Team nabs first place at invitational

UCLA 194.825 Cal 192.825

By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff

BERKELEY “”mdash; Sometimes low scores are good.

The UCLA women’s gymnastics team finished first this
weekend at the University of California Invitational despite
recording its lowest score of the year, 194.825.

Berkeley came in second at 192.825, followed by UC Davis’
190.55. UC Santa Barbara finished up with 185.5. The Bruins
competed without All-Americans Onnie Willis and Kristin Parker, who
were both confined to the sidelines with ankle injuries. Parker
rolled her ankle last week in practice, and Willis hurt it during
warm-ups before the meet.

Their absence presented opportunities for a host of Bruins to
shine.

Among them, sophomore Jamie Williams was the brightest. She
competed in three events and set career-high marks in each, scoring
a 9.525 on the vault, 9.8 on the beam, and 9.825 on the floor.

Junior Doni Thompson celebrated her 21st birthday in style,
falling just short of a perfect 10 on bars with a 9.975. Freshman
Michelle Conway set a career high on bars at 9.675, as did senior
Valerie Velasco with 9.825.

“We need to qualify for nationals because it’s a
little tight right now,” Velasco said. “I felt great
today on bars. We just have to keep it going.”

Other Bruins setting career high marks include Alyssa Beckerman
on floor (9.875) and Conway on beam (9.9).

But once again, Jamie Dantzscher stole the show during the
second-to-last rotation. Finishing up for the Bruins on floor,
she brought the Haas Pavilion crowd to its feet by recording her
fifth-straight perfect 10 on the apparatus.

“I just worry about hitting my routine,” she said.
“I don’t really think much about the judges.”

Dantzscher also scored a 9.975 on bars to tie with Thompson for
first place honors.

Junior Malia Jones finished second in the all-around (38.825),
which was won by Cal’s My-Lan Dodd (39.074).

“We came up here with a plan to compete everyone so that
we would be able to rest some people,” UCLA head coach
Valorie Kondos Field said in a statement. “It’s really
reassuring from a team standpoint to see everyone do their job and
to see our student-athletes come out and hit.”

Jones was the only Bruin to compete all around.

Sophomore Jeanette Antolin competed for the first time this
year, scoring 9.7 on the vault. She recently rejoined the team
after meeting criteria set by coach Kondos Field.