Women’s gymnastics bolstered by donor gift

Following an exciting season that ended with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the Stanford women’s gymnastics team is set to get another boost. 

Former Stanford gymnast and assistant coach Larissa Fontaine, ’00, MS ’02, MBA ’08, and her husband Peter Langenfeld, ’00, MS ’02, have endowed an assistant coaching position to help retain and recruit top coaching talent. Hallie Mossett will be the inaugural Fontaine and Langenfeld Women’s Gymnastics Assistant Coach.

“I’m grateful to Larissa and Peter for this tremendous show of support for our women’s gymnastics program,” said Bernard Muir, Stanford’s Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics. “Larissa has always been committed to the success of our student-athletes, and through her experience—both as a gymnast and coach—she understands what it takes to prepare them for lives of leadership and impact.”

Fontaine contributed to several firsts for the Women’s Gymnastics program. She won the first NCAA title on vault in 1998 and helped lead the team to its first regional team championship in 1999. As an assistant coach under her mentor Kristen Smyth, she helped guide the team to its first NCAA Super Six appearance in 2002. Also a five-time NCAA All-American, Fontaine was Women’s Gymnastics’ first inductee to the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame. After her competitive career, Fontaine served  as an assistant coach for the women’s gymnastics team and special assistant to the athletic director. Both Fontaine and Langenfeld earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford.

“We are honored to support Stanford Women's Gymnastics with this gift, ensuring stability and a lasting legacy for the program and its coaching staff,” said Fontaine. “I was fortunate to be a student-athlete and a coach for Stanford Women’s Gymnastics, and these experiences continue to impact my life in countless ways. Peter and I are thrilled to offer future student-athletes and coaches the same opportunities.”

Tabitha Yim, who is the Rodgers Family Director of Women’s Gymnastics, has led the Cardinal to new heights in recent years. Ranked 52nd in 2021, the team closed the 2024 season with a fifth-place finish in its first visit to the NCAA Championships since 2016, and sophomore Anna Roberts brought home the team’s first individual championship since 2018. A strong class of recruits for the 2024–25 season—which includes incoming freshman Levi Jung-Ruivivar, who competed in the Paris Olympics for the Philippines— will add to the team’s momentum as it prepares for its debut season as a member of the ACC.

“This extraordinary gift means the world to us and comes from a trailblazing alum who has already made a profound impact on our women’s gymnastics program,” said Yim. “Larissa was our first NCAA champion and the first Stanford Hall of Famer in our program’s history. As a former Stanford student-athlete and coach, she truly understands and appreciates the importance of the relationships between our coaching staff and athletes. We are deeply grateful to Larissa and Peter for this gift, which will help us continue to elevate and drive our program toward the highest level of excellence.”

This story originally appeared on Go Stanford.