Team somersaults over competition
By Daily Bruin Staff
March 3, 2002 9:00 p.m.
UCLA 198.350 Michigan 196.775 Minnesota
196.200
By Eli Karon
Daily Bruin Contributor
Maybe it was because the Bruins were competing at home for the
final time this year, maybe it was the preparation for regionals,
or maybe it was the presence of the legendary John Wooden.
But for the first time this year, Jamie Dantzscher did not earn
the home crowd a half-dozen free Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
That’s because Bruin teammate Onnie Willis beat her to it.
Willis recorded the first of her two perfect 10s of the day on
vault, the Bruins’ first rotation of the meet.
“It feels great. I’m happy to come out and do so
well at home,” Willis said. “I actually felt really bad
today, my ankle is really hurting.”
It’s not that Dantzscher did not earn a perfect 10; in
fact, she performed three flawless routines.
UCLA set a school record 198.350 score in the 25th Bruin
Invitational. Michigan came in second with a 196.775, followed by
Minnesota (196.200) and Cal State Fullerton (194.075).
The Bruins opened the meet with a flurry, earning a school
record 49.7 on vault. In addition to the fine performances by
Dantzscher and Willis, Jeanette Antolin tied her personal best with
a 9.95.
The team dominated throughout the meet, recording scores of
49.50 on bars, 49.475 on beam and a monstrous 49.725 on floor.
The crowd of 3,390 at Pauley Pavilion was brought to its feet on
the final two routines of the meet. On floor, Willis performed her
second flawless routine of the day, only to have Dantzscher follow
her up with a 10 of her own.
“I never do a perfect routine, but I leave the scoring to
the judges,” Dantzscher said. “It was fun. We’ve
just been trying to build off each other’s energy and keep it
going.”
The Bruins’ last home meet had the atmosphere of a
championship meet, with celebrity Neve Campbell and Coach Wooden in
attendance.
Yvonne Tousek’s efforts were largely overshadowed by the
abundance of 10s and the team’s school record for total
score. Tousek tied a personal best on floor with a 9.95 and set a
personal best in the all-around with a 39.725.
The high score comes at a perfect time for the Bruins, who will
next compete in the Pac-10 finals at Stanford in two weeks.
“It gives us the confidence to realize what we realized
last year at Nationals,” head coach Valorie Kondos Field
said. “We don’t need to have a perfect meet to win. We
have to compete as a team.”
The meet capped a successful weekend for the Bruins, who won a
triangular meet in Washington with a team score of 197.050.
“We always talk about the magic of Pauley,” Kondos
Field said. “What more magic could you ask for than to have
Coach Wooden here at the meet?”
We’ll all eat a Krispy Kreme donut to that.
