UCLA freshman gymnasts ready to jump into spotlight against Washington
Redshirt senior Samantha Peszek will not be able to compete in all four apparatuses for the second week in a row, as she is still suffering from a sore calf muscle. (Angie Wang/Daily Bruin)
By Boer Fu
Feb. 9, 2015 1:32 a.m.
Although the regular all-around gymnast, redshirt senior Samantha Peszek, didn’t compete in all four rotations at the previous meet on Feb. 1, several freshmen shone with strong performances and helped push the team’s total to a season high of 196.800.
The No. 11 UCLA gymnastics team will take on No. 17 Washington on Monday at 6 p.m. Historically, the Bruins have won against the Huskies 58 times, only losing in three meets.
Peszek, who took part in only one event in the Feb. 1 meet against Cal, will still not be ready to compete all-around on Monday.
“My calf was just a little sore,” Peszek said. “Since it’s early in the season, they didn’t want to push it.”
With a muscle problem in her calf, Peszek said she expects to do only two events at the meet against Washington.
“Her calf has tightened up a lot,” said coach Valorie Kondos Field. “We are just taking it easy for a few weeks until she can work that out.”
Although Peszek will not be available for every event in every week, the freshmen said they are ready to take over the responsibility and contribute to the team.
In the meet against Cal, freshman Sonya Meraz competed on balance beam for the first time in her college career, although she performed on the beam in the exhibition round for three weeks.
“Sonya is a really good competitor. She’s got a very healthy attitude about competition,” Kondos Field said. “Last week I asked her how she felt, whether she was nervous competing for the team. But she said, ‘No.’ She’s actually less nervous, because she can finally contribute to the team score.”
Another freshman, LaNiesha-Jopré Irvin, has been a regular for vault. Her ability to score consistently above the mark of 9.850 since the season started has earned praise from her coach.
“She’s been doing really well for us on vault,” Kondos Field said. “And she can do even better.”
Other than her favorite apparatus, vault, Irvin is also honing her skills on floor and bars during practices.
“I’ve been training really hard. I’m feeling like I’m getting better,” Irvin said. “So hopefully I can compete soon.”
Kondos Field said the process of picking which gymnast to compete is nothing secretive.
“It really is just making sure we’re keeping our kids healthy,” Kondos Field said. “And week to week, who we feel can go out and compete well, stay healthy and score the highest. That’s really the only equation.”
After scoring a season high of 196.800 on Feb. 1, the Bruins said they are ready to mark another high.
“We know what we need to improve on. We know where we are losing points,” Kondos Field said. “They’re having really energized and focused workouts every single day. It’s really quite remarkable. They are getting better every week.”
Peszek said the team’s progress results from everyone’s determination to be perfect.
“I think the intensity in the practice and the intention to make every landing and every skill as perfect as we can make it. That’s really helped this week in practice,” Peszek said. “And you can definitely see it change in everyone’s gymnastics. So I’m really excited for our meet on Monday.”
