Jan. 5, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Season Opener - The preseason No. 1 UCLA gymnastics team begins its 2011 season with a pair of highly competitive weekend meets. The defending NCAA champions will open with a dual meet at No. 5 Utah on Friday, Jan. 7 at 7 pm MT at the Huntsman Center before returning home to host the Pac-10 Women's Gymnastics Showcase on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 2 pm in Pauley Pavilion.
Tickets - Tickets for the Pac-10 Showcase are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office. Lower-level tickets cost $14 for adults/$12 for youth (16 and under). Mid-level seating is $10 for adults/$8 for youth. UCLA students are free with ID. For the best value, season tickets are on sale for $45. The season ticket package includes lower-level seating for all the Pac-10 Showcase, all three regular season home meets and the Pac-10 Championships on Mar. 19.
Live Coverage - Utah will host a free live scoring, of Friday's dual meet at UtahUtes.com. Sunday's Pac-10 Showcase will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by Fox Sports Net (Thursday, Jan. 13 on Prime Ticket at 4 pm and Fox Sports West at 6 pm). UCLA will have an audio broadcast of the meet, in addition to live scoring, at UCLABruins.com. Darren Preston, Naomi Manea and Vanessa Zamarripa will provide commentary.
Promotions - Providing pre-meet entertainment at approximately 1:30 pm will be rhythmic gymnasts from the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics. Team introductions are scheduled to begin at approximately 1:45 pm, with the first rotation beginning promptly at 2 pm. UCLA 2011 team cards will be distributed to the first 1,000 in attendance, and meet poster programs will be available to the first 500 in attendance.
Pac-10 Showcase Rotation Order - The Bruins will begin the Pac-10 Showcase on a bye before vault and will finish up on floor exercise.
In The Rankings - UCLA opens the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll after receiving 38 of 42 first-place votes. The Bruins will face 10 of the Top 25 teams in the polls this season, including four in the Top 10. Utah checks in at No. 5 in the preseason poll and received one first place vote.
Best Of The West - Friday's meet between UCLA and Utah is a battle between West Coast powerhouses. UCLA and Utah are two of only four teams ever to win the NCAA Championship (Georgia and Alabama are the other two). The Bruins have captured six titles (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010), while Utah has won nine (1982-86, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995). Utah is the only school to have qualified for all 29 NCAA Championships, and they have finished second in three of the last five seasons. UCLA has 26 NCAA Championship appearances and 15 Pac-10 Championships.
About The Bruins - The defending NCAA champion Bruins return all but one gymnast who competed at last year's national championships, although reigning NCAA vault champion and current U.S. National Team member Vanessa Zamarripa is out for the year with a torn Achilles tendon. The Bruins return five All-Americans in Aisha Gerber, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, 2010 NCAA floor exercise champion Brittani McCullough, Niki Tom and Zamarripa. Also back are All-Pac-10 honorees Tauny Frattone, Mizuki Sato and Lichelle Wong, and Monique De La Torre, who competed on two events at NCAAs.
The freshmen will be led early in the season by 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials competitor Olivia Courtney and 2009 Canadian National Champion and two-time World Championships competitor Sydney Sawa. Olympic silver medalist Samantha Peszek will miss the beginning of the year with a foot fracture.
About The Utes - Utah returns two All-Americans from last season's squad that placed sixth at the NCAA Championships - senior Kyndal Robarts and junior Stephanie McAllister. New to the squad is 2008 Canadian Olympian Nansy Damianova and 2008 U.S. Olympic alternate Corrie Lothrop. The Utes are coached by Greg and Megan Marsden.
The Series With Utah - Utah holds a 23-3 regular season record against the Bruins, with UCLA's only three wins coming on Jan. 9, 2010 in Pauley Pavilion (196.6-195.125); Jan. 10, 2003 in Utah (197.225-196.75 to snap the longest home-court winning streak in the history of NCAA sports); and on Jan. 21, 2001 in Los Angeles (197.5-195.7).
Pride Of The Pac - All seven Pac-10 Conference teams will be in action on Sunday in the first-ever Pac-10 Women's Gymnastics Showcase. Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington and UCLA will battle it out for Pac-10 bragging rights to start the year. Six of the seven Pac-10 schools are ranked in the Top 25 preseason poll - No. 1 UCLA, No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 Oregon State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 21 Washington and No. 25 Arizona State.
Stanford will be led in 2011 by All-Pac-10 gymnasts Allyse Ishino, Shelley Alexander, Alyssa Brown, Nicole Pechanec and Ashley Morgan. The Cardinal have several gymnasts with extensive international experience. Freshman Shona Morgan competed for Australia at the 2008 Olympics and at three World Championships. Pechanec (Czech Republic) and freshman Kristina Vaculik (Canada) competed at the 2010 World Championships. Additionally, redshirt senior Ishino was an alternate on the 2004 U.S. Olympic squad, and Brown was an alternate on the 2008 Canadian Olympic team.
Oregon State is led by All-American and 2010 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Makayla Stambaugh, 2009 Pac-10 uneven bars champions Leslie Mak and Jen Kesler and 2008 Australian Olympian Olivia Vivian. Olympic Trials participant Britney Ranzy leads a four-member freshman class.
Arizona returns 2010 NCAA all-around competitor Deanna Graham and All-Pac-10 honorees Aubree Cristello and Molly Quirk from a squad that finished in fourth at the Pac-10 Championships and third at the NCAA Los Angeles Regional.
Washington is led by senior team captains Haley Bogart, Kristen Linton and Samantha Walior. Bogart qualified as an all-around competitor for the NCAA Championships her freshman season, while Linton and Walior were floor exercise competitors at the 2010 NCAA Championships after tying for the regional title on the event.
California returns all of its top gymnasts from last season, including senior Avery Gee, who earned All-Pac-10 honors in the all-around last year, and sophomore Mariesah Pierce, who posted Cal's top beam score and second-highest all-around mark.
First-team vault All-American Mary Atkinson and 2009 first-team All-Pac-10 all-arounder Beaté Jones lead Arizona State. Jones sat out last season with an injury but was Arizona State's top all-around in 2009 with a high mark of 39.4.
At last year's Pac-10 Championships, UCLA defended its 2009 conference title, recording a 197.35 to outscore second-place Stanford (196.55) by eight-tenths of a point. The Bruins hit 24-for-24 routines, with all but the very first routine of the day scoring 9.8 or better. Oregon State was third with a 195.950, followed closely by Arizona, who scored 195.875. Washington placed fifth (193.825), California sixth (191.475) and Arizona State seventh (190.675).
With 2010 Pac-10 all-around and vault champion Vanessa Zamarripa out with an injury, UCLA's Brittani McCullough is the only defending Pac-10 champion competing at the Pac-10 Showcase. McCullough won the floor exercise title at the Pac-10 Championships a year ago. There are two other former Pac-10 champions competing, however - 2009 uneven bars co-champions Leslie Mak and Jen Kesler from Oregon State.
Consistent Bruins - UCLA ended its 2010 season with amazing consistency, hitting 95 of 96 postseason routines without a fall. Three returning Bruins missed just one routine all season (all on beam) - Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs and Brittani McCullough, who each went 40-for-41, and Aisha Gerber, who hit 30-for-31. Vanessa Zamarripa, who is redshirting this season, hit 52-for-53, and graduated senior Anna Li was a perfect 47-for-47. Going back even further, Hopfner-Hibbs has hit 55 of her last 56 routines, while McCullough has hit 70 of her last 71 routines.
Scholastic All-Americans - Four Bruins were honored as 2010 NACGC/W Scholastic All-Americans - Aisha Gerber (3.92 gpa for 2009-10), Danielle Greig (3.62), Talia Kushynski (3.67) and Allison Taylor (3.56). This was the first career Scholastic All-America honor for Gerber, Greig and Taylor and the second for Kushynski. The NACGC/W Scholastic All-America team acknowledges gymnasts who carry a 3.5 or higher GPA during the school year.
Looking Ahead - UCLA will return to Utah next week, visiting 20th-ranked Southern Utah on Friday, Jan. 14.
Season Tickets On Sale Now - Tickets for the 2011 season are on sale now. For just $45, fans can purchase a UCLA season ticket which includes lower-level seating for all the Pac-10 Showcase, all three regular season home meets (Feb. 21 vs. North Carolina State, Feb. 27 vs. Denver and Minnesota and Mar. 6 vs. Georgia and Arizona) and the Pac-10 Championships on Mar. 19. All home meets take place in legendary Pauley Pavilion. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tickets.ucla.edu or by phone at 310-UCLA-WIN.