Gymnastics fails to capture Pac-10 title
By Michael Wozny
March 31, 2008 10:31 p.m.
Going into the final rotation of the Pac-10 Championships for gymnastics last weekend, the UCLA gymnastics team knew the Pac-10 title was within reach.
Then the Bruins made a hard decision that may have cost them the Pac-10 title, but probably gave them a stronger chance of making a run at the NCAA Championships later this month.
In order to avoid the risk of more serious injuries that would prevent them from competing at the national championships, UCLA rested several top athletes who were nursing minor injuries.
With the decision, UCLA scored a relatively low 48.425 on the floor exercise and fell to third as Stanford captured the Pac-10 title.
“We did not compete our top lineup on floor, and we knew going into floor that if we wanted to win we would have to compete them,” coach Valorie Kondos Field said.
“You want to pull out all the stops to be able to win, but in hindsight it was the right decision for us because we came out as healthy as we went in, which was our main goal with nationals coming up.”
Neither senior Tasha Schwikert, who had a strained Achilles tendon, nor junior Melissa Chan, who had a tweaked ankle, competed in the floor exercise. Freshman Mizuki Sato had the flu and scored much lower than her average.
“We could have put in our top athletes and they would have really made a difference for us, but with regionals and nationals coming up, if we are going to make a run for the national championship, we’re going to need everyone healthy, especially Tasha,” Kondos Field said.
UCLA was competitive with Stanford and Oregon State through three rotations, and only 0.125 separated the schools going into the final rotation.
On the uneven bars, the Bruins delivered a 49.4 as Schwikert captured the Pac-10 uneven bars title with a 9.95, and junior Ariana Berlin and sophomore Anna Li each added a 9.9.
The Bruins then showed their recent improvements on beam. The team scored a 49.3, which is their second-highest total of the season, behind their previous meet’s 49.35.
“I always knew that we could be a great beam team if we put it all together, and we have absolutely been improving on beam,” Kondos Field said. “As the meets are getting bigger and the team is feeling more pressure, they are doing better, which is encouraging.”
Berlin also came up big for the Bruins, scoring a season-high 39.4 in the all-around to take third place. Berlin always competes first for UCLA on each event, which allows her to set the pace for the following competitors.
“Ariana is just amazing and continues to get better and better,” Kondos Field said.
“For her to go out and compete with such confidence is great fuel for our team to be able to start off with her on every event.”
Overall, even though the Bruins failed to defend their Pac-10 title, they are confident in their ability to do well in the upcoming NCAA Regionals and NCAA National Championships.
UCLA has already beaten both Stanford and Oregon State twice this season, so they know they can compete with top teams if their best athletes are competing.
“I was pleased with the team, and I think we’re right there,” Kondos Field said. “We’re ready, we’re battle tested, and if we get Tasha and Melissa back on floor then we will be great.”
HEADED TO FLORIDA: On Monday the Bruins learned they will be in the Southeast Regional in Gainesville, Fla., to start the NCAA Tournament.
The ninth-seeded Bruins will face No. 3 seed Florida, No. 15 seed Nebraska, No. 21 seed North Carolina State, No. 25 seed West Virginia and No. 34 seed North Carolina in the April 12 meet.
If UCLA finishes as one of the top two teams in that meet, it will advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. The championship meet runs from April 24 to April 26.
