Gymnasts’ season comes to an end
By Misael Peraza
April 20, 2009 12:05 a.m.
Saturday was a night of the elite competing head to head.
After being knocked out of the team championships by Utah in a tiebreaker for third place of their preliminary group, the UCLA women’s gymnastics team closed its 2009 season by sending three of its gymnasts into Saturday’s NCAA Individual Finals in Lincoln, Neb.
Freshman Vanessa Zamarripa took eighth on vault, sixth in the floor exercise and 11th on the balance beam. Senior Ariana Berlin performed for the final time as a Bruin on the uneven bars, where she secured fifth place.
But one of the most exhilarating moments for UCLA in the championships came when sophomore Brittani McCullough performed her floor routine. Coach Valorie Kondos Field said that the eighth-place performance put everyone in the arena on its feet.
“The entire crowd got into her floor routine,” Kondos Field said. “That hasn’t happened since a performance by Kate Richardson in 2006. I haven’t seen another athlete perform a floor routine and have every single person from every single team cheer like that. They were all clapping for Brittani McCullough.”
“I was very excited,” McCullough said. “It was crazy and I felt the crowd and the energy. Even if it was in the individuals, I still felt the team’s energy.”
While looking back at her collegiate career in gymnastics, McCullough was happy that this year she was able to compete in every gymnastics meet this season.
After numerous injuries during her freshman and sophomore years, she underwent several surgeries that kept her from performing.
“It was a lot of fun, and I felt so blessed to make it through an entire season finally,” McCullough said.
Competing in the individuals was a completely different experience for three Bruins who were used to competing as part of a team. All of them said they would have been happier if their teammates had joined them in the event. They also felt a lot of pressure from the individuals, as they were competing against the top gymnasts from 12 schools.
“It was weird to compete for myself, but I had a lot of fun,” Berlin said. “I was pretty nervous coming into this because I knew I was competing against girls that went to the Olympics. It all came down to how you competed that night. Every detail counts and anything is game.”
“It’s fun to see how they’re going to do in the individual when they’re out by themselves,” Kondos Field said. “It was the elite out there competing, and they did great.”
Upon reflection, Kondos Field said she was fairly happy with her squad’s 2009 season. She said she was pleased that her young team made it as far as it did in NCAAs, and she said she believes next year will be even better.
“It was a very good year and the future looks bright,” Kondos Field said. “We wish we could have competed last night in the Super Six, but the team really did a great job.”
GEORGIA TAKES THE TITLE: The Georgia Gym Dogs were crowned the 2009 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Champions on Friday for the fifth consecutive year and the 10th time in school history.
Their score of 197.825 was enough to edge out Alabama and Utah, who came in second and third place, respectively.
The win also perfected the send-off for Gym Dogs coach Suzanne Yoculan, who will now enter retirement.
