BERKELEY – The No. 10 Cal women's gymnastics proved its prowess as Northern California's top team once again by picking up its third consecutive season-opening NorCal Classic title. The Golden Bears went 195.325 to defeat Sacramento State (194.475), UC Davis (193.875), No. 11 Stanford (193.250) and San Jose State (192.600) on Monday night in Haas Pavilion.
 
Despite a late start, delayed rotations and some scoring issues, California swept the balance beam and claimed three event titles on the evening. Sophomore Sofie Seilnacht and Desiree Palomares shared the beam title at 9.875, and 2016 Pac-12 Floor Champion Toni-Ann Williams picked up where she left off with a 9.925 floor crown victory.
 
"Tonight was challenging, and the meet ran a lot later than we had anticipated," said Cal head coach Justin Howell. "That said, throwing all of those challenges into the mix, I thought we did a really great job.  We collected ourselves well mentally and physically."
 
The Bears got off to a booming start on vault, turning in a 49.25 team total – a higher score than any Cal vault total from last season, even with only three vaults with a 10.0 start value in the lineup. Sophomore Arianna Robinson's Piked Ilg, which was become a fan favorite for its unique flair, led with a 9.875, good for second in the meet. Freshman Cassidy Keelen made her debut with a 9.85, a mark that sophomore Sylvie Seilnacht and Williams also matched. Seilnacht debuted her Yurchenko full, and Williams threw in her first 1.5 since the Rio Olympics.
 
"We started really strong on vault and set a great tone for the meet. I just felt like vault was really consistent and explosive, and that's the way that we train in the gym," Howell said.
 
After a bye rotation, Cal lost some of its momentum with a pair of falls on the bars. Still, Cal rebounded with big gymnastics and improved skills for a 48.550. Senior Amber Takara picked up runner-up status on the event by matching her career-high 9.90, and sophomore Chelsea Shu took third with a 9.875 in her collegiate debut.
 
Williams showed off her gigantic new release move, a world-class Hindorff, and went 9.85.
 
"Every bar performance was excellent," Howell said. "The mistakes that we made were aggressive and big mistakes, and that's all I can ask for. If you're going to make mistakes, they've got to be big and they have to have perfect form, and we did that."
 
The Bears also showed some moxie despite their struggles on bars. When senior Dana Ho missed her Gienger release, she made the choice to start her routine over and completed it to its entirety, including a difficult full twisting double back dismount. Ho earned a 9.10 for her effort even with the fall.
 
"To be able to do that after a big fall, I was really impressed," Howell said.
 
Freshman Alexandra Dudschus had a misstep in her dismount as well after turning in a strong leadoff bar routine for the Bears.
 
"It was too big. It was too powerful, and I can't be unhappy with that," Howell said. "It was a really beautiful routine with an over-rotated dismount."
 
Cal swept beam with Palomares and Seilnacht's meet-leading 9.875s, and freshman Cassidy Keelen's 9.825 debut, which earned her third place. Shu also made her first collegiate appearance on beam for a 9.575. The Bears combined for their second-highest score of the night, a 48.825.
 
"We were tentative, but we didn't have any falls," Howell said. "We had some missed connections where they had to think on their feet and add some things back in, so I was happy with how we were mentally staying present."
 
A 48.700 team total on floor pushed the Bears above the 195.0 mark. Dudschus led off with a 9.525, and Cal continued with solid routines before anchor Williams wowed Haas with another dazzling routine for the title with a 9.925.
 
"Overall, I'm happy with tonight's meet." Howell said. "We have a short week in the gym before we go to Iowa, which will be a different set of challenges. These are all things you have to be able to adapt to to be a championship team, so we're just going to look at them as opportunities to grow and get better."
 
NEXT UP
California heads to Big Ten territory to take on Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 15 at noon.
 
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