March 19, 2011
LOS ANGELES - The sixth-ranked UCLA women's gymnastics team put up a valiant fight but came up just short in the end, notching a second-place finish at the 2011 Pac-10 Gymnastics Championships at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday evening.
Fifth-ranked Oregon State took home top honors on Saturday, winning the meet with a season-high score of 197.2. The Bruins came in second, finishing with a score of 196.750.
"Oregon State was the best team in the house tonight," said UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field. "I can handle losing a meet as long as we don't lose it. We did really well. We got beat by a better team tonight."
UCLA freshman Olivia Courtney, who was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, won two event titles, capturing first place on vault with a career-high 9.95 and tied with teammate Aisha Gerber and four others for first on bars with a career-best 9.9. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs also captured an event title, tying for first on floor.
UCLA got off to a great start on beam, scoring a 49.1 in an event that has given the team trouble at times during the season. Gerber and Hopfner-Hibbs started UCLA off with a pair of 9.8s. Niki Tom kept things going with a 9.775, and Tauny Frattone earned a 9.775. Samantha Peszek hit for a 9.875, and Brittani McCullough closed with a 9.85.
Going into the Bruins' second event, floor exercise, UCLA trailed first-place Oregon State by two-tenths after the Beavers scored 49.3 on vault. Frattone led off with a 9.85, and Courtney, a late-sub on the event, also scored 9.85. After Tom scored 9.7, Sydney Sawa earned a 9.875, and Hopfner-Hibbs scored 9.9.
Trailing Oregon State by 0.55 after two events, the Bruins had a lot of ground to make up on vault. Peszek contributed a 9.85, and Hopfner-Hibbs scored 9.8. McCullough hit a big vault for 9.85. Courtney stuck her vault for a career-high 9.95, and Frattone earned a 9.85 to give UCLA a team score of 49.3. Meanwhile, Oregon State hit all six routines in its beam set to maintain the lead, scoring 49.35 to increase its lead over UCLA to 148.075-147.475.
UCLA gave its best effort in the final rotation, knocking out four straight uneven bars routines with stuck dismounts and earning a team score of 49.275. McCullough scored 9.85, Courtney earned a career-high 9.9, Gerber scored a season-best 9.9, and Hopfner-Hibbs scored 9.8. Monique De La Torre and Samantha Peszek closed out the rotation with 9.825 and 9.8, respectively. It wasn't enough, however, to defeat Oregon State, who scored 49.125 on floor to clinch its fifth Pac-10 team title and first since 1996.
"I'm really proud of the way this team performed tonight," said Oregon State head coach Tanya Chaplin, a former UCLA All-American and this year's Pac-10 Coach of the Year. "They had to overcome changes to the lineup, and the way they met the challenge was incredible. I'm so proud. This is great momentum as we head into the NCAA Championship season."
"I thought we got one step better in a lot of areas, so in reality we probably got five steps better tonight," said UCLA's Kondos Field. "I told the team that they should feel really proud of how we sent Pauley Pavilion out. Coach Wooden would be very proud of them. I feel we took a step toward possibly winning another national championship."
Pac-10 Award Winners
Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year: Leslie Mak, Oregon State
Pac-10 Freshman of the Year: Olivia Courtney, UCLA
Toyo Tires Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Mary Atkinson, Arizona State
Pac-10 Coach of the Year: Tanya Chaplin, Oregon State