NorCal Classic (No. 18 Stanford, Sacramento State, San Jose State, UC Davis)

Monday, Jan. 8 | 6 PM PT | Maples Pavilion | Stanford, Calif.

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No. 11 California women's gymnastics looks to clinch its fourth consecutive NorCal Classic title on Monday evening when the Bears head to the Farm for an exciting five-team annual event featuring the best collegiate gymnastics in Northern California. The Golden Bears, who earned their second-highest preseason ranking in school history, will once again open the season against Pac-12 rival No. 18 Stanford, plus UC Davis, Sacramento State and San Jose State.
 
Meet time is set for 6 p.m. in Stanford's Maples Pavilion. Admission is free, and free parking for the event is available after 4 p.m. in the Graduate School of Business parking garage across the street from the arena.
 
The Bears have won three consecutive NorCal Classic titles, including 2017's event in Haas Pavilion, and turned in the highest score in a season opener in school history in the 2016 event.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: Links to a live stream and live stats will be available via the women's gymnastics schedule page on CalBears.com. Follow @CalWGym on Twitter and Instagram for scoring updates, behind-the-scenes photos and videos and the latest information, and like Facebook.com/CalWGym for more on the Bears.
 

ROTATION ORDER

Cal will begin the meet on floor and rotate in Olympic order to vault, a bye before bars, then the uneven bars before wrapping up the meet on beam. The  remaining four teams will start on the following events and continue in Olympic order:
Vault – Stanford
Bye before Bars – San Jose State
Uneven Bars – Sacramento State
Balance Beam – UC Davis

LAST YEAR AT THE NORCAL CLASSIC

California completed its three-peat of the NorCal Classic crown, tallying a 195.325 total to defeat Sacramento State (194.475), UC Davis (193.875), No. 11 Stanford (193.250) and San Jose State (192.600) in Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears swept the balance beam titles – a feat they would match several more times in 2017 – with Sofie Seilnacht and Desiree Palomares each taking a share of the beam title with 9.875s. Toni-Ann Williams proved her prowess as one of the nation's top floor performers, winning the event with a 9.927.
 

RANKED ON THE ROAD TO NATIONALS

The Golden Bears open 2018 at No. 11 in the Road to Nationals preseason coaches poll, the program's second-highest ranking in school history. Cal's No. 11 ranking is just one spot behind last season's best-ever No. 10 ranking.
 
Cal is set to face four opponents ranked in the Road to Nationals preseason top 25 this season, and nearly every single program the Bears will face this season is ranked or received votes in the preseason poll, including two top-three programs in Utah (No. 5) and UCLA (6), and seven top 30 programs, including Washington (15), Stanford (18), Arizona (26), Minnesota (27) and Central Michigan (30).
 

PAC-12 PREDICTIONS

California women's gymnastics is projected to finish third in the Pac-12 this season, according to a vote by the league's gymnastics coaches. The exact breakdown of points is as follows:
1. UCLA (5 first-place votes) – 47 points
2. Utah (3 first-place votes) – 44 points
3. California – 30 points
4. Washington – 28 points
T5. Oregon State -- 27 points
T5. Stanford -- 27 points
7. Arizona -- 12 points
8. Arizona State -- 9 points

MEET THE NEWEST BEARS

California's 2018 squad includes five new faces from a signing class named Top 10 in the country last year by CollegeGymFans.com. Among the newest Bears are:
• Kyana George, the 2017 Junior Olympic National floor champion who also took third all-around and third on beam.
• Alma Kuc, a member of the Polish National Team who competed at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships and 2017 European Championships, Kuc was the 2016 Polish uneven bars champion and logged a bronze finish on floor at the Polish National Championships.
• Victoria Salem, who posted two top-three finishes at the 2016 JO Nationals, winning the balance beam title and taking silver on bars. She was seventh all-around at the prestigious event after winning the beam title and turning in top-four finishes on every event at Level 10 Regionals.
• Nina Schank, the 2017 JO Nationals uneven bars champion who also finished ninth all-around.
• Emi Watterson, an Australian standout who joined the Bears this December and took fourth on vault and seventh on bars at the 2016 Elite Gym Massilia in Marseille, France.
 

FAMILIAR FACES

California returns a strong core of gymnasts from the 2016 NCAA Championship squad. The Bears are led by the return of 2016 Olympian Toni-Ann Williams, who missed most of last season due to an Achilles tear, as well as two-time All-Pac-12 vaulter Arianna Robinson. Sylvie Seilnacht also suffered a season-ending injury in 2017 and is back in the lineup alongside sister Sofie Seilnacht, who contributed on three events last season. Sophomore Cassidy Keelen's rookie debut also ended prematurely with an injury last year, but the Bears are expecting heavier contributions from Keelen as she returns with Yuleen Sternberg, Alicia Gallarzo, Rachael Mastrangelo and Chelsea Shu.

 

WILLIAMS GRANTED ADDITIONAL YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY

The Bears received exciting news this fall when Toni-Ann Williams, one of the most decorated gymnasts in the history of California gymnastics, was awarded an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA. Williams, a 2016 Olympian a four-time NACGC Regular-Season All-American, tore her Achilles in February 2017, sidelining her for most of her junior season. A fifth year of gymnastics eligibility means Williams will be able to compete in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons while she pursues additional coursework at Cal.

NEXT ROTATION

The NorCal Classic is the first of four straight meets away from Haas Pavilion as the Golden Bears remain on the road for the entire month of January. Next up is a trip to BYU for a meet set for Friday, Jan. 12 in Provo, Utah.
 
California's home opener is Sunday, Feb. 4 against Arizona beginning at 2 p.m.
 

ALL-ACCESS PASS

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