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Women's gymnastics takes on NCAA runner-up.
Jan. 12, 1998
THIS WEEK - Pre-season No. 1 and defending NCAA Champions UCLA will hold its first home meet of 1998 Sunday, January 18 at the John Wooden Center. The Bruins will compete against 1997 NCAA runner-up Arizona State, as well as UC Santa Barbara and Denver. The meet will begin at 2 pm. Tickets are available at the door or by calling the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310/UCLA-WIN.
TOP TWO TEAMS FROM 1997 NCAAs BATTLE - A rematch between the top two teams from last year will ensue when pre-season No. 3 Arizona State comes to town to face the defending champion Bruins. The Sun Devils finished just three-tenths of a point behind first-place UCLA at the 1997 NCAA Championships and appear to be just as strong, if not stronger, than they were a year ago. Head coach John Spini returns four All-Americans from last year, including the NCAA balance beam co-champion Elizabeth Reid. The Bruins also return four All-Americans, including 1995 NCAA floor exercise champion Stella Umeh.
FORMER BRUIN GYMNAST RETURNS TO UCLA AS UCSB HEAD COACH - UCLA uneven bars record-holder Megan Fenton returns to Westwood as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara. Fenton is in her first year at the helm of the Gaucho program. She replaced current Bruin assistant coach Randy Lane, who served as head coach from 1995-97. Fenton holds the UCLA school record on the uneven bars with her perfect 10.0 at the 1993 Pac-10 Championships.
A LOOK AT THE BRUINS - Defending NCAA champion UCLA enters the season ranked No. 1 in the pre-season coaches' poll. Although they lost their season opener to Georgia, the Bruins scored their highest ever season-opening total (194.025). Two Bruins scored a 39.0 or above in the all-around - Kiralee Hayashi (39.075) and Stella Umeh (39.0) - while Heidi Moneymaker scored a career-high 9.925 on floor and a 9.9 on bars. Umeh scored a career-high 9.875 on a vault worth a 9.9. The Bruins featured five all-arounders against Georgia - Hayashi, Umeh, Moneymaker, freshman Mohini Bhardwaj and sophomore Lena Degteva.
A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE - Pre-season No. 3 Arizona State returns four All- Americans from last year's runner-up team - Elizabeth Reid, Carie Courtney, Meagan Wright and Lisa Vincijanovic. Reid last year became ASU's first individual national champion when she won a share of the balance beam title. Reid also placed second at NCAAs on bars and floor. She did not compete on vault last year but is expected to compete on that event this year thanks to the newly-allowed Yurchenko (round-off entry) vault. ASU's other three All-Americans each scored a perfect 10.0s last season - Courtney on vault, Wright on floor and Vincijanovic on beam. Arizona State placed first at the Maui Invitational last week with a score of 191.0. Vincijanovic placed first on floor (tied with Reid) and beam.
LAST MEETING - Arizona State defeated UCLA last January at Tempe, 195.1-194.45. The meet was a difficult one for the Bruins, with Stella Umeh out of the line-up due to injury and head coach Valorie Kondos not with the team due to illness. The Bruins were also plagued by discrepancies in start values on floor. UCLA redeemed itself at the NCAA Championships in April, oustcoring the Sun Devils to take the team title. The Bruins lead the overall series with the Sun Devils 24- 19.
A LOOK AT UC SANTA BARBARA - The Gauchos are coached by first-year head coach Megan Fenton, a former UCLA gymnast. UCSB placed fourth and scored a school record 191.025 a year ago at the Big West Conference Championships. Junior Alison Giorgetti returns in 1998 after earning USA Gymnastics All-American honors in 1997. Giorgetti placed sixth in the all-around, second on beam and third on floor at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships.
LAST MEETING - The Bruins and Gauchos last faced a year ago at the UCLA Invitational, with UCLA scoring 195.15 to UC Santa Barbara's 186.725. The Gauchos have never beaten the Bruins, falling in 17 previous meetings.
A LOOK AT DENVER - The Pioneers are coached by Dan Garcia in his 18th year and have lost just one letterwinner from last year's squad with 12 returning. Denver advanced to the Midwest Regionals in 1997.
LAST MEETING - The Bruins and Pioneers last faced a year ago at the Shanico Inn- vitational in Corvallis, OR, with UCLA oustcoring Denver 196.5-191.25. UCLA is unbeaten in four meetings with Denver.
CROOKED BEAM DOES IN BRUINS AT GEORGIA - In a battle between pre-season No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Georgia last Friday, the winner turned out to be the balance beam, on which both teams were victim to four falls apiece. UCLA, which led by over a point heading into the final rotation on beam, had to count a score of 8.65 when four Bruins fell off what both teams acknowledged to be a crooked beam. Georgia had counted three falls in their prior rotation but regained the lead and the victory in the end, 195.675-194.025 in front of a sell-out crowd of 9.951. Georgia's Karin Lichey won the all-around with a total of 39.325 that included three scores of 9.975. Bruin junior Kiralee Hayashi placed second with a 39.075, while senior Stella Umeh was third with a 39.0 despite a fall on beam.
BRUINS SCORE SEASON-OPENING BEST - Despite the problems on the balance beam, UCLA set a school record for the highest score in a season-opening meet with its score of 194.025. Never before had a Bruin team scored higher than 191.5 to open the season, which they did a year ago.
ATHLETE UPDATES
STELLA UMEH - Seven-time All-American and 1992 Olympian Stella Umeh has established herself as one of the most successful gymnasts in UCLA history. As a freshman in 1995, she won the NCAA floor exercise championship and earned four All-American honors. She also completed a near sweep of the 1995 Pac-10 titles, winning on bars, beam, floor and the all-around. In 1997, she battled various injuries throughout the year but came up with a stellar performance (two 9.925s and one 9.9) at the NCAA Super Six to help the Bruins win their first-ever NCAA Championship. Umeh is one of three co-captains this year. Against Georgia last week, she scored a career-high 9.875 on a vault worth a 9.9. In addition, she scored a 9.925 on floor and a 9.85 on bars. She placed third in the all-around with a 39.0 despite a fall on beam. 1998 Highs: V-9.875, UB-9.85, BB-9.35, FX- 9.925, AA-39.0
KIRALEE HAYASHI - Junior team co-captain Kiralee Hayashi has steadily improved each year to become one of UCLA's most valuable all-arounders. Hayashi earned second-team All-American honors for the first time in her career last year and also earned 1997 All-Pac-10 honors in the all-around. The Kailua, Hawaii native competed in an international meet in Taiwan in December and advanced to the event finals on bars, placing sixth. Last week at Georgia, she was the Bruins' highest finisher in the all-around, scoring a 39.075 to place second. 1998 Highs: V-9.75, UB-9.85, BB-9.725, FX-9.75, AA-39.075
HEIDI MONEYMAKER - Due to injuries a year ago, sophomore team co-captain Heidi Moneymaker was unable to fully showcase her talents. When she has competed, however, she has been spectacular, winning the bars title at Regionals last year with a 9.95, scoring a 39.2 in just her second all-around performance and averaging a 9.875 on vault. Her 9.925 on bars clinched the NCAA Championship for the Bruins a year ago. In Taiwan last month, Moneymaker advanced to the event final on vault, where she placed fifth. Against Georgia last week, she tied for third on floor with a career-high 9.925 and on bars with a 9.9. 1998 Highs: V- 9.775, UB-9.9, BB-9.35, FX-9.925, AA-38.95
LENA DEGTEVA - Two-time Canadian national champion Lena Degteva had an outstanding freshman season, earning first-team All-American honors on vault and second-team All-American acclaim in the all-around. Degteva also claimed the balance beam championship at Regionals and scored a career-high of 39.4 in the all-around. 1998 Highs: V-9.625, UB-9.775, BB-8.225, FX-9.8, AA-37.425
LUISA PORTOCARRERO - 1992 Olympian and two-time World Championships competitor Luisa Portocarrero is one of four returning All-Americans for UCLA. The junior from Guatemala City, Guatemala earned first-team All-American honors on beam in 1996. Portocarrero has two moves named after her in the international code of points - the Portocarrero on beam and on bars. She was one of only four gymnasts on either team to stay on the beam at Georgia last week. 1998 Highs: BB-9.675 MOHINI BHARDWAJ - Freshman Mohini Bhardwaj had a extremely successful summer of 1997, placing third at the U.S. Championships and taking fifth place on vault at the World Championships. Her finish on vault was the highest placing by an American gymnast that year. The Cincinnati, Ohio native won the all-around and vault crowns at the 1996 Pacific Alliance Championships and placed 10th at the 1996 Olympic Trials. In her collegiate debut at Georgia Friday, she scored a pair of 9.875s on bars and floor. 1998 Highs: V-9.725, UB-9.875, BB-8.65, FX- 9.875, AA-38.125
ANDREA FONG - Senior Andrea Fong competed on both vault and floor exercise at Georgia last week, scoring a 9.475 on vault and 9.65 on floor. It was Fong's first floor performance since the 1995 NCAA Championships. 1998 Highs: V-9.475, FX-9.65
LISA HILEY - Junior Lisa Hiley, in just her fifth year of competitive gymnastics, has become a force on bars for the Bruins. She holds a career high 9.875 on this event and scored a 9.6 to lead off the Bruins at Georgia Friday. 1998 Highs: UB-9.6
HEAD COACH VALORIE KONDOS - Now in her eighth year as head coach, Valorie Kondos has solidified UCLA Gymnastics as one of the top collegiate programs. In the process, Kondos has established herself as one of the top gymnastics coaches in the nation, earning National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC) Coach of the Year honors in 1997 and 1996. Under her guidance, the 1997 Bruins won the first ever NCAA title in UCLA Gymnastics history. In her 15 years of coaching (eight as an assistant coach), she has guided 24 athletes to 74 All- American honors.
UCLA TO HOST 1998 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS - UCLA will get a chance to defend its 1997 NCAA title when it hosts the 1998 NCAA Championships April 16-18 in Pauley Pavilion. All-session tickets are priced from $14-$30. Single-session tickets range in price from $6-10. Tickets are available now at UCLA's Central Ticket Office by calling 310/UCLA-WIN.
UCLA TO HOST 1998 PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS - UCLA will also get a chance to defend its 1997 Pac-10 title when it hosts the 1998 Pac-10 Championships Sat., Mar. 21 at 6 pm in Pauley Pavilion.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE - UCLA Gymnastics season tickets are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office for $50 (reserved) and $30 (general admission). Included in the season tickets is an all-session ticket to the NCAA Championships.
UCLA VOTED PRE-SEASON NO. 1 - For the second consecutive season, UCLA was voted pre-season No. 1 vote in a vote by coaches. The Bruins received 11 of the 23 first-place votes. Georgia was No. 2, followed by last year's NCAA runner-up Arizona State. UCLA will face eight of the Top 15 teams this season, including No. 3 Arizona State in the Bruins' home season opener Jan. 18. Also on UCLA's schedule is No. 4 Michigan and No. 11 Stanford at the UCLA Invitational Feb. 7.
1998 Women's Pre-Season Coaches Poll
Rank Team Pts 1st Place Votes 1 UCLA 444 11 2 Georgia 422 5 3 Arizona State 375 3 4 Michigan 372 2 5 Utah 365 1 6 Alabama 335 7 Nebraska 305 8 Florida 276 1 9 Washington 258 10 Louisiana St 233 11 Stanford 180 12 Arizona 168 13 Minnesota 162 14 Oregon State 156 15 Penn State 129
UCLA ON THE WEB - Updated information on the UCLA gymnastics team and all of UCLA's athletic teams can be found on the World Wide Web at www.uclabruins.com