UCLA's senior gymnasts aim for a victory against No. 6 George, No. 23 Arizona in their final home meet

When Niki Tom hears cheers echoing around Pauley Pavilion Sunday as she strikes a pose on the blue spring floor, it will be a bittersweet reminder that the finish line is quickly approaching.
Along with four other graduating teammates, the senior gymnast will compete in the last regular home meet of her college career.

“The emotional factor will be pretty intense,” Tom said. “But it’s probably going to be really exciting for my parents. … I think that it is definitely more of an occasion for our families because they have been through everything with us.”

While emotions may be running high for the handful of seniors, the Bruins cannot afford to lose any concentration if they want to defeat No. 6 Georgia (7-4) and No. 23 Arizona (10-5).

With a total of 10 national championships, the Bulldogs have always held a dominant position in the world of collegiate women’s gymnastics. Until UCLA won last year, Georgia won the previous five national titles.

Having lost by 0.025 last year to the Bulldogs in Georgia, the Bruins are looking to widen the gap in their favor this time around.

“Anytime that our crowd hears Georgia is coming to town, it’s a big deal,” coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “They also know that Arizona is one of the top teams in the Pac-10 and usually peaks at the right time.”

With Georgia boasting a season-high score lower than UCLA’s best of 197.475, the Bruins have the technical ability to defeat their national rival.

What remains to be seen is whether the team can pull off 24 polished performances after Sunday’s uninspiring victory.

“We need to do the little things,” Kondos Field said. “We don’t need to make big fixes ““ just clean up our focus and get that mental tenacity going where they are not going to settle for anything less than a perfect score.”

For the Bruins to break the 197 mark, they must consistently score high across all four rotations. After a total of 48.850 on balance beam during its last meet, the team is determined to rebound from its disappointing performance.

Junior Tauny Frattone ended up with a subpar 9.650 on balance beam Sunday when she was forced to save herself from falling. Come this Sunday, Frattone knows that a wobbly beam routine will not be good enough if UCLA wants to keep pace with Georgia.

“Our confidence level definitely dipped this weekend, but if everyone goes out knowing they can hit their routines, it is going to help a lot,” she said. “All we need to do is go out there and do what we did two weeks ago.”

Injury Update

Sophomore Monique De La Torre, who injured her ankle last week performing a floor routine, will not compete Sunday. The results of her MRI and X-ray were both negative, but Kondos Field will leave De La Torre out of the lineup for cautionary reasons.