Gymnastics bids farewell to graduating seniors with season-high score

After presenting a farewell ceremony for the graduating seniors at Saturday’s meet, UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field received a surprise gift from the team.

A video of former Bruins’ messages for Kondos Field was shown on the big screen, celebrating the 25 seasons the coach has led the team. Kondos Field shed a few tears when she heard the voices of the athletes she coached and the crowd in Pauley Pavilion gave the six-time NCAA championship winner a standing ovation.

“I had absolutely no idea,” Kondos Field said of the tribute. “I more than liked it. It was a tremendous surprise and you know, I don’t have children, and these are my daughters.”

Saturday’s senior meet saw No. 8 UCLA score yet another season high, beating No. 13 Stanford in a 197.950 to 196.625 win.

Another highlight of the day was senior Ellette Craddock’s farewell performance at Pauley Pavilion. Competing on beam regularly at the start of the season, Craddock later lost her place in the official lineup because of competition from new talent.

On Saturday, Craddock made her return to the team as she performed on bars, beam and floor in exhibition routines.

“The key is just to keep going and keep trying your best,” Craddock said. “I think I literally put in everything I could this year in gymnastics. And I just have no regrets at this point.”

Along with Craddock, redshirt senior Samantha Peszek and fifth-year senior Jordan Williams bade farewell to the Bruins’ home turf.

Kondos Field said that the team total could have reached 198 had Peszek not fallen off the balance beam that gave her a low score of 9.375. But at the same time, Kondos Field praised the graduating senior’s calm reaction after the fall.

“I was so impressed with how she finished her routine,” Kondos Field said. “That is a champion, somebody who gets back up and finishes like she did. I just have so much respect for her.”

While Kondos Field recognized resilience in the incident, Peszek herself laughed off the mistake.

“I wish I didn’t split the beam,” Peszek said. “But on another note, I don’t think I’ve ever split the beam in my life, so getting that checked off the bucket list, even though that wasn’t so great, was something I’ve never done before.”

Peszek said she didn’t get injured from the fall. Although Peszek didn’t do well on beam, she finished vault and floor exercise both with a 9.950, matching her career bests in the two events.

The first place in vault was shared by Peszek, Williams, and the Cardinal’s Elizabeth Price.

Williams, an Arizona graduate who came to UCLA to compete in her last eligible year, said her final Pauley meet was bittersweet.

“It’s kind of a weird situation because it’s both my first and last year competing in Pauley, but I’m definitely gonna miss it. The fans here are great,” Williams said. “It’s been a really great ride, a really long journey.”

Not only reinforcing a career best of 9.950 on vault, Williams also raised her career high on beam – an event she doesn’t compete in regularly for UCLA – to 9.875.

“You know everyone pictures their senior night to just be this great night and to end on a great note,” Williams said. “I think that’s exactly what I did. I’ve dreamt it for a while, so I’m really glad that it happened tonight.”

Although Saturday’s meet was dedicated to the team’s graduating seniors, UCLA showcased its depth with six Bruins posting a total of nine scores that equaled or renewed their career bests.

Among them was freshman Sonya Meraz, who marked a career high of 9.850 on both bars and beam. In the floor event, sophomore Hallie Mossett and sophomore Mikaela Gerber had career bests of 9.875 and 9.850 respectively. Redshirt junior Sadiqua Bynum raised her performance to a new level – a 9.975 that helped her secure the first place on floor yet another time.