University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
1997 UCLA Gymnastics Season in Review
June 21, 1999 | Gymnastics
Expectations for the 1997 UCLA Bruins were at an all-time high after the 1996 team placed second at the NCAA Championships. Those expectations were further increased by UCLA's first-ever pre-season No. 1 ranking. But the Bruins, under 1996 National Coach of the Year Valorie Kondos, never let the pressure get to them. UCLAs calm confidence held through the entire season.
And what a season it was. Numerous records were broken by the team and by individuals. The first of those records was set at UCLAs opening meet at Cal State Fullerton. Determined not to repeat last year's stunning upset by the Titans, UCLA came away with a 191.5-189.175 victory and scored its highest season-opening team total ever. Freshman Lena Degteva won the all-around with a 38.5, and senior Leah Homma won all three events in which she entered.
The focus of that opening week, however, was definitely on three-time NCAA Champion Georgia, which the Bruins would meet just two days after facing Fullerton. The Bruins pulled out all the stops in facing the Gym Dogs, scoring a 195.625, then the Bruins' fifth-highest score of all time. Georgia was even more impressive, however, winning the dual meet with a 196.95. For UCLA, Stella Umeh placed second in the all-around (39.05) and won the floor title with a Pauley Pavilion record-tying 9.95. That meet was costly for Umeh, however, when she injured her back on a vault in warm-ups. She finished the competition but was unable to compete after that for a full month.
The following week, UCLA traveled to Stanford to face the highly-regarded Cardinal. Paced by excellent performances from Kiralee Hayashi and Leah Homma, the Bruins won the meet handily, 195.625-193.225. Hayashi won the floor with a career-high 9.925 and placed second in the all-around with a 39.375, just ahead of Homma, who scored a 39.2.
The next week proved to be difficult for the Bruins at Arizona State. Not only was Umeh out of the competition with her back injury, but head coach Valorie Kondos did not travel with the team due to an illness. After breaking 49 on both vault and bars, the Bruins were plagued by discrepancies in start values on floor and scored just a 47.525 with just one fall. UCLA lost that meet 195.1-194.45.
The Bruins quickly turned it around at their annual UCLA Invitational, winning the team title for the sixth consecutive year with a meet record 195.15. LSU placed a distant second with 192.725. Leah Homma won the all-around, tying her meet record with a 39.45. Homma also won the bars and beam, while Amy Smith won the vault and floor titles.
Just as in the previous year, the win at the UCLA Invitational started the Bruins on a lengthy winning streak. After coming from behind in the last rotation to beat BYU 194.125-193.7, the Bruins had the best regular season meet of their season at the Magical Classic. UCLA scored its second-highest team score ever with a 196.925 to take first place. The night was truly magical for the Bruins and especially for senior Leah Homma, who scored her first-ever perfect 10.0 on vault. Homma became the fifth Bruin to ever score a perfect 10 and the third to do so on vault. Her 10 led the Bruins to a season-high vault score of 49.4 (third-highest in school history). Homma placed first on all three events in which she competed, scoring a pair of 9.95s on bars and beam. Fellow Canadian Lena Degteva also had a career meet, scoring career-highs in the all-around (39.4), vault (9.8), bars (9.925) and floor (9.9).
Next up for UCLA was the Bruin Classic, which the Bruins won over Pac-10 rival Washington, Boise State and Cal State Fullerton. Stella Umeh made her return to all-around competition, placing fifth with a 38.825 and earning runner-up honors on floor with a 9.8. Leah Homma won the bars with a 9.925, and Luisa Portocarrero won the beam with a 9.9.
The Shanico Inn-vite was another record-breaker, as the Bruins broke the school bars record with a 49.475. Career-highs from Lisa Hiley (9.875 in the leadoff position) and Deborah Mink (9.925), as well as a 9.95 from Leah Homma, helped the Bruins achieve the record. Umeh won the all-around with a 39.325, followed by Kiralee Hayashi (39.3). The Bruins won the meet with a score of 196.5.
Leah Homma dominated the Pac-10 Championships, setting meet records with wins in the all-around (39.725) and on bars with her second career 10.0. Homma led the Bruins to their seventh Pac-10 crown in 11 years with a team total of 196.55. The senior from Toronto, Ontario was also named the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year for the second time in her career. Amy Smith won a share of the floor title as well.
Strong performances on vault (49.275), bars (49.35) and beam (49.475) helped propel the Bruins to their fifth consecutive West Regional title. The Bruins, which scored a meet-record 196.3, showed their depth in talent, as three different gymnasts won individual titles Amy Smith (vault), Heidi Moneymaker (bars) and Lena Degteva (beam) with 9.95s.
UCLA entered the championships in Gainesville, Florida as the No. 2 seed after its performance at Regionals. Michigan earned the No. 1 seed, and the favorite, Georgia, faltered on beam at Regionals and received the No. 6 seed. Despite their mishaps, however, the Gym Dogs were still highly regarded as the favorite after accumulating two scores over 198 during the season.
The Bruins faced a tough field in Day One of the championships. With only three spots from each of the two sessions available in the Super Six team finals, UCLA had a tough challenge ahead. The Bruins opponents in the preliminaries were three-time NCAA Champions Georgia, nine-time NCAA Champions Utah, as well as LSU, Nebraska and Penn State.
Right from the get-go it was apparent the Bruins were going to have a strong day. On their first event of the competition, the Bruins' first vaulter, Lena Degteva, scored a career-high 9.9 on a vault she had only performed one other time in competition. The Bruin scores remained high, with a 9.8 from Leah Homma, 9.825 from Deborah Mink, 9.85 from Heidi Moneymaker and 9.9 from Amy Smith for a team total of 49.275.
Bars were equally solid, with an identical team total of 49.275, and the Bruins totaled 48.925 on beam. UCLA ended on floor exercise and turned in one strong routine after the other. Mink started the rotation with a 9.7, followed by Degteva and Hayashi with 9.775s, Homma with a 9.825 and Smith with a 9.875. The Bruins finished second in the prelims to qualify for the team final, where they would begin the meet on a bye before beam.
Before UCLA even took to the beam for its first rotation of competition in the team final, the door had opened. As the Bruins were taking a first rotation bye, Georgia was stumbling on the beam. The Gym Dogs had a disastrous rotation, having to count two falls. Those falls, in effect, took Georgia out of the running. The pressure then shifted to the Bruins, as they would have to follow Georgia on the dreaded beam.
But the Bruins were undaunted by the pressure. Once again, UCLA's first competitor, Susie Erickson, came up to hit a career-best routine to start the ball rolling with a 9.85. Hayashi followed with a 9.8. A fall in the third position put a scare into the Bruins, but they rallied to hit their routines - Homma for a 9.8, Luisa Portocarrero for a 9.825 and Umeh with a spectacular 9.925 - and took themselves safely past the most nerve-racking event in the competition with a score of 49.2.
UCLA moved to the floor exercise and proceeded to have one of its best floor sets of the season. Each gymnast's score built up throughout the rotation. Mink started with a 9.675, followed by Degteva's 9.775, Hayashi's 9.8, Homma's 9.825 and Smith's 9.825. Head coach Valorie Kondos' decision to rest Umeh on floor in the preliminaries paid off when the junior had her chance to show why she won the NCAA floor exercise title in 1995. With a show-stopping routine that included a stunning double-layout, the only one performed on floor in the entire competition, Umeh wowed the crowd with a 9.9.
The Bruins entered vault in third place behind Michigan and Arizona State. Michigan's small bobbles began to add up, and the Wolverines could only total a 48.775 to raise their score to 147.625. ASU, in the meantime, finished up its competition on floor with a 49.15 to raise its final total to 196.6. UCLA improved its position with strong vaulting. Carmen Tausend led off the rotation with a career-high 9.85. Mink followed with a 9.85, Moneymaker landed a 9.825, and Degteva scored 9.875. Homma closed out the scoring with a 9.9 to move UCLA into a tie with Michigan going into the last rotation.
UCLA finished on bars, considered to be its best event during the season, while Michigan concluded on floor, the lowest-scoring event of the championships. In order to surpass ASU, both teams needed a 49.25. It was a score that was not insurmountable for the Bruins - they had scored a new school record 49.475 a month earlier in Corvallis. But in such a pressure-packed situation, anything was possible.
Anything, including a record-setting performance that entrenched UCLA in history as the first team outside of Georgia, Alabama and Utah to win the NCAA title. One Bruin gymnast after the other came up and performed routines that were more difficult and more flawless than the ones before. Mink started off with a 9.825, a score that was later dropped. Hayashi followed with a 9.85. Degteva nailed a 9.875. Umeh followed with a 9.925. Moneymaker needed just a 9.775 to clinch the championship for the Bruins and nailed a 9.925. Homma's 9.95 to close the competition punctuated the evening for the Bruins, which totaled a season-high 197.15, three-tenths better than Arizona State. Michigan could only muster a 48.875 on floor and finished in fourth place behind Georgia, which made an amazing rally to finish third.
While it was a complete team effort that brought UCLA its first-ever NCAA Gymnastics title, several Bruins stood out by earning All-American acclaim. Homma earned first-team honors on bars, beam and all-around, placing 13th, fifth and fourth, respectfully. She also earned second-team honors on floor to bring her career All-America total to a school-record eight. Smith earned first-team All-American honors on vault and floor. Degteva earned first-team honors on vault and second-team in the all-around. Umeh earned her third consecutive first-team honor on bars, and Hayashi became a first-time All-American with second-team honors on beam. In addition, Kondos earned her second consecutive National Coach of the Year honor.
