March 16, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week - Sixth-ranked UCLA (11-7) hosts the 2011 Pac-10 Conference Championships on Saturday, Mar. 19 in Pauley Pavilion at 4 pm. The Bruins have won a Pac-10 record 15 team titles in 24 years, including the last two consecutive.
Tickets - Tickets for the Pac-10 Championships 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.
Coverage - The meet will be televised on a delayed basis by Fox Sports Net (Fox Sports West will air the meet on Thursday, Mar. 24 at 6 pm). Providing the call will be Jim Watson and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Amanda Borden. Live stats and an audio broadcast will be available at uclabruins.com.
Rotation Order - The Bruins will begin the meet on balance beam and will finish up on uneven bars for the second consecutive year (CLICK HERE for the full rotation order). The rotation order for the championships was determined by blind draw a year prior to the meet.
Pauley Pavilion Sendoff - Legendary Pauley Pavilion is closing for renovations in April and will be shut down for the 2011-12 school year. The Pac-10 Championships will be the final championship event held in the current Pauley Pavilion. The arena has been host to three NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, the most recent being in 2004, when UCLA ran away with the NCAA title with a championship record score of 198.125. Pauley Pavilion was also host to two NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships, both won by UCLA in 1984 and 1987, and was the site for the 1984 Olympic gymnastics competition, where three Bruins led the U.S. men's team to its first-ever team gold.
Fan Photo Opportunity In Pauley - To commemorate the final Championship event in the current Pauley Pavilion, fans will be allowed on Nell and John Wooden Court after the awards ceremony to take a photo on the awards stand.
Pride Of The Pac - The Pac-10 is one of the most competitive conferences in the nation, with five of the seven teams ranked in the Top 25 and three ranked in the Top 6. Stanford is the conference's highest-ranked squad at No. 3. Oregon State ranks No. 5, followed closely by UCLA at No. 6. Washington ranks 17th, and Arizona ranks 24th.
Pac-10 Championship History - With 15 Pac-10 titles (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010), UCLA has won the most conference championships amongst the seven schools. Stanford (1998, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008) and Oregon State (1991, 1992, 1994, 1996) are the only other teams to win Pac-10 titles. UCLA and Stanford have dominated in the last 14 years, however, with the Bruins winning nine and Stanford five in that span.
UCLA has dominated in the individual championships as well, with a conference-best 73 individual championships. The Bruins have been especially dominant in the all-around, winning 17 titles, including 11 in the last 14 years (includes ties). UCLA gymnasts have won 18 titles on bars, 15 on floor, 12 on vault and 11 on beam.
UCLA's Brittani McCullough won a share of the floor exercise title in 2010. She is the only defending Pac-10 champion competing this year. Oregon State's Jen Kesler and Leslie Mak won a share of the 2009 uneven bars crown and will attempt to reclaim their title.
Last Year At Pac-10s - UCLA hit 24-for-24 routines at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships, comfortably winning its 14th conference title with a score of 197.35. The Bruins had all but their first routine of the day score 9.8 or better and closed out with a perfect 10 on uneven bars from senior Anna Li. UCLA's Vanessa Zamarripa won the all-around (39.575) and vault (9.95).
Conference Awards To Be Handed Out - Conference awards for Gymnast of the Year, Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year will be handed out at the conclusion of the Pac-10 Championship meet. UCLA has won 12 of the last 14 Gymnast of the Year awards and a total of 17 in 24 years. Head coach Valorie Kondos Field has won Pac-10 Coach of the Year three times (1995, 2000, 2003). UCLA has produced six conference Freshmen/Newcomers of the Year since the inception of the award in 2000 - Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs in 2009, Brittani McCullough in 2008, Ariana Berlin in 2006 (shared with Jami Lanz of Oregon State), Tasha Schwikert in 2005, Kate Richardson in 2003 and Doni Thompson in 2000.
In The Rankings - UCLA moved up to sixth overall with a RQS of 196.520 and is ranked fifth on vault (49.24), sixth on bars (49.235) and beam (49.075) and tied for third on floor (49.240). Individually, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs has now claimed the No. 1 spot on balance beam with a RQS of 9.910. She is also tied for seventh in the all-around (39.385). Two Bruins are ranked in the Top 15 on vault - No. 6 Tauny Frattone (9.905) and No. 14 Olivia Courtney (9.890).
Last Time Out - UCLA ended the regular season on a high note, recording its highest road score of the season in a 197.05-191.05 win at Cal State Fullerton on Mar. 13. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs won the all-around with a 39.5 and earned first-place finishes on vault (career-high tying 9.95) and beam (9.925). Tauny Frattone tied Hopfner-Hibbs for first on vault, also tying her career-high, and winning for the seventh-straight meet. Brittani McCullough captured first-place on floor with a season-high 9.925, and Samantha Peszek won bars with a 9.9. UCLA scored a season-high 49.575 on vault to start the meet and never looked back.
Frattone Wins Seventh Straight - Junior Tauny Frattone won vault for the seventh consecutive meet, tying her career-high with a 9.95 to tie for first place on Mar. 13 at Cal State Fullerton and earn Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week Honors for the second time this season. She also earned a career-high tying 9.85 on beam at the meet. Frattone continues to be UCLA's top vaulter this season, ranking sixth in the nation and averaging a team-high 9.883. She has scored 9.8 or better in 21 consecutive meets and in 25 of 27 career meets. She had another big meet on Mar. 6, winning both events she competed - vault (9.925) and floor (career-high-tying 9.9).
Peszek Back On Three - Freshman Samantha Peszek is now back on three events (vault, bars and beam) after sitting out the first five meets of the year with a foot fracture. Peszek made her collegiate debut on Feb. 11 and tied for first on uneven bars with a 9.9 on her first collegiate routine. She was awarded the Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week honor for this routine. On Feb. 27, she scored a career-high 9.925 on bars to win the event. Peszek competed on vault and beam for the first time Mar. 6, and on Mar. 13, she set collegiate-bests with a 9.875 on vault and 9.8 on beam. She is leading the team on bars with an average of 9.875 and has won the event in three out of five meets so far.
Hopfner-Hibbs On A Roll - Junior Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs has hit 28 consecutive routines without a fall and has posted the Bruins' top all-around score in all seven meets in which she has competed all-around. On beam, she has scored 9.95 three times in eight meets and is averaging 9.91 in her last seven meets. For the year, she averages over 9.8 on every event - 9.85 on vault, 9.834 on beam and 9.813 on bars. Hopfner-Hibbs, who leads UCLA with 15 individual victories, was named the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week twice this season and has tied the Pac-10 record for most career Gymnast of the Week honors with six.