"We believe there is success in our future, but for now we are focusing on the basics in every area. We're working hard in the gym to have the strongest, healthiest and most confident team on the competitive floor," said Izzi.
Izzi has put together a highly qualified support staff to ensure results both in practice and competition. For the previous four seasons, Izzi served as an assistant coach at Stanford, where her work with the beam team led them to the second-highest score at the 1994 NCAA West Regionals. First-year assistant coach Dan Connelly brings an impressive resume to the Stanford program. He has coached two Olympians in Mitch Gaylord and Charles Lakes, as well as 25 NCAA All-Americans.
Izzi's staff also includes two familiar Stanford names in Sadao Hamada and Jene Elzie. Although entering his first year as a women's assistant coach, Hamada is beginning his 24th year at the helm of the men's program at Stanford. Under Hamada, the men's teams have won three of the past four NCAA Championships. Elzie, a former Stanford All-American, has returned to her alma matter as a graduate assistant. Elzie's championship experience and her knowledge of Stanford women's gymnastics will be a great asset to the program.
"We have exceptional talent in the gym. The challenge we face is, with only nine athletes, we want to reach the highest level of difficulty with flawless execution and yet remain healthy," said Izzi.
In addition to staying healthy, the Cardinal faces another challenge, its schedule. The Pacific-10 Conference is one of the toughest conferences for women's gymnastics in the country. Both UCLA and Oregon State finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Champions hip last year. Additionally, Stanford will meet up with the University of Arizona, Arizona State, the University of Washington and California, making for a difficult conference schedule. In non-conference competition, the Cardinal will face national powerhouse Georgia, along with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis.
The loss of four seniors -- Elzie, Katie Clancy, Meegan Lannin and Tina Snowden -- leaves a young squad without the experience and drive from the top that is needed to compete with the top-notch schools on the schedule. The 1995-96 Stanford squad consists of six returners and three freshmen. Of the six returners, four are sophomores, one is a junior and one is a senior.
"The single most important element to any successful program is the confidence the athletes have about themselves. It will take time to build the kind of character and confidence last year's seniors had. They will be missed," said Izzi.
The rebuilding is partly grounded in successes of last year, particularly the Chili's "Red Hot" Invitational, annually hosted by Stanford. The Cardinal captured the tournament crown over tough competitors in the University of Washington, BYU and the University of Illinois. Stanford finished the 1994-95 season with an 18-12 overall record, fifth in the Pacific-10, third at Regionals and 15th in the NCAA rankings.
"Our freshman class is very strong and the returning women are showing great improvements in the early pre-season," said Izzi.
Team leadership will come from co-captains Linda Chun and Ariel Passanisi. Chun will be key to this year's depth and the younger gymnasts will be able to feed off her experience. Passanisi is one of the strongest athletes on the team. Last year she was a top beam performer and a strong vaulter. This year Passanisi is training on bars and floor and is vying for a spot in the line-up in those events.
Although the remaining four are only in their second year, they are very experienced at the collegiate level. In 1995, Keri Monahan set a new Stanford vault record with a 9.90. She should be a top all-around performer for the Cardinal this year. Misty Moore is the team's leading beam performer. Last year, a teammate remarked, "If there was an earthquake while Misty was on the beam, she wouldn't feel a thing." Moore is a focused performer and very reliable in clutch situations. Christie Jones will be a strong competitor on beam and vault. She has also added difficulty to her bar routine and will be a great addition to the floor line-up. Amy Neil returns to the Stanford line-up after tearing the ACL in her right knee early in 1995. She has a sharp, clean li ne and is a key performer on bars and beam.
Beam and bars are the strongest events for the 1996 team. However, with new vaults and bigger tumbling in their floor routines, the Cardinal is hoping to make a jump in these two areas. Beam has traditionally been a strength for Stanford and the new membe rs will keep that going. Izzi is looking to Monahan, Moore, Fitzpatrick and Murakami to lead the way in all-around competition for Stanford.
Izzi said, "The successes we have in 1996 will be the result of careful planning, good talent and a lot of determination."
Back to the Women's Gymnastics Homepage.