Bruins beat out Pac, win 10th title

By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff

UCLA freshman Michelle Conway found herself in an unenviable
position last Saturday night. She was in the pressure-packed
leadoff slot with UCLA needing a 48.975 on the floor to claim its
10th Pac-10 title.

Like the rest of her teammates she calmly stuck her routine,
scoring a career-best 9.85, becoming just another statistic on a
team that nailed 24 out of 24 routines to tally a total score of
197.625.

“She loves to compete,” head coach Valorie Kondos
Field said. “Michelle Conway lives for
competition.”

Apparently so do the rest of the Bruins, who overcame adversity
to win this year’s Pac-10 championship at host Stanford,
edging out second place Arizona and third place Stanford. With
superstars Jamie Dantzscher and Onnie Willis fighting through
injuries, UCLA knew it might not be at full strength. But no one
expected to miss the services of NCAA bars champion Yvonne
Tousek.

Fighting flu-like symptoms, Tousek was unable to compete after
experiencing dizziness during warm-ups. One of UCLA’s most
solid all-around competitors is not easy to replace, so the Bruins
did so by committee.

“I think it was a really good test that Yvonne had to come
out,” junior co-captain Doni Thompson said. “Our
alternates really stepped up and did a great job. I feel like
we’re peaking at exactly the right time.”

Junior Malia Jones competed all around, Conway hit the floor,
and the rest of the Bruins chipped in to fill the gaps.

“When it seems like everything is going well for you,
it’s easy to do well,” Kondos Field said.
“It’s hard to continue when you’re fighting
uphill tonight. Malia Jones really fought. She probably saved us at
least three tenths when it was all said and done.”

Bruin fans traveled en masse to see their team compete, nearly
filling a complete section of Maples Pavilion. The rooters had
custom pom-poms made, and traveled from as far as New Jersey to the
arena they now call “Pauley North.”

It was particularly sweet for UCLA to win at Stanford after the
Cardinal upset the Bruins last year at the Pac-10 finals in
Washington.

UCLA captured first place in three out of four events, as well
as the all-around competition. Dantzscher, Willis and Thompson tied
for first on the bars with a 9.95, leading the Bruins to a
season-high 49.65 on the event. Sophomore Alyssa Beckerman tied
Stanford’s Lindsay Wing and Lise Leveille, as well as
Arizona’s Stevie Fanning, with a 9.9 on the beam. Dantzscher
captured floor honors with a 9.95 to match Arizona’s Randi
Liljenquist, and Willis had the top all-around score with a
39.625.

In addition to the competition, Pac-10 season awards were handed
out Saturday night. Dantzscher was named conference gymnast of the
year, becoming the second Bruin in as many years to win the
award.

UCLA’s high overall score landed it a No. 1 seed in the
Western Regional, which will be held at Arizona State this
weekend.

In related news, seven Bruins were selected to the Academic
All-American team.

Juniors Willis and Kristin Parker captured first-team honors.
Both are psychology students who have maintained a grade point
average above 3.65 this year. Thompson, Dantzscher, Tousek, Alyssa
Beckerman and Jamie Williams received honorable mention honors.