Women’s gym vaults into NCAAs

Women’s gym vaults into NCAAs

Bruins head to Georgia with hopes of taking all-around, team
titles

By Esther Hui

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

University of Kentucky’s Jenny Hansen was a freshman when she
won her first NCAA all-around championship in 1993. It was Hansen’s
sophomore year when she notched a second all-around championship
into her grips in 1994.

Now Hansen is a grizzled junior and is the top-ranked gymnast
leading into this year’s NCAA all-around championship. Hansen will
vie for an unheard of third consecutive all-around championship
against Utah’s Suzanne Metz, Georgia’s Lori Strong and UCLA’s
Kareema Marrow and Leah Homma today in Athens, Ga.

"Jenny Hansen has been remarkable because she’s won it from the
first session," UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos said. "She’s super
gutsy, she has really spectacular gymnastics, she goes for the big
stuff. If Suzanne Metz hits she should be able to contend for that
because she’s really clean. But there are a lot of gymnasts who
could contend for it. Kareema Marrow has her sights on it, Leah
Homma, Lori Strong. I think it will come down to whoever has the
most difficulty executed with the best form."

The NCAA Championship is a grueling format, with three straight
days of competition beginning today and continuing through
Saturday. The all-around championship is nestled into the two
rounds’ preliminary team competition, with the top all-arounder,
the individual event finalists and the six team finalists named
after the same day of competition.

Gymnasts whose teams did not qualify for championships compete
alone, while other gymnasts perform their routines with their teams
in the format of a regular team competition.

"It’s tough balancing the preliminary team competition with the
all-around," Kondos said. "We were talking about not having Leah
compete at all Thursday night, or else not have her compete floor
and just come in for the team finals on Friday night. But that
means she would be taken out of both all-around and the floor
exercise."

Because of the team format, as well as the double rounds of
competition, the all-around championship is a blind event. The four
top-ranked gymnasts, including Hansen (whose team did not qualify),
Metz and Strong, will be in the afternoon round, while UCLA will
compete in the evening. While Hansen is the favorite, Metz has also
enjoyed top-ranked billing in the polls this year, and Strong will
be competing in front of a home crowd.

The Bruins have a legitimate chance of breaking into the
all-around, as the only team besides Utah with three gymnasts in
the top 15.

1993 Pac-10 all-around champion Homma says that last year she
wasn’t even aware that the all-around champion was determined on
the first day, though at No. 7 she is the Bruins’ top-ranked
gymnast this year. Homma will be competing on a sore ankle, which
could hurt her on the floor exercise.

Senior Marrow placed fifth last year in the all-around after
stumbling on her last floor pass, and wants to win the championship
in her last year as a Bruin. Marrow recently took the UCLA
all-around record from Homma when she scored a 39.600 at West
Regionals. Also contending for the Bruins is freshman Stella Umeh,
1995 Pac-10 all-around champion.

"All-around is great and important, but for us it’s mostly the
team we’re focused on," Homma said. "We’re not going to be thinking
about the all-around. Obviously Jenny will be just focused on
herself, and I’m not sure if it’s more or less pressure.

"I think Stella, Kareema and I will be able to break into the
top three. We’re considered top contenders but I don’t think they
really know how good we are. We really want to show what we can
do."

Said Marrow: "The most important thing is for the team to make
the finals. The first day of competition is intense because
everyone wants to make it to the Super Six (team finals); the teams
compete like they have a vendetta against each other. As a team
we’re confident we’re going to hit and do the best we can. If I do
well for myself I know I’ll do well for the team."