Gymnastics to begin Pac-10 competition
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 15, 2009 9:00 p.m.
The No. 3 UCLA gymnastics team will open Pac-10 competition at home this weekend when they play host to the Arizona Wildcats in the fourth annual John Wooden Challenge.
Last week, the Bruins lost a close meet to No. 2 Utah by a score of 196.175-196.075. A bright spot, though, might have been the play of UCLA’s freshmen, who dominated the mat by competing in 16 of 24 events. Freshman Aisha Gerber placed third in the all-around and took first in the balance beam. Fellow freshman Vanessa Zamarripa took fourth in the all-around and third on vault.
This weekend, UCLA will compete against an Arizona team that is also leaning on a horde of young, new faces. The Wildcats introduced a large group of freshmen in their own season opener versus Minnesota with five gymnasts making their collegiate debuts.
UCLA has an edge over Arizona, holding a 53-10 regular-season record against them. The Bruins won the last two dual meets, including last season’s 196.575-196.050 narrow win in Tucson, Ariz..
The meet is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.
