Bruins bring out younger gymnasts for rout of Arizona State

UCLA gymnastics showcased its younger talent Saturday afternoon in a blowout meet against Arizona State.

The No. 6 Bruins (6-2, 5-1 Pac-12) swept the Sun Devils (1-9, 0-6) in every event, closing out the matchup with a score of 196.625-192.950.

Coach Valorie Kondos Field said she used the meet to rest gymnasts who compete regularly and to give less experienced athletes an opportunity to perform. Due to cases of the flu and several injuries sustained this season, Kondos Field had been unable to switch out frequent performers as much as she would have liked.

“The athletes that stepped in to give Danusia (Francis), Angi (Cipra) and Peng (-Peng Lee) a rest did a fantastic job,” Kondos Field said. “I was just absolutely thrilled with how they did.”

Despite the younger overall age of Saturday’s competitors, the Bruins scored near their season average of 196.671 and posted two career highs as well. Sophomore JaNay Honest received a 9.900 on bars and a 9.925 on floor.

“My hard work is really paying off and the scores are showing it,” Honest said.

Sophomore Rechelle Dennis scored a season-high 9.850 on bars and said the meet was a success.

“It went really well,” Dennis said of the unusual lineup and of her own performance. “I definitely made improvements in my bars routine.”

Dennis previously received a 9.725 on bars in the meet against Oregon State and a 9.800 against Washington last Sunday.

Other underclassmen also performed well. Freshman Stella Savvidou debuted her beam routine, scoring a 9.825, and freshman Katelyn Ohashi won the event with a 9.900. Saturday marked Ohashi’s return to competition after suffering a sternal fracture last month. She was greeted by a “welcome back, Katelyn” from a Bruin fan in the stands.

UCLA will likely roll out a more experienced group March 6 against No. 10 Georgia and No. 12 Stanford.

Email Chang at [email protected] or tweet them at @changnlea.