Gymnastics: Floor routines give gymnasts trouble

The UCLA gymnastics team finishes every home meet on the floor
exercise. Though they’d like to save their best for last,
their last has been subpar this season. For the past four years,
the Bruins (6-1) haven’t finished lower than seventh place in
the nation on the floor. At this point in the season, UCLA finds
itself in unfamiliar territory, ranked a lowly No. 22 on the floor
exercise, trailing the likes of Northern Illinois and Southern
Utah. “It’s surprising we’re not ranked higher on
floor,” UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field said.
“With our athletes sick and injured, that’s the event
that will get you the most.” With the regular season almost
at its halfway mark, UCLA has only amassed a 49 floor team-score
twice. The latest and greatest disappointing performance on the
floor exercise came last weekend against Arizona State. Competing
on a floor which they weren’t used to, the Bruins were forced
to count two falls and two out-of-bounds deductions en route to a
season-low of 47.375. “It was horrific,” Kondos Field
said. “We had four falls on the floor; that’s unheard
of. We have to adjust though, the type of floor is not an
excuse.”

STILL NEAR THE TOP: While the Bruins were supposed to be a
young, inexperienced team heading into the season, they’ve
shown that preconceived notions don’t always turn out to be
true. Nearing the halfway point of the regular season, UCLA finds
itself near the top of the women’s collegiate gymnastics
scene once again. The Bruins have alternated between the top two
national spots for most of the season and currently find themselves
at No. 3, despite what Kondos Field refers to as an
“ugly” performance last weekend in Tempe, Ariz.
Additionally, UCLA holds at least a top-three Division I score on
three apparatuses. The Bruins are No. 2 on both the vault and bars
and hold down the No. 3 spot on beam. As for individual rankings,
UCLA gymnasts comprise four of the top five national all-around
averages with senior Kristen Maloney owning the top average in the
nation.

INJURED FRONT: Only having participated in limited action in
UCLA’s past two meets due to a hyper-extended toe, Jordan
Schwikert will return to all-around competition this weekend as the
Bruins travel to take on Michigan. However, Schwikert, who has been
diagnosed with turf toe, will be held out of UCLA’s next home
meet as Kondos Field intends to rest the freshman so she can
recover from the injury. Fellow freshman gymnast Lindsey Vanden
Eykel was relegated to competing only on the beam last weekend
after experiencing pain in her back. Currently ranked No. 13 in the
nation on bars, Vanden Eykel’s presence is considered
imperative for a team that has already been ravaged by
injuries.