April 24, 2010
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Gainesville, Fla. - Team champion UCLA kept the titles coming at the NCAA individual event finals, winning two more trophies, with sophomore Vanessa Zamarripa taking the vault crown and junior Brittani McCullough winning the floor exercise title. UCLA now has 30 NCAA individual titles and six team titles.
On her first vault, Zamarripa stuck her Yurchenko layout full for a 9.95 score. Her second vault was the most difficult being done in the competition - a Yurchenko half on, front layout half. She hit the vault with ease and had just a small shuffle of her feet on the landing, scoring 9.9. Her average of 9.925 was enough to best second-place finisher and defending champion Susan Jackson of LSU, who averaged 9.8938. Zamarripa was the only gymnast to record two 9.9+ vaults.
Zamarripa is UCLA's sixth NCAA vault champion and first since Kristen Maloney won the title in 2005.
"This is icing on the cake," said Zamarripa. "We already won the team title, and I think that is the most important part. Being the vault champion is a great thing, but having the team championship is far much great than anything I did on the vault."
On floor exercise, McCullough took the lead after eight competitors with a beautiful routine that merited 9.9375. Her score included a perfect 10 from one of the six judges. McCullough's routine included a huge full-in mount and a stuck double pike dismount. Her floor title is UCLA's ninth on floor and first since Kate Richardson won in 2006.
"This is a blessing," said McCullough. "I am very, very excited coming from the injuries I've had and the schedule I have had. This is just an amazing experience, and it feels wonderful to be able to represent UCLA this way."
Bruin sophomore Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs earned a podium placement on vault with an eighth-place finish. She stuck her first vault (Yurchenko layout full) for a 9.9 and scored 9.6625 on her second vault (Yurchenko layout, which only holds a 9.8 start value). Her final average was 9.7813. Senior Anna Li laced 13th with a 9.6688 average. She scored 9.8125 on her first vault (Yurchenko layout full) and went for a Yurchenko 1.5 but bounced out of the landing and scored 9.525 for a final average of 9.6688.
Zamarripa finished in a tie for seventh on floor exercise, following McCullough's winning routine with a playful routine of her own that scored 9.875. The vault champion closed her floor routine with a different end pose, similar to the Heisman Trophy pose, much to the delight and amusement of her teammates.
Li, who was the first to compete on uneven bars, finished in seventh place with a 9.875. Stanford's Carly Janiga won the title with a 9.9375. Jackson, who won the all-around on Thursday, won the balance beam crown with a 9.9625.
"I am absolutely thrilled for our two athletes, each for different reasons," said UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field. "Brittani McCullough is the only nursing major in the entire UCLA Athletic Department. Her schedule is extremely hectic, so much so that she is rarely able to train with the team. This last quarter she started her clinicals, which last for 12 hours on Monday and Wednesday. Her schedule is beyond grueling, so for her to come out and compete the way she did this weekend, I think it is a true testament of her character. Vanessa Zamarripa was in position to contend for the vault championship last year. Coming in as a freshman, she had to learn the system and did not have much time to train. As a sophomore, she has grown up a lot. She said, `I'm going to be more focused this year and do my job.' She came in, did it and it paid off. Good job to both of our athletes."