Postgame Quotes: UCLA 1, Maryland 4 (Los Angeles Regional Game Four)Postgame Quotes: UCLA 1, Maryland 4 (Los Angeles Regional Game Four)

Ask The Bruins - Anna Li, Brittani McCullough

Bruin Athletics

Ask the Bruins returns for a Q&A with senior Anna Li and redshirt junior Brittani McCullough. The Bruins will be competing in the NCAA Regional Championships in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Apr. 10.

Ask the Bruins returns for a Q&A with senior Anna Li and redshirt junior Brittani McCullough.

The Bruins will be competing in the NCAA Regional Championships in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, Apr. 10. The top two teams from the Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, held Apr. 22-24 in Florida.

Casey Moore (Roanoke, VA): What are some of your best experiences from UCLA? P.S. congrats on the season so far can't wait to watch what is in store for ya'll!
Anna Li: Thanks!! I'd have to say the best experience overall would be working with such amazing people everyday. Being able to train with girls who are so driven towards achieving the same goals and having coaches and trainers who are passionate about becoming better each day is something I've been blessed to be a part of.
Brittani McCullough: Some of my best experiences at UCLA have been travelling with the team and forming those bonds and friendships with my teammates that will last forever.
David (NYC): Brittani, will we see your Yurchenko 1.5 again this year? Anna, will we see you back in the floor lineup? To both of you and really to the whole team, this year has been fantastic to watch, thank you all for doing such great gymnastics and have fun at Regionals!
Brittani McCullough: I do hope to complete the Yurchenko 1.5 again this year. I love that vault!
Anna Li: I believe so! I was in the floor lineup at Pac 10s, but my ankle wasn't 100% ready to go and I wanted to be as healthy as possible for Regionals, which will be my last home meet in Pauley Pavilion.
Sophie (Bryn Mawr, PA): Brittani, I read that you wanted to become a nurse after your freshman year accident. Is that true and if so, can you describe what about that experience influenced your career decision?
Brittani McCullough: Yes, it is true that I wanted to become a nurse after my car accident my freshman year. While I was in the hospital, the nurse that took care of me did an excellent job. Also, at the time I was really trying to decide my career path. I talked to the nurse for awhile, and she explained in great detail to me what she does in her profession. She also explained to me that there are so many different fields of nursing to go into. After hearing this and seeing the nurse and patient interaction, I knew I wanted to be a nurse for sure.
Steve (HB, CA): Anna, How is the stunt woman, superhero career coming along? Do you plan to do stunt work after graduation, go to Cirque du Soliel or keep on doing gymnastics?
Anna Li: I would love to do stunt work and Cirque. I actually went on an audition for Cirque and got it but had to turn it down due to bad timing. I'll be here in LA for the summer to finish up school so I plan on doing some stunt work right after NCAAs.
Kirsten (Philadelphia, PA): Brittani, I know that your faith is very important to you. I read last year that part of your floor routine choreography comes from dances that you do at your church. Can you tell us what parts and how the dances are incorporated into the services or your faith?
Brittani McCullough: The part of my floor routine that comes from dances I have done at church is the part where I swing one of my arms back, then the other, and then both. I learned this as part of one of the dances that I did for an Easter service. The type of dancing is called praise dance.
Jessica (San Francisco, CA): Anna and Brittani, as Bruins you have opportunities to meet a lot of amazing people. Can you tell us about your coolest star-struck moment and also about someone you've met through UCLA who has had the most influence or inspired you the most?
Anna Li: Ooh star-struck moments...I'd have to say Adam Sandler. Our gym is inside the Wooden Center where Adam Sandler comes in and plays basketball for fun. It was my freshman year when I offered to babysit his daughter haha. We still see him occasionally come in to play ball. Someone I've met through UCLA who has had the most influence and inspired me the most would be the coaches and my teammates because they have always believed in me. Miss Val has really helped me understand how strong the power of the mind is and how life is a choice-and I'm enjoying every moment of it!
Brittani McCullough: The coolest star I have seen on campus was Will Smith. Recently, he and his family were being shown around campus, and one of my teammates and I saw him up at Kerckhoff Coffee House. As a gymnast, some of the people who have been inspirational to me are Onnie Willis and Kim Hamilton. Both of these women were very accomplished gymnasts, but more importantly continue to be very successful in life. I have had an opportunity to talk with them and receive great words of wisdom from them. Another person who has been very inspiring to me is Mrs. McAllister, the wife of our orthopedic team doctor. She has spoken to me a lot about nursing and has been very welcoming of me into her family and home.
Wendy (Hawaii): Anna, How many backhandspring layouts have you done on beam in a row now? Are you going to try to get a Guinness world record?
Anna Li: As of today (Friday), the number is 278 back handspring layouts in a row! I'm not sure how I would go about entering in the Guinness World Record, but that would be pretty neat!
Karen (Harrisburg, PA): Hi Ladies, What are your majors? What have been your favorite classes so far? And, does PJ know all of your floor routines? I saw him dancing on the sideline.
Brittani McCullough: My major is nursing, and my favorite classes so far have been the classes for my nursing major. My absolute favorite class so far has been Physical Assessment, where we learned how to do a physical exam on a patient.
Anna Li: I'm a history major. I think there should be an award for "Most Changed Major" because I'd definitely be a nominee for that! My favorite classes I've taken so far have been Social Welfare classes and World Arts and Culture classes. (And as for PJ, he likes to "Put the pizza in the oven" for the beginning of my floor routine - While Miss Val says "I'm giving everyone the book of my life!".... haha)
Finn (Philadelphia, PA): Anna, Can you tell us what was going through your mind during your 10 bar routine at PAC 10's? You have been sooo close (eh hem, perfect already if you ask me), so many times. What were you thinking?
Anna Li: Pac-10s has always been one of my favorite competitions. As for what was going through my mind during the bar routine, I was just going through my usual cues that I tell myself during my routine. However throughout the entire competition I was just living in the moment! The team was having so much fun out on the competition floor and during the byes in between events that getting a perfect 10 at my last Pac 10s at the very end was such an overall exciting moment!
Sara (Eugene, OR): Hello Superstars! I imagine that you both had your likes and dislikes about gymnastics growing up, can you tell us what they are now, as adult athletes? Favorite and least favorite things about competing as a gymnast? LIke do people say, aren't you too tall or too old to be a gymnast?
Brittani McCullough: Because gymnastics is such a high impact sport, one of the biggest challenges is that it can be very tough on the body, so you have to work through little injuries or sometimes even big ones. But injuries come with the territory of being a competitive gymnast. What I love most about gymnastics is the performing aspect. I love to perform and I love the feeling of being high in the air.
Anna Li: The dislikes: injuries!! Knowing that you're going to be sitting out due to an injury or having surgery isn't the most ecstatic moment. However, overcoming it is a great feeling of accomplishment. What I like about gymnastics - well I should say love - is the adrenaline at competitions and being able to perform in front of a crowd. All the hard work and training put into it ... I call it "showtime"!
Olivia (Vancouver, Canada): Hi There, I've read that you are in the nursing program, Brittani. Can you tell us what that entails and what kind of schedule you have? Do you have to do some kind of practicum and school at the same time and what is a typical day like for you? Thank you! You are all amazing!
Brittani McCullough: Being in the nursing program and a part of the gymnastics team definitely means that I must be good at managing my time. My schedule is very demanding. A week may go something like this:
Two days a week I do 12 hour shifts at a hospital as part of my clinical practicum.
Two other days during the week I am in the training room by 6:45 am and in the gym by 7:30 to train before I have class at either 9 or 10 until about 3. After class I sometimes have to return to the gym to finish up some conditioning.
The other day during the week I do not have class and am able to train with the team from 9-1 and study.
On the weekends I do some studying, attend church and enjoy my social life.
Jennifer (Huntington Beach, CA): Brittani, Last year you said that Graston or Gratson was your favorite thing? What is that? Is that your boyfriend?
Brittani McCullough: Graston is actually a set of steel tools that Lorita, our trainer, uses on my ankles and achilles to minimize the scar tissue that I have. Graston definitely has great effects for my ankles and allows me to have more range of motion when I tumble and vault.
Dominica (N.Y.C.): You two are amazing! I just can't imagine anything that you can't do but I've wondered if there is anything that you have had trouble learning. Shannon Miller once said that she could not go sideways on the beam, no matter what, so they always choreographed around that. Is there anything like that that either of you have? I love you two! Good luck at Regionals! Kisses, Dominica
Anna Li: Hmm...that's a tough question. I was naturally a more flexible, weaker gymnast. I always had to train "climbing the rope" and conditioning as if it was another event (Unlike the amazing Brittani McCullough who is a powerhouse and can climb up the rope in 5 seconds with a huge boot on her leg). But I'd say I had to rely a lot on good basics, technique, and coordination (thanks to good genes from my Olympian parents). So if I have trouble making a new skill, usually it's just strength I'm lacking, but at least I can always do more strength to get stronger to be able to do it!
Brittani McCullough: Believe it or not, as a young gymnast the hardest thing for me to learn was my kip, but with perseverance, I did.
Huntington Beach: Anna, Congratulations on a great career at UCLA!! What will you be doing after graduation? And from my level 6 gymnast daughter: "How did you learn a clear hip up to handstand?"
Anna Li: After NCAA's I'll be finishing up school throughout the summer and hope to do stunt work as well. Once I'm done with school I'll be going back home to train with my parents. In regards to the clear hip, I remember my first one to handstand which was many years ago ... but I got spotted a lot to get the feeling of how it should feel to get it to handstand and then practice, practice, practice!!
Chino Hills,CA: Is there a lot of pressure to do well in the championship?
Brittani McCullough: Of course we want to do well in our post-season meets, but as a team, we have focused mainly on hitting 24/24 routines to the best of our ability.
Anna Li: Our team is just focusing on what we can control, and we've been training well and know what we need to do to compete well. I know that if I train well and enjoy every moment of it, I'll end my college career without any regrets. John Wooden said "Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."
Michelle, Murrieta: What have been your best and worst moments competing for UCLA and when you were competing as either a compulsory or optional?
Brittani McCullough: My worst moment competing for UCLA was definitely when I tore my second achilles competing on floor. My best moment competing for UCLA was when I competed on floor at Pac-10s this year. Between compulsory and optional, my worst moment was a compulsory gymnast. I remember as a Level 4 gymnast I fell 3 times on beam in my very first meet. My best moment was definitely as an elite gymnast when I qualified for the U.S. National Team when competing at U.S. Championships.
Anna Li: Best moments would be competing at home in Pauley Pavilion in front of our home crowd. Worst moment might have to be the time PJ had to carry me off the floor during the competition - but good thing he was there to help! In club, my worst moment was probably in level 5 when I forgot the beam routine and just stood on the beam and got frustrated! (I was 6 years old). My favorite moment in Club would be competing at US Visa Championships and international competitions.
Tristynn (Washington, D.C.): Brittani, What went into choreographing your floor routine? I feel like it is quite possibly the best performed routine in the NCAA. Have you always been an excellent dancer?
Brittani McCullough: I have always enjoyed many different types of dancing. Thank you for the compliment. To choreograph my floor routine, Miss Val and I got into the gym, listened to the music and started moving. She already had an idea of what she wanted to do for some parts, and then for other parts she had me listen and just dance. We put all of this together and came up with the floor routine that I have been performing.
Joyce: Anna, is it true that you will be training for the 2011 Worlds?
Anna Li: I spent a lot of time trying to decide what I wanted to do, and realized that there's no harm in giving elite one last shot. Who knows how well my body will stay healthy, since it's already been through a few years of elite as well as four years of NCAA, but I want to finish this sport that I have so much passion for without any regrets (whether I train for 2 or 3 more months or make it through 2 more years!). So after summer when I finish up school, I'll be going back home to train with my parents at their new gym, Legacy Elite. I'll definitely be focusing on training - the sole purpose of me leaving LA and all my teammates and friends here. I'll be making training my main priority, which is why I decided not to take a 5th year of school and finish it all by this summer Stunt work and Cirque will be put off for now, so we'll see how that goes :-)
Jess: Back when you were freshmen on the team, which team members did you look up to especially? Was there a certain teammate who was special mentor?
Brittani McCullough: My freshman year, I definitely looked up a lot to Ashley Peckett. I remember talking to her a lot about how she studied and her major. It was so amazing to me that she was able to make so many A's with such a difficult science major. Also, Tasha Schwikert definitely took me under her wing when I first came onto the team.
Anna Li: When I was a freshman, Ashley Peckett and Michelle Selesky were seniors. Their integrity inside the gym and outside of the gym academically was amazing. Peckett is known for all the A's that she got in her classes and "OC" (Selesky) was inspiring by her work ethic and how she became a part of the UCLA gymnastics team. I also loved training with Tasha Schwikert and admiring how consistent she was at competitions.
Karen (Orange, CA): Hi Brittani, I, like many others, have enjoyed your floor routine this and last season. It seems like everyone's favorite part is when you walk in a circle on the floor, staring into the audience with a total game face. What do you think about/how do you psych yourself up for that part of your routine? Thank you for always giving the audience a fun, spirited routine!!
Brittani McCullough: I am glad that I am able to make my routine fun for the entire audience, thank you. I don't think anything specific before that part of my routine, except for maybe BREATHE. But before I salute to start my routine I think about my cues and definitely thank God for giving me the opportunity to compete and perform again and know that I am doing it to glorify him.
Emily (Oxnard): Anna, thank you for bringing your gymnastics to UCLA and congrats on your 10 at Pac-10's!! What aspects of being a team leader have you enjoyed?
Anna Li: As a team leader, the most exciting part of it is sharing my experiences. For example, Lichelle coming in as a freshman ... she's such a beautiful and talented gymnast, and freshman year is a big adjustment. So being there for the rest of my team and knowing how they feel because I've already been through it all is something I feel I can offer a lot of help with. Also I do my best to be a leader by example and keeping the energy up in training as well as in competitions :-)
Robert (El Segundo): Brittani, Are you eligible to compete next year? (I keep seeing conflicting information as to whether you're a junior or senior.)
Brittani McCullough: Yes, I am eligible to compete next year. I am considered a redshirt junior this year.
Jess, DC: What was one of your funniest gymnastics bloopers?
Anna Li: I'm not sure if it's the funniest, but it got the whole team laughing! Last year during workout, I was in the middle of a SERIOUS intrasquad, and I was just getting back into training floor so I was doing my tumbling passes on the rod floor and my leaps on the tumble track. We had just gotten a brand new tumble track, and in the middle of my floor routine I was going for my leap pass, and my take-off leg slipped!! Before I could even realize what was happening, my FACE was skidding across the tumble track! I actually ended up finishing my floor routine while everyone was laughing and looking at the marks I had left on the tumble track!
Brittani McCullough: Well, I was learning a new skill on bars that required me to wear heel pads. I went to compete it for the first time and competed with the heel pads, not knowing I was not supposed to. After I landed, I was made fun of for a few minutes for wearing them in competition and also received a 0.3 deduction. Oops.
Shona: Anna - How are you feeling now that your competitive career at UCLA is coming to an end and do you have any plans to stay with the team in a coaching/management capacity?
Anna Li: I can't believe it's been 4 years!! It went by so fast and I really don't want it to end yet! I've just been soaking in every moment of training, walking around campus, being with my team in competition, and just about every moment of it all. I would love to stay with the team and be a part of this amazing UCLA Gymnastics program, and Miss Val had asked me to, but after summer I'm going back home to train. I'll still be around this summer, and who knows how training will go after summer or how well my body will hold up training ... I might just come back to my second family here at UCLA.
Clayton, NC: What is the most difficult think you have had to go through during your college gymnastics career ?
Brittani McCullough: The most difficult thing I have gone through during my college career was my car accident my freshman year. It was definitely difficult not competing my freshman year, but it was also difficult going through the healing process from that surgery. There were a series of stages of healing after surgery and during rehab.
Anna Li: There have been so many adversities I've experienced since I first came to UCLA that have shaped who I am now. It was very difficult understanding and being a part of a team, realizing that what one person does affects the entire team, whether it's inside the gym or outside the gym.
Jason (Los Angeles): You both have been part of the team since Fall of 2006. How good does it feel for things to finally be falling back into place for UCLA gymnastics? I have been following the team closely since 1997 (the first championship year) and it has been so nice to see you and the rest of the girls performing so well this year, especially after a few years of watching the team going through the rebuilding process. I hope you guys come home from Florida with the NCAA team title!!!
Brittani McCullough: It feels amazing! It is awesome to be able to see and be a part of the rebuilding and see the results as well.
Anna Li: It feels AMAZING!! This year has been so much fun since the beginning of preseason in early September. I've never been a part of a team with so much integrity. Our team alacrity makes it so exciting to compete, and I'm excited for Regionals at home and then Nationals! It's been a great season so far, and we're on the right path.
Dave (NJ): Anna, is it true that you were made fun of for your upside down run? It is my favorite move of choreography that you've ever done. Congratulations on your 10.
Anna Li: My freshman year I had an upside down run that I did across the floor. Miss Val wanted to add it into my other routines but too bad it didn't flow well ;-) hahaha- PJ makes fun of it still and calls it the "dead bird". Maybe he can show everyone how it's done :-)
Joyce: Is Miss Val as much of a fierce diva as she appears? What are your funniest memories of your head coach?
Brittani McCullough: I am not exactly sure what you mean by fierce diva, but she does have and set high expectations for all of us individually and as a team. She is very interested in seeing us mature and succeed both on and off the mat. My funniest memories of Miss Val definitely have to do with her dancing around the floor and goofing off in the gym.
Anna Li: I love Miss Val. We've been through A LOT these last four years and she's helped me come a long way! My funniest memory with Miss Val...there's so many! So Here's 2:

As usual, when told to do something that you don't want to do, the automatic thought is "No." Well at one point in my college career I seemed to be having that "No" thought A LOT! haha. Or I'd politely respond with "eh ... no thank you" :-) So Miss Val thought it'd be a great idea that I wasn't allowed to make a face or say no anymore. I came up with "I respectfully decline," and it still works to this day :-)

Here's the 2nd one (I guess they weren't funny at the time) - Being called into her office and getting "Miss Val eyes" seemed like a routine every week (or even everyday). It was always SOMETHING that I had done or hadn't done! (Miss Val eyes = not happy Miss Val). So senior year rolls around the corner, and she's asking to meet with some of the girls and she didn't mention my name so I asked her all excited, "Would you like to meet with me?" I wanted to go bother her and just chat in her office, but she didn't want me in her office :-) I never get called into her office anymore, and if I ask to meet with her, I'm pretty sure she wants to "respectfully decline" - since I'm pretty good at being a distraction during her office work.