The Bruins started the meet with a strong vault score of 49.25, counting five scores of 9.825s or better. Peszek led the way with her 9.875. Freshman LaNiesha-Jopré Irvin made her collegiate debut a memorable one, sticking her vault for a 9.85. Angi Cipra and Jordan Williams also posted scores of 9.85, and JaNay Honest earned 9.825. Arizona, meanwhile, stayed close by scoring 49.05 on uneven bars, led by three scores of 9.825.
Rotation two had some highs and lows, as the Bruins had to count a fall, but Peszek saved the set with a near-perfect score of 9.975. Also performing well were Honest in her first collegiate uneven bars routine (9.825 with a sky-high Tkatchev) and Sophina DeJesus (9.85). Arizona was unable to take advantage, however, scoring 48.675 on vault, allowing UCLA to extend its lead ever so slightly, 97.975-97.725.
UCLA's balance beam work in rotation three, was a showcase of difficulty, grace and technique. Mikaela Gerber assumed the role of leadoff performer and delivered a calming presence in that pivotal spot, tying her career-high with a 9.8. Ellette Craddock followed with a steady and elegant routine that also scored 9.8. DeJesus followed with a 9.825, then Francis brought down the house with a stuck sideways side aerial to layout full dismount that scored 9.925. Christine Peng-Peng Lee rebounded well from her fall on bars and wowed the crowd with her Homma Flairs mount, a backhandspring two-footed layout and a double turn that scored 9.85. Peszek brought back her standing full to her routine and even added an arabesque to it as she powered her way to a 9.95 score. The Bruins finished with a team total of 49.35, their highest on any event this year. Arizona scored 49.15 on floor, and the Bruins took a 147.300-146.825 advantage into the final rotation.
The Bruins looked to be on track to bring in a good team score on floor after Francis' meet-winning 9.925 and a pair of 9.825s from Sonya Meraz in her floor debut and Gerber, along with a 9.775 from Jennifer Pinches despite going out of bounds on her second pass, but the Bruins' final two performers fell, forcing the team to count a fall and keeping them just shy of a 196 team score at 195.975. Arizona, however, scored just 48.475 on beam, and the Bruins remained undefeated at 2-0.
“We are far more prepared to come out and compete determined and disciplined and with an exclamation point instead of a little comma,” said UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field. “We're better than that.”
“Tomorrow morning when I wake up and can think about it more clearly, I will probably be more pleased with the fact that they just battled through (lineup changes) and that there was no drama,” Kondos Field continued. “There were a lot of really good things that came out of it, but we're not a 195 or 196 team. We're a 197 team, and they need to start doing that.”
UCLA will get its chance to get that exclamation point on Friday when the Bruins travel to No. 4 Utah for a Pac-12 Networks televised meet at 6pm MT/5pm PT.