Feb. 23, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week - The ninth-ranked UCLA gymnastics team (7-6) will host 12th-ranked Denver and 21st-ranked Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 pm in the John Wooden Challenge. The sixth annual John Wooden Challenge will honor all competing teams' academic and athletic achievements.
Tickets - Lower-level tickets cost $12 (adults)/$10 (youth 16 and under). Mid-level seating is $8 for adults/$6 for youth. UCLA students are free with student ID. UCLA faculty and staff can receive up to four free admission with UCLA ID as part of Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310/UCLA-WIN or tickets.ucla.edu) or at the event.
Promotions - Giveaway items include glow sticks and pom poms to the first 500 in attendance and meet programs to the first 2,000 in attendance. Providing pre-meet entertainment is UCLA student group Signature A Cappella.
Live Coverage - UCLABruins.com will host a free live video and audio feed, along with live scoring.
In The Rankings - UCLA remained at No. 9 in the national rankings (rankings were released prior to UCLA's meet on Monday) with a RQS of 195.355. With Monday's score, UCLA has a RQS of 195.805, which would rank seventh. In the current rankings, UCLA is tied for ninth on vault (49.015), 11th on bars (48.945), 20th on beam (48.535) and tied for 18th on floor (48.815). Individually, the Bruins have just one gymnast ranked in the Top 25 - Tauny Frattone on vault (tied for 18th, 9.845).
Bruins Record Season-High 197.475 Against NC State - Ninth-ranked UCLA scored a season-high 197.475 to easily win a dual meet over North Carolina State (195.025) on Monday afternoon. The Bruins earned seven scores of 9.9 or better and had 21 out of 24 routines score at least 9.8. Season-highs of 49.4 on vault and beam and 49.425 on floor catapulted UCLA to its first 197 score of the year. Freshman Sydney Sawa won the all-around with a career-high 39.275 and also tied for first on floor with Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, scoring a career-best 9.925. Junior Tauny Frattone tied her season-high on vault to win with a 9.95, and Hopfner-Hibbs and Brittani McCullough each scored 9.95 on beam to tie for first. Eight career-highs were set by the Bruins in the meet.
Frattone Vaults Ahead - Junior Tauny Frattone continues to be UCLA's top vaulter this season, ranking 18th in the nation and averaging a team-high 9.868. She has posted four consecutive wins on the event and has scored 9.8 or better in 18 consecutive meets and in 22 of 24 career meets. Frattone tied her career-high of 9.95 on Monday against NC State and was subsequently honored with the Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week. She also scored a career-high 9.85 on beam and tied her season-high on floor with a 9.8.
Gerber Takes Lead On Beam - Junior Aisha Gerber has taken over the all-important leadoff position on beam the last five meets. Although she is first in the lineup, she has maintained the team's highest season average, at 9.811. As a leadoff performer, she has scored 9.8 or better three times in five meets, including a 9.825 vs. NC State that led the way to a team season-high 49.4 on the event. In her first leadoff performance at Southern Utah, her 9.775 score led the way towards a then-season-high 49.1 team mark. At Stanford, she led off with a 9.8, and at OSU, her 9.75 leadoff led to a season-high team score of 49.175 and a final rotation comeback win. She scored 9.8 in her last competition at the IGI/Chicago Style, and the Bruins scored a meet-high-tying 48.975 on the event. Gerber had been fifth in the lineup in the first two meets of the season and scored 9.875 and 9.85.
Oh Canada - UCLA's Canadian trio of Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Aisha Gerber and Sydney Sawa have been amongst the team's standouts so far this season. Hopfner-Hibbs won the all-around at the Pac-10 Showcase with a nation-high score of 39.55 and also placed first on beam (9.95) and floor (career-high tying 9.95). She also tied for first on bars at Utah with a 9.8 and at the IGI/Chicago Style with a season-high 9.9. Hopfner-Hibbs has been UCLA's top scorer in all four meets in which she has competed all-around. Gerber won beam at Utah with a 9.875 and has placed first on uneven bars in two meets. At Stanford, she placed second in the all-around with a 39.225, her highest all-around total since 2009. Sawa has been extremely consistent all season, hitting all 22 of her routines without a fall and averaging 9.75 or better on all four events. She won the all-around for the first time as a Bruin against NC State, scoring a career-high 39.275 and also tied for first on floor with a career-high 9.925. She has season-bests of 9.85 on vault, 9.9 on bars, 9.825 on beam and 9.925 on floor.
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 of last year (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. This season, McCullough is 20-for-22 on the year and has hit 110 of 116 career routines. Gerber has hit 49 of her last 51 routines and is 19-for-20 on the year. Hopfner-Hibbs is 19-of-20 in 2011 and has hit 74 of her last 76 routines. Freshmen Sydney Sawa is 22-for-22, and Olivia Courtney has hit 19-for-20. Senior Niki Tom has hit 14 of her 15 routines.
Peszek Makes Collegiate Debut - In her collegiate debut, freshman Samantha Peszek scored a 9.9 to tie for first place on uneven bars at the IGI/Chicago Style on Feb. 11. Peszek, who had not competed on bars in a meet since the 2008 Olympics, was originally scheduled to just do an exhibition routine but was placed in the lineup after warm-ups and hit for a 9.9 to help the Bruins score a season-high 49.275 on the event. She had missed all five of UCLA's previous meets this season after suffering a foot fracture in early January. Peszek was awarded the Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week honor for this routine. She made her Pauley Pavilion debut on Feb. 21 and scored 9.825 on bars.
UCLA Hosts Pac-10 Championships - Pauley Pavilion is playing host to the 2011 Pac-10 Championships on Mar. 19 at 4 pm. Tickets are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310-UCLA-WIN or tickets.ucla.edu). Ticket prices are $14 for adults/$12 for youth in the lower-level section and $10 for adults/$8 for youth in the mid-level seating. This is the first time UCLA has hosted the Pac-10 Championships since 2003. UCLA won the title that year with a Championship record score of 198.175. The Bruins are the two-time defending Pac-10 champions and have won a total of 15 Pac-10 team titles in the 24 years of the Championships.