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No. 1 UCLA gymnastics team attempts to break losing streak at Utah

NCAA floor exercise champion Brittani McCullough and UCLA face Utah today.

Gymnastics

Utah
Today, 6 p.m.
Salt Lake City
UtahUtes.com



UCLA gymnastics, the defending national champions and preseason No. 1, open the season on the road against No. 5 Utah.

By Patricia Lee

Jan. 7, 2011 12:17 a.m.

There are athletes and teams that rely on their past to carry them season after season, dependent on the passion from previous victories. The UCLA gymnastics team is not one of those teams.

Nine months since the Bruins won UCLA’s 105th championship, the nation’s top-ranked squad prepares for its first meet, against No. 5 Utah, with a brand new passion and desire. The national championship is clearly behind this team as they look forward to the season opener.

“This team in particular seems to be really, more than previous teams, ready and wanting to compete,” assistant head coach Chris Waller said. “It’s interesting that they don’t talk about (the national championship). We recognize it, but no one talks about it.”

The UCLA gymnastics team has beaten Utah on the road just once.

The Bruins beat the Utes by a big margin of 1.475 last year at Pauley Pavilion, but in 2009, they lost their season opener at Utah by less than a tenth of a point and then lost again to the Utes to be eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruin gymnasts, however, do not feel that their opponent is important to their success.

“This meet is a really big start because Utah is a really good team,” redshirt senior Brittani McCullough said. “I think we need to not focus on the other team so much, and just focus on what we can do ““ work hard, work smart, perform to the best of our abilities ““ and the outcome will just be there.”

Making things even more difficult is the fact that their opener is on the road, followed directly by a meet at Pauley.

“We’re plenty prepared,” sophomore Monique De La Torre said with a smile. “We support each other and make sure everyone is physically and mentally ready as a team.”

To stay physically healthy, the coaches are going to balance the two meets to prevent the gymnasts from getting tired, giving opportunities to younger members of the team.

“Our new freshmen are great,” De La Torre said. “Since there are two meets this weekend, they should be able to have a big role and get a lot of experience. They’re going to be an important part of our team.”

All of the preseason chatter is going to end with the beginning of a new season. Waller wants to start the year on a positive note by breaking UCLA’s losing streak at Utah.

“I’m tired of going there and not winning,” he said. “We want to go there and win.”

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