February 8, 1999

THIS WEEK - The 10th-ranked UCLA women's gymnastics team (7-3) will face ninth- ranked Arizona State (3-1) at ASU's Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 pm Mountain time.

PAC-10's ELITE FACE OFF - UCLA and Arizona State represent the best in the Pac-10 on the national scene. Both teams were the Pac-10's sole representatives at the NCAA Super Six Team Finals the past two years. In 1997, UCLA won the championship by edging out Arizona State by three-tenths of a point. Last season, UCLA placed fifth and ASU sixth.

THE SERIES - UCLA leads the series vs. Arizona State 25-20. The two teams met three times last season, with UCLA coming out ahead at the NCAA Championships and at a quadrangular meet in January (193.15-191.175). The Sun Devils placed third at the Pac-10 Championships, ahead of the Bruins' fourth-place showing.

A LOOK AT ASU - Like many other Pac-10 schools, Arizona State has been riddled with injuries. The Sun Devils are missing All-Americans Amy Shelton and Lisa Vincijanovic but have been bolstered by the all-around emergence of Elizabeth Reid, who did not vault prior to this year. The 1997 NCAA beam champion has averaged 9.717 on vault. Also impressive has been All-American Elizabeth McNabb, who averages 9.9 on floor and was the top-ranked gymnast on that event last week.

LAST WEEK - UCLA upset fifth-ranked Penn State, but the Bruins' score of 193.9 wasn't quite enough to overtake host Stanford's 194.05. The Bruins, however, had impressive individual showings. Senior All-American Kiralee Hayashi won the all- around and floor exercise with season-bests of 39.15 and 9.9, respectively. Heidi Moneymaker won the vault for the second straight meet with a season-best 9.875, and Lena Degteva won the beam with a season-best 9.875.

MONEYMAKER EARNS HER PAY - Junior All-American Heidi Moneymaker (Santa Rosa, CA) showed her worth with her team-best 10th individual title of the season. Moneymaker's 9.875 on vault gave her a third-straight vault title. She has scored season-highs on vault in those three meets and is now averaging 9.808 for the season. On floor, Moneymaker has been equally impressive, placing in the Top 3 in her last three meets. At Stanford, she tied for third with a 9.8.

HAYASHI GIVES BEST PERFORMANCE OF 1999 - Just one week after illness kept her from finishing the competition at a home meet Jan. 31, senior Kiralee Hayashi (Kailua, HI) rebounded with a season-best 39.15 to win the all-around at Stanford. Hayashi also won the floor for the second time this year with a season-high 9.9, tied for second on bars with a career-high tying 9.9 and tied for third on vault with a 9.75. The five-time All-American is averaging a team- best 9.838 on floor and 38.933 in the all-around.

PORTOCARRERO IS BAR NONE - Senior Luisa Portocarrero (Guatemala City, Guatemala) is known for her prowess on the beam, an event on which she earned All-American status in 1996. However, the 1992 Olympian has been performing like an All- American on another event - uneven bars. At Stanford last week, Portocarrero scored season-bests of 9.85 on bars and 9.825 on beam. She has four Top 5 placings on both events this year. Prior to this season, she had only competed on bars a total of seven times for the Bruins.

UCLA IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS - In last week's national rankings (Feb. 2, by season average), UCLA ranked 10th for team average (193.02), ninth on vault (48.52), ninth on bars (48.39), 15th on beam (47.98) and 25th on floor (48.13). Individually, Kiralee Hayashi is the Bruins' top all-arounder at 14th (38.825). She also ranks 21st on floor (9.817). Heidi Moneymaker is 16th in the all-around (38.806). Injured sophomore Mohini Bhardwaj, who is out until later this month with torn ligaments in her elbow, nonetheless ranks second on vault with a 9.9 average. Heidi Moneymaker ranks 19th (9.795). New rankings will be available Wednesday, Feb. 10. Hayashi is expected to move up in the all-around and floor, as is Moneymaker on vault.

BRUINS SIGN GREATEST RECRUITING CLASS IN HISTORY - UCLA has signed what is considered to be the greatest recruiting class in the history of the sport. Four current or past national champions highlight head coach Valorie Kondos' recruiting class of 1999-2000.

Signing with UCLA in November were current U.S. national all-around champion Kristen Maloney (Allentown, PA/Parkettes); 1997 Canadian national all-around champion Sarah Deegan (Oshawa, Ontario/Gemini Gymnastics); 1995 USA balance beam national champion Doni Thompson (Olympia, WA/Black Hills Gymnastics); and 1998 Level 10 national all-around, vault and bars champion Onnie Willis (Tacoma, WA/ Puget Sound Gymnastics).

Maloney will defer college until after the 2000 Olympics, as will another Bruin signee, Alyssa Beckerman (Middletown, NJ/Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy). Beckerman placed eighth in the all-around and beam, second on bars and seventh on floor at the 1998 USA National Championships.

Also signing with UCLA are three top Level 10 competitors, Malia Jones (Sparks, NV/Flips Gymnastics); Kristin Parker (Hanford, CA/Central California Gymnastics Institute); and Carly Raab (Seattle, WA/Cascade Elite Gymnastics).

Said Kondos, "I am so excited about this year's recruiting class. This is the greatest collection of student-athletes gymnastics has ever seen."

BRUINS ON TV - Fox Sports West2 has added the February 20 UCLA Invitational to its lineup. The meet will be aired delayed on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 6:00 pm. UCLA will face Arizona, Cal State Fullerton and 1998 NCAA Championships runner-up Florida.

SILVER ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED - The UCLA Athletic Department will celebrate the Silver Anniversary of UCLA Women's Intercollegiate Athletics on May 1, 1999. "A Celebration of Champions" dinner will honor the accomplishments of the UCLA Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Program and its athletes over the past 25 years.