ONLINE EXTRA: Bruins vault into season with exhibition meets

By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff

The 2001 women’s gymnastics season kicks off in
entertaining style this weekend with a pair of exhibition
meets.

The first is the 2001 Reese’s Cup which takes place
Saturday in Houston, Texas. On Sunday, Bruin fans can come to the
Wooden Center for a special “Meet the Bruins”
afternoon.

One former and two current Bruins will represent UCLA in the
entertainment-style mixed-pairs competition in Houston. 2001 Honda
Award winner Mohini Bhardwaj, who concluded her career at UCLA by
winning the 2001 NCAA floor competition, will be joined by current
Bruins Yvonne Tousek and Jaime Dantzscher.

Tousek is the reigning NCAA bars champion and a former Canadian
Olympian. Dantzscher set a Bruin record last year with seven
perfect 10s and was named an All-American in three events.

Because she no longer has amateur status, Bhardwaj can accept
money for meets like the Reese’s Cup while Tousek and
Dantzscher cannot.

The event is geared more toward the audience, with competitors
wearing costumes and performing to popular music.

“It’s fun, it’s important that gymnasts can
perform without getting a score,” Bruin head coach Valorie
Kondos-Field said.

This is also a recruiting tool for UCLA, which will receive
exposure when the Reese’s Cup is televised Dec. 9 on NBC.

Bhardwaj, Tousek and Dantzscher will be in elite company with
former Olympic medalists Svetlana Khorkina, Shannon Miller and
Elena Produnova also competing. The men include Olympic medalists
Alexei Nemov and Jordan Jovtchev.

Tousek and Dantzscher will have to catch a quick flight after
the Reese’s Cup, as they are scheduled to appear in both
meets.

“It’s going to be a lot of traveling,” Tousek
said. “But it’s something we have to get used to.

On Sunday the team takes to the Wooden Center for a gymnastics
exhibition. “Meet the Bruins” starts at 2 p.m.

The team will start off with demonstrations on all apparatus,
though the routines will be scaled down to avoid injury. After the
demonstrations, the team will field questions from the audience.
Kondos-Field will give a “crash course” in gymnastics,
describing how routines are constructed.

“We do this because the fans asked us to,”
Kondos-Field said.

Bruin gymnasts will be available for an autograph session
following the exhibition and questions.

Fans will also get their first chance to meet new assistant
coach Milo Johnson. An assistant coach at the University of Rhode
Island last year, Johnson helped the Rams qualify for the 2001
regionals. He replaces Randy Lane, the 2000 NCAA assistant coach of
the year.

“We want the fans to come and see what we have to
offer,” Johnson said. “They’ll get a good preview
of what the season is going to be like.”

Admission to Sunday’s “Meet the Bruins”
exhibition is free.