Bruins limber up for annual Classic

Friday, February 20, 1998

Bruins limber up for annual Classic

GYMNASTICS: Injuries may help, not hurt team that traditionally
starts off slowly, finishes strong

By Christie DeBeau

Daily Bruin Contributor

The UCLA women’s gymnastics team (8-1) is back at home this
weekend to host the second annual Bruin Classic on Sunday at 2 p.m.
in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins will face the competition of No. 7
Penn State (6-2), No. 14 Oregon State (5-1) and Cal State Fullerton
(2-4).

In addition to the tough competition at this meet, fifth-ranked
UCLA will be honoring its three senior members – Stella Umeh,
Andrea Fong and Carmen Tausend.

For walk-on senior Fong, this season has provided an exciting
final year competing for the Bruins, and she is eager to compete at
home this Sunday.

"I love competing at home. Pauley has this magical feeling with
the home crowd and all the fans. Also, it is nice to compete at
home with your own equipment where you are used to everything,"
says Fong.

The Arizona meet, on Jan. 23, marked her first time performing
in all-around competition at the collegiate level. Last week, at
the meet against Cal, Fong beat her personal best for all-arounds
with a score of 38.525.

"I am excited about my performances this year," Fong said. "This
is the most I have ever competed since I have been here and I have
done well for myself. It is exciting to get to contribute on the
competition floor."

Sunday’s meet also holds significance for junior Susie Erickson,
who will compete at home for the first time in her second meet of
the season, after a three and a half month break from competition
due to a broken foot.

Last week, Erickson returned to competition on the balance beam,
earning a score of 9.65, and performed an exhibition on the uneven
bars.

"It feels really good to be a part of the team again," Erickson
said. "It is really fun and exciting to be competing. I am glad to
back. Everyone is really supportive, and Valorie is very
supportive, so it was a smooth transition.

"I think my first meet was really successful, and I feel good
about where I am at right now. I have been working on beam and
bars, trying to get a bar routine, hopefully. I just keep working,
going in the right direction with my ankle and taking care of
myself."

Erickson plays an important role on the Bruin team because of
emotional and physical stability during competition. She has worked
hard to return to competition this season and as a result of her
efforts, Erickson is stronger than she was before the injury.

"Susie plays a part on the team because she is such a rock for
us; the team feels so much stability when she is competing," UCLA
head coach Valorie Kondos said. "She is very confident and calm on
the floor. She always comes in prepared and competes with
confidence.

"Whether she falls or not, is not the issue. It is the fact that
from the minute she is in that training room and in the gym warming
up, you can count on her to be emotionally and physically stable
the whole time she is out there while some athletes run high and
low.

"It is also good to see an athlete work so hard. She is in twice
as good of shape as she was when she got injured. So she really did
the job that was expected of her over the break. She has worked
hard, endlessly, and she is a much better athlete now than when she
got injured."

The Bruins have adjusted to many changes throughout this season,
mainly because of injuries. Top all-arounder Mohini Bhardwaj
remains out this week due to ankle injury, joining junior Luisa
Portocarerro, who has a sprained ankle. However, the team has
persevered and has used these unexpected turn of events as a team
building experience.

"I think it has been a good thing," Kondos said. "Mohini is
coming along very well, and I think if it were Nationals we would
definitely be competing her, but we want her to heal as much as
possible before we bring her back in. Luisa has a more severe
sprain, and hopefully we will have her back by Regionals.

"Take into account that those two will be back for us at
Nationals, it has actually been a good thing. It has allowed us to
compete our entire team and give those athletes that do not get a
lot of competitive experience more experience, and they have done
great. It is like the season is choreographed, just how I would
have choreographed it myself."

"Overall, we have had to work through some difficult times with
injuries and sickness," Fong said. "We are on the upper climb
towards the Pac-10 and our championship season. I think we are on a
good track to get to the NCAA. I think that everyone has stepped it
up a little bit because we have different people competing on
different events that they do not compete on."

UCLA is already halfway through the regular season, with only
four meets left until Regionals. The Bruins are used to starting
off slow and although they are ahead of themselves compared to last
year’s team, the team’s talent is still developing.

"We start off so slowly, as everyone in the world knows," Kondos
said. "For our talent, we are still starting off slowly but we are
about four weeks ahead of where we were last year, score wise and
only having one fall last meet. So, I think we are going to see a
team at the end of Regionals and Nationals that is going to beat
any other UCLA team we have had here, and we have had some great
teams."