University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Places Second At Pac-10 Showcase
January 09, 2011 | Gymnastics
Jan. 9, 2011
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Los Angeles, Calif. - In its second meet in three days, UCLA finished in second place at the Pac-10 Showcase, scoring a season-best 195.925 to finish behind Stanford, who scored 196.625. Oregon State was third with 195.375, followed by Arizona (193.825), Washington (193.675), Arizona State (191.850) and California (191.675). UCLA junior Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs won the all-around with a 39.55 and also took first place on beam and floor with scores of 9.95.
Stanford grabbed the lead from the get-go and never relinquished it, starting the competition with a meet-best 49.15 in the first rotation. UCLA nearly matched the Cardinal in rotation two with a score of 49.125 on vault. Brittani McCullough led the Bruins on the event with a meet-high-tying 9.875, and Hopfner-Hibbs contributed a 9.85 on a stuck vault. Freshman Sydney Sawa also scored 9.85.
The Cardinal increased its lead slightly after uneven bars, scoring 49.275. UCLA again scored just .025 behind Stanford with a 49.25. The Bruins got off to a great start on the event with a 9.85 leadoff routine by Aisha Gerber. Sawa contributed a career-high 9.9, and Monique De La Torre added a career-high 9.925 of her own.
Balance beam proved to be the difference maker in the meet. After Stanford hit five routines of 9.8 or higher for a team total of 49.125, UCLA was unable to respond, with two of its first three competitors suffering falls. The Bruins kept battling, however, with the back three of the lineup coming up big. McCullough, who was competing only her second beam routine in three years, earned 9.8. Gerber added a 9.85, and Hopfner-Hibbs hit a beauty of a routine that earned a 10.0 from one judge and a final mark of 9.95. The Bruins' team total of 48.3, however, kept them out of reach of Stanford's final tally of 196.625, achieved after the Cardinal scored 49.075 on floor in their final event.
Battling for second place with Oregon State, UCLA moved to floor exercise in the final rotation and gave the home crowd of 4,028 something to really cheer for - a meet-high 49.25 team total to close the competition. Sawa led off with a season-best 9.8, followed by a 9.75 from fellow freshman Olivia Courtney. Niki Tom and Lichelle Wong shook of their beam troubles and hit beautiful routines on floor, with Tom scoring a career-high 9.9 and Wong earning a season-best 9.85. Hopfner-Hibbs electrified the crowd with a career-high tying 9.95, and McCullough, the defending NCAA floor champion, closed with another show-stopper that scored 9.7 after she stepped out of bounds on her powerful full-in mount. Oregon State scored 49.375 on its last event, uneven bars, but was unable to overtake the Bruins, finishing in third place with 195.375.
The Bruins (5-2) return to action on Friday, Jan. 14 at Southern Utah.
