No. 5 Bears Secure ACC Regular Season Title

STANFORD – The No. 5 California women’s gymnastics team secured the ACC regular season title Friday night with a first-place finish at the Stanford Quad Meet. The Golden Bears posted a 197.675, their second-highest team score of the year, to defeat No. 14 Stanford (197.025), No. 12 Oregon State (196.625), and UC Davis (195.300).

The Bears (15-2, 5-0 ACC) have won at least a share of their conference title in four straight seasons and are back-to-back outright champions. They are the first Cal program to be dubbed ACC regular season champions and are the second school to hoist the women’s gymnastics trophy joining NC State, which won the inaugural 2024 title.

Cal began the evening on the uneven bars and promptly broke its season-high team score with a 49.525 that gave the team an early lead. That momentum was followed by season high on the balance beam (49.4500), another strong showing on the floor exercise (49.425), and a clutch finish on vault.

For the fourth time this season senior Mya Lauzon won the all-around with a 39.675 followed by senior Maddie Williams and junior eMjae Frazier who tied for second at 39.525. Lauzon found the podium in all four events and took home the floor title with a 9.995 and a share of the beam title with a 9.925. Williams placed first on bars (9.95) and second on floor (9.900).

The biggest moment of the night came in the final rotation as the Bears suffered a fall on vault in the second spot of the lineup. The next four gymnasts had to hit on their routines or risk placing second in the meet, which would’ve granted the rival Cardinal a share of the conference title. Senior Ella Cesario (9.800) and Frazier (9.875) both found their footing leaving Lauzon and freshman Mya Wiley to go. When their team needed them most the two Mya’s anchored the lineup, and the meet, with back-to-back 9.90s marking a career high for Wiley.

In total the Bears posted 10 routines with a score of 9.90 higher with seniors Lauzon and Williams accounting for six of them. Senior Abbey Scanlon added a 9.90 on beam to place third and junior Casey Brown earned a 9.90 on bars to place third in their only routines of the meet.

Cal now sets its sights on Elevate the Stage, a podium meet in Huntsville, Alabama that features Alabama, Michigan State, and North Carolina. The matchup with the Tarheels will be the final contest of the season that counts towards the Bears’ conference record.