No. 5 gymnastics to take on reigning NCAA champions No. 3 Florida
Senior Danusia Francis posted a 9.950 on the balance beam against then-No. 3 Alabama, which contributed to the teams overall score of 196.550. (Angie Wang/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By TuAnh Dam
Jan. 15, 2016 1:13 a.m.
One Southeastern Conference heavyweight down, one more to go.
After upsetting then-No. 3 Alabama Sunday afternoon in Pauley Pavilion, UCLA gymnastics began preparing to face an even deeper and more heralded program.
On Friday afternoon, the No. 5 Bruins take on the No. 3 Florida Gators, who have claimed the past three NCAA titles, in their first road meet of the season.
The two programs have combined for nine national titles, including four of the last six. With both lineups featuring All-Americans and difficult routines loaded with tricks, the Bruin gymnasts stressed attention to detail as the difference between a good score and a great one.
“Our routines can always get better,” said junior Hallie Mossett. “We work on the little things – pointing toes, landings, keeping bodies tight – because it counts when we could win or lose a meet by a quarter of a tenth.”
Although UCLA holds the overall head-to-head lead 7-2, Florida snatched the two teams’ last meeting – a 2014 win on the Bruins’ home floor by .025 – and won the first of their three consecutive national titles back in 2013.
A new Gator head coach and an experienced squad led by senior Bridget Sloan, an Olympic silver medalist and 21-time All-American, will aim for similar performances in the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida, where UCLA captured its last championship in 2010.
Redshirt junior Christine Peng-Peng Lee – who leads the country on beam after scoring a near-perfect 9.95 with a hands free, “bluetooth” routine against the Crimson Tide – is still regaining her form and timing, and will be unable to compete on bars and floor after a thumb surgery eight weeks ago.
Although slated for a mid-February return to those events, the veteran leader instead focused on the present and keeping her team members in their “Bruin Bubble.”
“As a team we’re still learning to peak at the right time,” Lee said. “But from meet to meet we want to make sure the energy is there, our heart and oneness are there, and the freshmen definitely add to the team with their energy.”
Coach Valorie Kondos Field also noted a change in freshmen Madison Preston and Katelyn Ohashi after their first home meet.
Something clicked and the rookies understood what it took to get the extra tenth of a point.
“They were great on Sunday, but now we see a turnaround,” Kondos Field said. “They get it now, they’re dialed in and working with vengeance, working on form, tumbling to clean up their routines.”
Ohashi, the only UCLA gymnast to compete in all events, scored a 38.625 in the all-around in her collegiate debut.
Preston hit a 9.775 on vault as the anchor for the Bruins, and Kondos Field hopes to see improvement from the Level 10 vault champion on floor and beam as the season progresses, adding more depth as UCLA begins its conference schedule.
As it approaches conference play Saturday, January 23 in Tucson against the Arizona Wildcats, the Bruin coaching staff continues to emphasize practice quality rather than quantity to protect the gymnasts as the season wears on.
With three more national championship teams – Utah, Oklahoma and Georgia – still left on the schedule, UCLA looks to peak and have a full strength lineup as it approaches the toughest stretch of its season.
