Gymnasts to face national champions

Friday’s meet against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs will
pit two of the most successful gymnastics programs in the nation
against each other. The Bulldogs are the defending national
champions, and in the last nine years, the two teams have combined
for eight NCAA Championships. The two schools have also boasted the
most NCAA individual championships in the nation. However, do not
expect the No. 9 UCLA team that walks into the gym on Friday to
look anything like the team that will be competing in April for the
title. “Basically, all we’re looking to do is go into
Georgia and take what we have and hit with confidence. That itself
will do wonders for the team,” coach Valorie Kondos Field
said. Thanks to a growing list of injuries, the Bruins will be
stretched thin for the meet. The worst news is the injury to the
team’s lone senior Kate Richardson. Richardson, who is an
Olympian and an All-American, suffered a tricep injury during the
weekend’s meet and will not compete on Friday. Joining
Richardson on the mend will be freshman gymnast Melissa Chan, who
strained her left calf before the last round in Sunday’s win
over Washington. She will be out for several weeks. Both Chan and
Richardson have been crucial to the team’s success recently.
“(Injuries) have basically become the theme for the
season,” Richardson said. The two will join sophomore Tasha
Schwikert and freshman Maranda Smith on the inactive list.
Schwikert, the reigning NCAA all-around champion, has been out
since December, and the team now hopes to have her return in time
for the championships. In the meantime, the Bruins will make do
with what is left of their team. They will rely heavily on freshmen
stars Ariana Berlin and Kristina Comforte. Both girls have quickly
adjusted to the new level of competition and have proven to be
saviors for the injury-plagued team. Berlin, who is coming off of
her best meet, was named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week for her
performance on Sunday. “They’re going to be really
excited. It’s exciting to compete in front of a large crowd,
and I think the whole team is going to just love it. We are going
to play hard, play big, and hold nothing back,” Kondos Field
said. The Bruins will not have much time to rest either. They will
return home to host 12th-ranked Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton
and UC Davis in a meet at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 19.

LARGE CROWD: Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum, which has a
capacity of 10,523, is expected to be sold-out on Friday and will
hold the largest crowd the Bruins will have competed in front of
this season. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have already competed in
front of numerous crowds of over 10,000 people as they compete in
the Southeasten Conference, which annually leads the nation in
attendance.

With reports from Anand Gandhi, Bruin Sports
reporter.