W. gymnastics dominates Pac-10 finals

W. gymnastics dominates Pac-10 finals

Inspired by men’s basketball, gymnasts take Pac-10 title, Umeh
wins all-around

By Esther Hui

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

It cost them the first few minutes of warm-up, but according to
head coach Valorie Kondos, it was worth it.

The UCLA women’s gymnastics team stayed in their hotel to watch
the finish of the UCLA-Connecticut NCAA quarterfinal basketball
game, arriving late to the warmup for their own Pac-10
Championships Mar. 25. The men’s basketball team’s victory served
as an inspiration for the Bruin gymnasts as UCLA defeated host
Arizona State, 195.400-195.150, for the Pac-10 team championship.
Bruin freshman Stella Umeh captured also the all-around (39.375),
beam, floor and bars.

It was the third time this season that the Bruins tallied a team
score of 195.00 or higher (out of a possible 200), and it was
during a meet fraught with adversity. Before the competition even
began, defending Pac-10 all-around champion Leah Homma twisted an
ankle on floor, and 1993 Pac-10 bars champion Megan Fenton’s
shoulder shifted in its socket during a vault which kept her out of
the entire competition.

The Bruins beat ASU earlier in the season at the Gilda Marx
Invitational, but the Sun Devils were without freshman Megan Wright
(who placed second in the all-around to Umeh with a 39.300) and
senior Tina Brinkman who missed the first part of the season after
being in a car accident.

UCLA started on beam with its full line-up, counting no falls
and with Umeh scoring a 9.875 to win the event.

The Bruins then moved to the floor, where Kondos had planned to
compete five instead of six gymnasts because of Homma’s injury.
Kareema Marrow tumbled a whip to double layout, the first ever in
collegiate women’s gymnastics for a 9.70, and Umeh won her second
event with a 9.90. But after two of the Bruins stepped out of
bounds on floor, Homma decided to compete floor despite her
ankle.

"Unlike other sports the Pac-10 for gymnastics is just bragging
rights," Kondos said. "We’ve qualified first for regionals already,
and no one can touch us. So from the coach’s standpoint it’s more
important to stay healthy for regionals and nationals then win the
Pac-10. Right before floor Leah came up to me and said, ‘I’m not
losing this meet to ASU or Oregon State,’ and she went and nailed a
routine."

The Bruins had a solid vault performance (49.175), second only
to ASU (49.300). Homma scored a 9.90, and Marrow a 9.875.

The Bruins moved to the last event, the uneven bars, leading the
Sun Devils by just four tenths of a point. After the loss of
Fenton, Kondos again planned on competing only five gymnastics, but
at the last minute Corinne Chee was added to the lineup. Despite
not having warmed up in the event, Chee scored a 9.475. And when
Kristen Harmell had trouble with her dismount and landed on her
face, Chee’s score was counted.

"Every event someone stepped up to bat," Kondos said. "They
maintained excitement for the final-four all through the meet. They
were so pumped up, before someone would go up they would say,
‘you’re (Bruin basketball guard) Tyus Edney ­ you have four
seconds left to go.’"

Said all-around champion Umeh: "The meet went really well. We
were worried about if we could do our best, but we knew we had to
do it for Megan."

The next competition for the Bruins will be the NCAA West
Regionals, to be held at Oregon State April 8. The Bruins are
seeded first and must either win the meet or have one of the top
seven scores in the country to qualify for nationals.