University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Gymnasts Win Pac-10 Title, Await Regional Seeding
June 21, 1999 | Gymnastics
March 25, 1999
Los Angeles, CA - UP NEXT - UCLA (20-5, ranked No. 12) has concluded its regular season and will await its regional placement. If UCLA can maintain its No. 12 ranking after this weekend, it will be paired with the No. 1 team (currently Georgia) and compete outside of Region 1. If it gets bumped out of the Top 12, UCLA will compete in Region 1 at Corvallis, OR with two Top 12 teams. Only the top two finishers from each regional will qualify for the NCAA Championships. Regionals take place Saturday, Apr. 10 at various sites.
BRUINS REGAIN PAC-10 TITLE - UCLA won its eighth Pac-10 title last weekend by scoring a school and Pac-10 Championship record 197.775. The Bruins utilized a school record 49.6 on floor to move ahead of Oregon State, which placed second with a school record 197.4. In all, 13 career-highs were set in this meet. Junior Heidi Moneymaker won the all-around (career-high 39.675) and tied for first on vault (9.925). Fellow junior Lena Degteva placed third in the all-around with a career-high 39.575. The Bruins now have a Pac-10 high 34 conference individual titles (including a record nine all-around champions), 11 more than Oregon State (23). Moneymaker's all-around win gave UCLA six all-around crowns in the last seven years.
HAYASHI NAMED PAC-10 GYMNAST OF THE YEAR - Senior co-captain and five-time All-American Kiralee Hayashi became UCLA's third consecutive and eighth overall Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year when she was given the honor after the Championships. Hayashi, who follows 1997 winner Leah Homma and 1998 winner Stella Umeh, sat out vault and bars at Pac-10s due to a fast heartbeat, but she returned to score career-highs on beam (9.9) and floor (9.95).
FORMER BRUIN NAMED PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR - Ten years after earning her second Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year honor, former Bruin Tanya (Service) Chaplin was voted the Pac-10 Coach of the Year.
HEIDI IS MONEY - For the seventh time in her last eight meets, Heidi Moneymaker placed first on vault, this time scoring a 9.925 at the Pac-10 meet. The junior All-American also scored career-highs of 9.925 on beam and floor Moneymaker now has 17 event titles to her credit this season.
MS. RELIABLE - Senior Susie Erickson (Pomona, CA) increased her "hit" streak on beam to 20 straight routines without a fall. At Pac-10s, Erickson, UCLA's leadoff performer, scored a 9.775 to help lead UCLA to its season-best team total of 49.425, the third-best beam score in school history. She also helped the Bruins on bars, scoring a career-high 9.9 to place fourth.
BHARDWAJ BACK ON THREE EVENTS - Sophomore standout Mohini Bhardwaj made her first appearance on vault since Jan. 10, scoring a 9.875 at the Pac-10s. She also recorded career-highs on beam (9.925) and floor (9.95). Bhardwaj, who was out for nearly two months with an elbow injury, hopes to return to the all-around by Regionals.
FRESHMEN COME UP BIG - Freshmen Lindsey Dong and Valerie Velasco scored career-highs on every event in which they competed at Pac-10s. Dong, the Bruins' leadoff performer on vault, started the Bruins out with a career-best 9.85. Velasco, a last-minute substitute for Kiralee Hayashi, scored a 9.75 and then had career-highs of 9.775 on bars and 9.85 on floor.
