When the NCAA Championships kick off on Friday, Stanford junior Elizabeth Price will be one of eight individual event finalists competing in St. Louis this year. Price qualified with a near-perfect exercise on the uneven bars that garnered 10.0s from two judges at the Seattle regional on April. She earned a 9.975--her eighth score of 9.900 or better--to win the event.

Price has dazzled on bars all season with great amplitude on her release and handstands throughout her routine. She is ranked fourth in the country on bars and has just two routines that have scored lower than a 9.900.

It is the first time since 2011 that the Cardinal will not be represented at the NCAA Championships as a team. Price will rotate with the Florida Gators--and one of her best friends--during the second semifinal on Friday night.

FloGymnastics: What has been the biggest challenge for you this season?
Elizabeth Price: I would say the biggest challenge would be injuries honestly, because at the beginning of the year I was coming back from a knee surgery that I had at the end of last season. I wasn't really cleared to do everything until December. I also hurt my foot about mid-season, which also took me out for a little bit.

How does the adversity that you faced during the regular season help prepare you for the NCAA Championships?
As a team, we've faced a lot of adversity. We've had so many injuries or just people getting sick or other things that have popped up throughout the season. So that really just helped prepare us for postseason in general by letting me, and also my teammates know that we faced everything that is possible. At meets or before meets, we've had a lot of things spring upon us. It lets us know that we are prepared for any situation. I know that no matter what happens, we've been there before and had to readjust. It makes me feel more comfortable going into NCAAs.

What lessons have you taken away from this year?
I've taken away that there's a lot to learn from the sport of gymnastics in general. I've been in the sport a long time, but this year especially, my team only has 12 girls and we had a ridiculous amount of injuries pop up over the season. Although that sometimes stopped us from being able to put out our best lineups or would pop up on us in the middle of competition, there was a lot to gain from the season just from the team aspect and being able to be around each other and build each other up. I think we've also gotten closer and gained more strength in more of a team sense, because we had less people and so much to deal with.

How different will it be going to nationals without your team and competing as an individual?
It's definitely going to be weird, because I don't have that team support by my side like I have the past three seasons, this one included. It's definitely going to be different, because it's shifting into the individual aspect of gymnastics; now it's all about competing for myself. At the same time, they still be supporting me at Stanford while I'm competing, and of course I'll be thinking of them while I'm out there. But also I know that as an individual and having competed with individuals as a part of our team at other meets, I know that other people will also be supporting me in Missouri, which will help bring back a little more of that team aspect.

How special is it to be able to compete and rotate with one of your best friends?
Yeah, it's kind of the best thing ever. If I could have had an ideal situation for nationals as an individual, it would have been to rotate with Florida just because Kennedy [Baker] is my best friend in the whole world and because I am close with a bunch of other girls on that team. It's really exciting. It's sad that I have to leave my team, but if I had to compete by myself, this would be the best situation. I'm super excited, because I haven't seen her in a super long time.

You competed on the international stage as an elite where it was more individualized. How much does that experience help you competing as an individual at NCAAs?
I would say the elite experience definitely helps prepare me by requiring that level of focus that comes with competing by yourself and having to maintain calmness and confidence in yourself and not necessarily having a team there supporting you right next to you. I think all those years of being an elite have definitely prepared me for the experience I'm about to go through.

What was the biggest thing you took away from regionals that you'll use heading into nationals?
I think that the biggest thing that I took away was that I need to stay calm and confident and always rely back on all the practices I've been putting in and not to get ahead of myself. Just to think of nationals as another regular competition and not try to put too much pressure on myself. If I treat it just like practice or any other meet, I won't be as stressed or as nervous, and it should go relatively good as opposed to really hyping it up and getting myself super anxious.

What does that [9.975 at regionals] do for your confidence heading into nationals?
It definitely builds confidence knowing that I can get up on the bars at a big meet like regionals and hit one of my best routines ever. So it definitely tells me that I'm very capable of doing so and that I have the potential to score in that 9.975 to 10.0 range at nationals.

What are you most looking forward to about competing at nationals?
I'm most looking forward to two things. One, being able to compete with Kennedy, because that's just awesome. And then two, just being able to get back out on the big podium stage and just the big NCAA stage trying to win an individual title.