Gymnastics triumphs over Cal with all-round strong performances
Sophomore Katelyn Ohashi recorded the first perfect 10 of her career on the balance beam Sunday, helping UCLA gymnastics score a 49.55 on the event. The Bruins defeated the Cal Bears 197.525-196.8. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Winston Bribach
March 6, 2017 5:05 p.m.
For UCLA gymnastics, the day seemed destined to be defined by one word – almost.
The first victim was freshman Kyla Ross, who showed once more why she is currently ranked No. 1 in Regional Qualifying Score for the uneven bars. After a clean routine, where she appeared to hit all of her handstands, she stuck the dismount.
[Related: Kyla Ross brings gold medal talent to UCLA gymnastics]
The judges, however, awarded her 9.975, almost a 10.
Immediately following Ross in the rotation, redshirt senior Peng-Peng Lee hopped onto the apparatus and zipped through her livewire act. She, too, stuck the landing.
And like Ross, Lee received a 10 from one judge and a 9.95 from the other, leaving her with the Bruins’ second almost-10.
Lee went through the same ordeal on the balance beam and came out with another 9.975. Again, she almost scored a 10.
No. 4 UCLA (7-2, 5-1 Pac-12) looked like it was going to go through its meet against No. 19 California (6-3, 3-3), which ended in a 197.525-196.8 win for the Bruins, without a perfect score.
Then, sophomore Katelyn Ohashi stepped onto the balance beam, the Bruins’ next-to-last rotation.
In the past few meets, she had been flirting with perfection, grabbing scores of around 9.95 on the beam.
This time, however, she would not be denied. Both judges held up 10s.
“This is my first 10 ever, besides one I probably got in elite scoring when I was horrible,” Ohashi said. “It was pretty exciting. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get it or not when I landed. When everyone started screaming, I was like, ‘No way!’ I wanted to cry but I wasn’t in a crying mood.”
Coach Valorie Kondos Field, who allows her athletes to include difficult and risky elements that do not raise the starting value in their routines, saw another reason to be happy.
“It’s really nice to see athletes who push the envelope and try really hard skills be rewarded for it,” Kondos Field said. “You just hope that every once in a while it’s all going to click and they’ll get rewarded for it, so that was the best part. Ohashi is literally one of the best beam workers in the world, and she has been since she was 12. For her to be rewarded in that event is very appropriate.”
[Related: UCLA gymnastics posts second-highest season score in victory over Arizona]
While Ohashi’s perfect score claimed center stage as the meet’s big moment, the Bruins also had smaller victories.
Junior Sonya Meraz competed on floor exercise for the first time since she fell against Oregon State on Jan. 28 and hurt her ankle.
Freshman Gracie Kramer attempted her Yurchenko 1.5 on vault, which has a 10.0 start value. She nearly fell on her landing but managed to stay on her feet and the judges gave her a 9.65.
“Allowing Gracie Kramer to do the 10.0 start value vault was big,” Kondos Field said. “Even though she didn’t score well, it was important for her to do it.”
All in all, the team appears to be in a good place according to Lee.
“Everyone’s dialing in and everyone’s getting very confident in their routines and everyone’s confident in each other that they’re going to (get the job done),” Lee said.
