ONLINE EXTRA: Bruins plan to use momentum to somersault over competition
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 14, 2002 9:00 p.m.
 TYSON EVANS Jamie Dantzscher performs
the floor routine against Stanford.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
It’s an all-UC weekend when the UCLA gymnastics team heads
north for a quadrangular meet in Berkeley on Sunday.
The Bruins take on Cal, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara at Haas
Pavilion, hoping to extend their winning streak.
Cal, like UCLA, has been hit hard by injuries. Last week the
Bears were unable to field a complete team against Arizona. They
are coached by former UCLA gymnast Trina Tinti.
UC Davis is UCLA’s highest ranked competition for the
weekend, coming in with a 190.168 average while Santa Barbara
enters the meet ranked 79th in the nation.
For UCLA, the meet provides an opportunity to build on the
momentum developed last weekend when the team set a season high
mark with a 196.925. Head coach Valorie Kondos Field described that
meet as the beginning to the second half of the season.
Once again, the Bruins will feature a mixed lineup ““
something they have been forced into due to injuries. However, the
team sees this as a blessing in disguise because unsung heroes are
stepping up and performing above expectation.
“It’s actually a bonus because there are no longer
the six or seven people that are carrying all the weight,”
Kondos Field said. “Everybody feels their sense of
responsibility. And it’s really exciting to have someone go
out and compete an event for the first time.”
Jeanette Antolin returns to action this week, after taking the
fall months off to meet criteria set by Kondos Field for
reinstatement to the team. The sophomore from Huntington
Beach. practiced with the team on Thursday and impressed the
coaches enough to earn a spot in the starting lineup.
“I hadn’t seen her do gymnastics since last
year,” Kondos Field said. Â “She is in phenomenal
physical shape. Â I had never seen her do gymnastics that
well.”
Antolin will compete on the vault and is also ready to go on the
bars if needed. She brings depth to a team plagued by
injuries, but was not added to beef up the lineup. Instead she was
added because she matured and improved inside and outside the
gym.
“The team asked if we’d take her back,” Kondos
Field said. “It’s pretty exciting when whole team
goes to bat for you.”
Kondos Field said that this weekend is the last chance to rest
those who are banged up before the Bruins head into tougher waters.
She expects that the majority of athletes who are healthy will
compete.
“Meet to meet, we’re looking to stay healthy,”
sophomore Yvonne Tousek said.
The Bruins were without the services of Kristin Parker against
Stanford after the junior rolled her ankle in practice prior to the
meet. It is unclear whether she will be able to compete. Sophomores
Carly Raab and Kristen Maloney will both be out for this weekend
along with freshman Christie Tedmon.
Though the Bruins should not have any trouble with the
competition this weekend, they need to start increasing their total
scores in preparation for the NCAA Regionals. A big score in
Berkeley will help the team continue its recent success, smoothing
the road to a third straight national championship.
