-Champion. 

Lise Leveille, another returning "All-American", is also a potential all-arounder, especially as she breaks into the V lineup (Yurchenko Full) and solidifies a spot in the UB lineup.  BB and FX are her forte, with great difficulty on BB (bhs, layout, layout and roundoff double tuck dismount) and expressive dance and powerful tumbling on FX (back layout 2 1/2 twist punch pike front to open; double pike to close).

After numerous major knee injuries, All-American Kendall Beck has worked back into a relatively injury free collegiate career.  She will reportedly go AA this year, after specializing on BB (bhs, layout, layout) and Vault (Yurchenko Layout Full).  Fellow junior Shelly Goldberg is a powerhouse known for a perfect pike front vault (training tuck front full) and a perfect, knees together double front on FX.

Mandy Delgado, from the local West Valley club, saw the most action of the Stanford sophomores.  Delgado contributed on three events, but is well known for her powerful vault (her front tuck full returns this season, according to official reports).  She can also break into the lineups on BB (Homma flairs; bhs, layout, layout) and FX.  The other Sophomore, Marla Ranieri, is reportedly looking strong in preseason training, especially on FX (front full + frotn, double pike 2nd pass).  She can also contribute on V (training a Hristakieva) and BB (bhs, layout, layout).

The Newcomers

The three Stanford frosh comprise a strong, well respected class with a variety of National and International accomplishments to their credit.  Headlining the class is Natalie Foley, from the Colorado Aerials.  An alternate to the 2001 World Championship team and a former JO National champ, Foley is a tall, strong and powerful athlete who could contribute immensely.  Her UB (Shaposhnikova, giant full to Shoushounova, double layout, powerful swing) and V (Yurchenko Full; Yurchenko LO 1 1/2 twists as an elite) demonstrate her athleticism.  She is also both powerful and refined on BB (bhs, layout, layout; double tuck dismount) and FX (full in).

Glyn Sweets, from Hill's Angels, captured the L10 National Title (Sr A) after an extended stint as an international elite.   With beautiful lines and great skills, she is another potential all-arounder but is especially known for her BB work.  She, like the other two frosh, will have a strong shot at contributing to Stanford's UB (Shaposhnikova, Tkachev) lineup.  On FX, she reportedly tosses a triple full and 2 1/2 twist to punch front.

The third frosh is Jessica Louie, a L10 from Byer's.  She finished 7th AA and 3rd on V at the 2001 L10 Nationals, but struggled at times with injury last year.  She is known for her power on V (Pike front 1/2) and FX (Full-in), and is training UB as well.

Outlook

For Stanford, a strong experienced core will be blended with some talented newcomers to form a team that can challenge for any title.  Stanford's depth on Vault is especially notable, with a depth of 10.0 vaults that few team can match.  On BB, the one-two punch of Wing and Leveille will be supplemented by an array of athletes battling for lineup spots.   On FX, Coach Smyth's well regarded choregraphic skills are put on full display with solid tumbling that is reportedly upgraded from last year.  The improvements made by the newcomers, plus the punch added by the frosh, should make these events strong and deep.

It is perhaps only on UB where some unanswered questions remain, particularly with depth.  It happens to be the event where the most losses occurred, and where several gymnasts on the roster no longer train (or its not their strongest event).  In last season's Super Six finale, Stanford placed 6th as a team in the final (10th in prelims), 0.375 points behind the 5th place squad.  It's the event where the frosh will be asked to step at the end the season and post the big scores that could mean the difference between qualifier and finalist, and between finalist and champion.