Stanford's Season Ends in Fort Worth; Roberts is NCAA Vault Champion

FORT WORTH, Texas – Led by sophomore Anna Roberts' NCAA Vault Championship title, the Cardinal ended its 2024 season Saturday afternoon, finishing third in Semifinals Session I of the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

LSU and California finished first and second with scores of 198.1125 and 197.7125, respectively, to move on to Saturday's championship finals meet. Stanford totaled a score of 197.0750 and Arkansas placed fourth with a total of 196.4750. 

After the second semifinals session, the Cardinal ended its 2024 season as the fifth-ranked team in the nation. Oklahoma finished sixth with a score of 196.6625 in Semifinals Session II, Arkansas placed seventh overall with a score of 196.4750 in Semifinals Session I and Alabama ended its season eighth in the nation with a score of 195.4125 in Semifinals Session II. Utah and Florida moved onto the championship finals meet Saturday out of the evening semifinals meet. 

Roberts shined in the Cardinal's semifinals appearance, bringing home the Cardinal's first NCAA individual championship since Elizabeth Price's floor title in 2018 on vault. She matched her career-best score of 9.9500 to become Stanford's third national vault champion in program history. Roberts also finished tied-for-fourth overall in the all-around competition with a career-best total of 39.6375. Her performances Thursday on vault and in the all-around competition earned her first-team all-American honors while her effort of 9.9000 on beam earned her second-team all-American honors.

Stanford's showing at the semifinals was historic, led by its second-best beam and floor rotations at an NCAA Championships semifinals meet in program history. 

Stanford kicked off its session on bars, showing its toughness early. The Cardinal fought through an early fall to total 49.2500 on the event, led by scores of 9.8875 by Roberts and lead off junior Anapaula Gutierrez. Senior Ira Alexeeva added a 9.8500, junior Brenna Neault posted a 9.8250, and fifth-year Chloe Widner anchored the rotation with a 9.8000. 

The Cardinal then went to beam, earning its best team total of the day of 49.3125 led by Roberts' anchor all-American performance. After a shaky start in the lead off spot, freshman Sienna Robinson stepped up in the second spot and started a line of strong routines, posting a 9.8375, followed by a 9.8500 by Neault, a 9.8875 from Alexeeva, and a 9.8375 from Widner. Roberts' career-best tying performance anchored the rotation. 

Floor was Stanford's second-best rotation of the day, as the Cardinal amassed a 49.2875 led by Roberts and Widner's 9.9000. Sophomore Claire Dean led off with a 9.8375 and senior Amanda Zeng followed with a 9.8125. Neault added a 9.8125 in the fourth spot to round out scoring routines.

The Cardinal finished the day with its third-best vault team score of the year. Stanford's 49.2250 was led by Robert's 9.9500, which was the highest vault score of the afternoon session. Gutierrez set her up with a 9.8750 in the five spot, while Widner posted a 9.8500, Zeng opened with a 9.7875 and Neault added a 9.7625. 

Stanford's 2024 season concluded in Fort Worth but was one to remember, including three of the program's best total scores in team history, its first trip to the NCAA Championships since 2016 led by two upsets of top-15 teams in the NCAA Regional Second Round and Finals, and two 10.000 routines from Chloe Widner. The team embraced its theme of O.W.N. it and became the nation's favorite Cinderella story in the postseason. The future for Stanford Women's Gymnastics is bright as it enters its first season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2025.