M. gym wins seond club championship
By Daily Bruin Staff
May 1, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 2, 1996
Without McCain, Shurlock, Bruins repeat as champsBy Rob
Kariakin
Daily Bruin Contributor
Despite the absence of two key members, the UCLA men’s
gymnastics team won its second straight club national championship
two weeks ago at Seattle Pacific University.
Without Steve McCain, last year’s individual club national
champion, and head coach Art Shurlock, the Bruins nevertheless
edged out the College of William and Mary, 218.45 to 217.5, April
19-20. San Jose State finished a distant third with 212.55
points.
McCain and Shurlock missed the meet because they were busy
representing the United States at the World Individual
Championships in Puerto Rico. For Shurlock, who served as U.S.
National team coach, it was the first Bruin meet he had missed in
32 years.
Leading the way for the Bruins in Seattle were Jim Foodi and
Spencer Slaton, who finished second and third, respectively, in the
overall competition. Foodi’s performance was especially impressive,
considering he pulled out his shoulder while on the high bar, but
went on to perform his floor routine anyway.
Mike DeNucci produced a clutch performance of his own, winning
the pommel horse. In addition, Neil Furuno finished second on floor
and Doug Macey tied Slaton for third.
Perhaps the most surprising performances came from
non-scholarship team members Wendal Walters and Derrick Kudo.
Walters reached the finals on the high bar, while Kudo finished
second on the team on rings. This not only helped clinch the
victory, but provided an encouraging sign for the future. Without
any new scholarships to be given out, the success of the program
will soon rest solely on the efforts of walk-ons such as Walters
and Kudo.
The Bruins have now won the club championship in both years
since their varsity status was taken away for budgetary reasons.
After running on a deficit for several years, the athletic
department created a panel which recommended cutting men’s
gymnastics and men’s swimming as varsity sports.
Stanford and California are currently the only Pacific 10
Conference schools in which men’s gymnastics remains a varsity
sport.
"It’s just good that (men’s) gymnastics continues at UCLA,"
Shurlock said.
***
By finishing thirteenth on floor and eleventh on the parallel
bars, McCain was the only U.S. gymnast to reach the semifinals in
two events at the World Championships.
***
With four Bruins on the U.S. National team, UCLA has the largest
contingent of any school in the country. Joining McCain are alumni
Chaney Umphrey, Scott Keswick and Chris Waller. All four Bruins
have a shot at making the Olympic team for this year’s games in
Atlanta.
Umphrey, who finished fourth on the high bar at last year’s
worlds, came in fifth (9.712) this time around, less than one tenth
of a point out of first place (9.80). Keswick and Waller did not
compete.
The Bruins have now won the club championship in both years
since their varsity status was taken away for budgetary
reasons.
