Feb. 9, 1998
THIS WEEK - Defending NCAA Champions UCLA (7-1) will travel to the Bay Area to face Pac-10 opponent California (5-6) Friday, Feb. 13. The meet will take place at Cal's Recreational Sports Facility at 7:30 pm.
THE SERIES WITH CAL - UCLA has beaten Cal 28 of 29 times in regular season competition. Cal's only win in the series came in March of 1985. Last year, the Bruins defeated the Golden Bears at the UCLA Invitational 195.15-190.8 and at the Pac-10 Championships, which the Bruins won.
A LOOK AT CAL - The Golden Bears are ranked sixth in the West region, with a season-high score of 190.125, set last week at Arizona. Cal, which is coached by former Bruin stand-out Trina Tinti in her first season, boasts one of the top bars workers in the nation in freshman Helene Kenny, who averages a 9.837 to rank eighth with UCLA's Stella Umeh. In a quadrangular meet last weekend, she tied for first with a 9.85.
BRUINS SET INVITATIONAL TEAM RECORD - UCLA came up with its best team performance of the season, winning the UCLA Invitational last Saturday with a meet record 195.4 points. The Bruins hit a school record 49.525 on the floor exercise to overtake Stanford in the final rotation. The Cardinal finished second with 194.3 points, followed by Michigan (192.6) and Cornell (178.125).
UCLA FLOOR WORKERS PUT ON RECORD-SETTING SHOW - Down by a mere .05 heading into the last rotation, UCLA's floor exercise performers gave the performances of their lives. All five scoring competitors hit career highs - Andrea Fong with a 9.8 to lead off the rotation; Heidi Moneymaker, Lena Degteva and Kiralee Hayashi with 9.925s; and Stella Umeh with a Pauley Pavilion and UCLA Invitational record of 9.95 to place first - for a school record total of 49.525, the second-highest mark in the country this year. The mark bested the previous school record of 49.425, set at the 1995 NCAA Championships.
BRUINS SWEEP ALL-AROUND - It was a 1-2-3 sweep for the Bruins in the all-around at the Invitational, with Stella Umeh placing first with a season-high 39.4. Just behind Umeh was Heidi Moneymaker with a career-high 39.375, followed by Kiralee Hayashi with a 38.9. Lena Degteva placed sixth with a season-high 38.6.
INJURY REPORT - Although the Bruins get back Susie Erickson, now recovered from a broken foot, they lose Luisa Portocarerro and Mohini Bhardwaj due to injuries. Portocarrero broke her foot at the UCLA Invitational while competing on vault for the first time in her collegiate career and will be out 4-6 weeks. Bhardwaj suffered an ankle injury last Thursday in practice when she landed short on a full-in. The freshman standout is due back next week.