The No. 5 Stanford women’s gymnastics team will have a chance to gauge its merit right off the bat — the Cardinal opens up its season this Sunday when they play host to the three-time defending national champions, the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs.

“I am so excited for this season,” head coach Kristen Smyth told GoStanford.com. “There are many reasons to be optimistic about this team. We have outstanding leadership, with six seniors who know what it takes to be successful at the college level leading the way. We have valuable experience from last season to build on with six All Americans returning to a team that is hungry to get back to the Super Six.”

The Cardinal should provide a formidable challenge for the top-ranked Bulldogs. Stanford finished last year in third place at the NCAA Championships, is returning every member of last year’s squad and welcoming three new freshmen: Shelley Alexander, Danielle Ikoma and Gretchen O’Henley. The Cardinal is led by senior Tabitha Yim — who was an NCAA Champion at the 2007 South Central Regional — three-time All-American junior Nicole Ourada and sophomore Carly Janiga.

On the bars, the Cardinal will be spearheaded by senior Liz Tricase, junior Kelly Fee and seniors Lauren Elmore and Alex Pintchouk.

Stanford will need top performances from each and everyone of the team’s members to best the Bulldogs on Sunday. Winners of the last three national titles, Georgia features junior Courtney Kupets, senior Katie Heenan, sophomores Grace Taylor and Courtney McCool, and freshman Cassidy McComb.

Aside from Sunday’s opening match-up with Georgia, Stanford is slated to face a tough schedule; over the course of the year, they will compete against the nation’s best, including schools like UCLA, Alabama, Nebraska and Iowa State.

“It is a pleasure to host perennial powerhouse programs like Georgia, Alabama and Nebraska,” Smyth later said to GoStanford.com. “We will be challenged against these great teams, early and often and they will be good measuring sticks for us throughout the year. We know the competition will be tough, but we are looking forward to meeting them and hosting high-level gymnastics in the Bay Area.”

Sunday’s competition against Georgia is set for a 2 p.m. start at Burnham Pavilion.