UCLA gymnastics to face Cal State Fullerton and Utah State in tri-meet tonight

Just five days after posting its top home score in five years, the UCLA gymnastics team is heading to Cal State Fullerton for a tri-meet tonight.

The No. 3 Bruins (7-2) will face Cal State Fullerton (1-0) and Utah State (0-5) today at 7 p.m. in the Titan Gym.

And with a season-high score of 197.375 still fresh on their minds, the Bruins are looking to duplicate their performance in tonight’s meet with a new rotation on the balance beam.

Devastated by falls early in the beam rotation against Stanford on Feb. 14, the Bruins went on to step out four times on the floor exercise. Coach Valorie Kondos Field debuted a new order on the beam Sunday against Oregon State, putting her two top beam athletes at the top of the order.

With senior Anna Li and sophomore Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs leading the rotation, the Bruins started the beam strong and stayed composed through the floor exercise. Kondos Field is looking to continue using that rotation tonight.

In addition, UCLA sophomore Vanessa Zamarippa is coming off her second straight week of earning Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week honors after winning the all-around Sunday.

The Bruins are looking to increase their already high regional qualifying score of 196.365.

Cal State Fullerton has not competed enough to post a RQS, but is facing the Bruins for the second time this season after hosting an exhibition with UCLA on Dec. 13, 2009. The Titans’ only win of the season came at San Jose State, where they posted a 191.175. Utah State, No. 44 in the nation with a RQS of 190.165, is fresh off a tough, 4.6-point loss to BYU.

Compiled by Farzad Mashhood, Bruin Sports senior staff.

Compiled by Farzad Mashhood, Bruin Sports senior staff.