Saturday, Feb. 21 - 4pm PT, Pauley Pavilion
Video - pac-12.com/videos/ucla
Live Stats - uclabruins.com
UCLA Hosts Quad Meet Saturday
No. 9 UCLA (5-1) returns to Pauley Pavilion for a quad meet on Saturday, Feb. 21. The Bruins will host No. 7 Nebraska, Sacramento State and Bridgeport in the team's annual Pink Meet to raise awareness for breast cancer at 4pm.
Tickets and Promotions
Tickets for Saturday's meet are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office. Reserved tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth (16 and under), while general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth. UCLA students are free with student ID and eligible to win a raffle prize each home meet. This week's raffle prize is an iPad Air.
Follow Live
For the first time this season, the Bruins will not be on live television. The meet will be streamed at www.pac-12.com/videos/ucla, but with all four teams competing at once, coverage will be focused on UCLA. Live stats will be available at uclabruins.com. Live updates can be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics.
In the Rankings
UCLA moved up four spots to No. 9 in the national rankings with an average of 196.263. The Bruins are also up to seventh on vault, 20th on bars, 10th on beam and 10th on floor. Nebraska ranks seventh overall, second on vault, 13th on bars, 12th on beam and eighth on floor. Sacramento State ranks 46th overall, and Bridgeport is 50th. Individually, Samantha Peszek is back to No. 1 in the all-around with an average of 39.588. She also ranks eighth on bars (9.887), 14th on vault (9.905) and 18th on floor (9.875).
About the Opponents
Nebraska (7-1) comes in as one of the nation's top vaulting teams, averaging 49.454 with a national-best season high of 49.75. Ashley Lambert has scored two perfect 10s already this season. The Huskers have scored 197 three times this season, with a high of 197.325. Sacramento State (4-9-1) has a season-high of 194.925, set Jan. 23 vs. UC Davis. Bridgeport (15-2) is coming off a season-high score of 194.450, set Monday in a second-place showing in a quad meet at Brown. Sasha Tsikhanovich earned a school-record 39.475 on Feb. 14.
UCLA holds an 11-6 overall regular season record against Nebraska and last faced the Huskers in regular season play in 2009, winning at home, 196.625-195.850. The Bruins are 6-0 vs. Sacramento State and have never face Bridgeport.
Bruins Score 197 Twice in One Week
UCLA had two meets in five days last week but posted season-high scores at both meets, first scoring 197.000 in a win over Washington on Monday night and then earning 197.075 in a road win over Stanford on Saturday afternoon.
In UCLA's 197.000-194.500 win over Washington Monday, freshman Sonya Meraz won the all-around in her all-around debut, scoring 39.025, and UCLA had four different winners on individual events. Jordan Williams won vault with a career-high 9.95, Sophina DeJesus captured bars with a season-high 9.9, Danusia Francis tied her season-high to win beam with a 9.925, and Sadiqua Bynum also tied her season-best with a 9.925 to win floor.
In the 197.075-196.225 win at Stanford on Saturday, the Bruins earned a season-best 49.45 on floor and had five gymnasts score career-best marks, including Sonya Meraz on all three events she competed (9.85 on bars and beam and 9.9 on floor), and Bynum, who earned 9.925 on floor for the third consecutive meet. UCLA was competing without Christine Peng-Peng Lee, who stayed behind in Los Angeles due to illness.
Raising the Bar on Floor
UCLA is raising the bar on floor exercise, with many of the competitors now performing E tumbling passes. Both Jennifer Pinches and Hallie Mossett inserted new full-in opening passes last week vs. Washington, joining Angi Cipra (full-in) and Sadiqua Bynum (double layout), who have been performing their E passes all season. Also with E passes are Samantha Peszek (double layout) and Napualani Hall (Arabian double front), who have each competed twice this season.
Meraz Moves into All-Around
Freshman walk-on Sonya Meraz became just the second Bruin this season to make it into the lineup as an all-arounder, and in her all-around debut vs. Washington, she won the meet with a score of 39.025. Meraz was not originally scheduled to compete on all four events but was inserted into the vault lineup just before competition began and scored a 9.8 on her first collegiate vault. She also earned scores of 9.6 on bars and 9.75 on beam and capped her night with a career-high 9.875 on floor. She was even better on Saturday at Stanford, scoring career-highs on all three events in which she competed, earning 9.85s on bars and beam and 9.9 on floor. Meraz leads the team in season average on beam, averaging 9.8.
Bynum Doubles Down on Vault, Floor
Junior Sadiqua Bynum has been delivering big scores all season on vault and floor, averaging 9.870 on vault and 9.865 on floor to rank second on the team in season average on each event. She has scored career-bests of 9.925 on floor to place first on the event in each of her last three meets, and she also earned a season-high 9.9 on vault vs. Washington last week. She has scored 9.85 or better on nine of her 10 routines this year.
Williams Vaults Ahead
Graduate student Jordan Williams recorded a career-high 9.95 on vault against Washington to capture her first victory as a Bruin. Williams, who came to Westwood from Arizona and is UCLA's first-ever graduate transfer, has averaged 9.858 on vault, competing in all six meets. She made her beam debut at Stanford and scored 9.75.
Peszek Power
Fifth-year senior Samantha Peszek has been lights out this season, averaging 39.588 in two all-around performances and scoring 9.85 or better on 16 of 18 routines competed. Her only missed routine was a rare beam miscue against Washington that snapped a streak of 21 consecutive hit beam routines and 52 straight hit routines in team competition. Peszek, the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week for Jan. 26, has won both times she has competed all-around, scoring 39.55 to win at Oregon State and 39.625 to win at Utah. She has a total of 10 victories out of a possible 20 and has placed in the Top 3 18 of 20 times.
Francis. Danusia Francis
Week after week, junior Danusia Francis has been posting career or season highs. On week two against Arizona, she scored a career-high 9.925 on floor with her James Bond-themed routine to secure her first-ever floor victory. Francis had a strong meet overall against Arizona, scoring 9.925 on beam and 9.775 on bars. Against Cal, she earned a career-best 9.925 on bars and added a pair of 9.85s on beam and floor. Last week versus Washington, she tied her season high on beam with a 9.925 to place first and added a 9.9 on floor.
Lee Makes Long-Awaited Return
Nearly three years after her last competition, redshirt sophomore Christine Peng-Peng Lee made her highly-anticipated collegiate debut at Oregon State on Jan. 12. Lee showed zero signs of rust, winning two events and placing fourth in another. She stuck every dismount and hit every skill in her difficult routines, scoring 9.9 to win bars, 9.825 on a stuck Yurchenko full vault, and 9.875 to tie for first on beam. Against Cal on Feb. 1, she won both events in which she competed, scoring 9.95s on bars and beam, and was subsequently named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week. She has totaled five event wins this season, including three in five meets on bars. Lee tore ligaments in her knee in 2012 just before the Canadian National Championships and had two surgeries, one in 2012 and another in 2013.
Gerber Enjoying Breakout Season
Sophomore Mikaela Gerber has enjoyed a breakout season so far, with strong and consistent routines in each of her six meets. She hit her first 10 routines of the year, with highs of 9.8 three times on beam and 9.85 on floor in her last meet at Stanford. Gerber averages 9.8 on floor.
Walk-On Freshmen Impress
Walk-on freshmen Sonya Meraz, LaNiesha-Jopré Irvin and JaNay Honest have impressed this season with consistent performances. Meraz won the all-around vs. Washington and scored career-highs on all three events she competed at Stanford, including her first career 9.9, on floor. She holds UCLA's highest season average on beam with a 9.8 and has season-highs of 9.9 on floor, 9.85 on bars and beam and 9.8 on vault. Irvin has stuck each of her three vaults she has performed this season and holds UCLA's third-best scoring average on the event with a 9.867. She has Top 3 finishes in each of her three meets and a high of 9.9, set at Utah. Honest has competed on vault in every meet and is averaging 9.813, with a high of 9.85 set at Stanford. She also competed on bars and exhibitioned on floor at Stanford, scoring 9.775 on bars and 9.75 on floor.
Honoring Bruin Greats with Legacy Routines
This season, several of UCLA's memorable floor exercise routines are coming back to life via current team members as they pay tribute to legacy of UCLA Gymnastics. Among these “legacy routines” are those done by Sadiqua Bynum, who asked to perform to Onnie Willis' sophomore year music, and Jennifer Pinches, who is recreating Lena Degteva's West Side Story routine. Freshman Sonya Meraz also has a routine previously done by Degteva, a 13-time All-American from 1997-2000. Willis, a 16-time All-American from 2000-03, was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame this year. JaNay Honest performed her version of Ariana Berlin's 2009 routine in an exhibition performance at Stanford.
Bruins Performing Skills Named After Bruins
Another way in which UCLA Gymnastics greats are being honored is through skills being performed that bear their names. Christine Peng-Peng Lee performs two high-risk moves that are named after Bruins - the Homma Flairs on beam (named after Leah Homma, who captained UCLA's first-ever NCAA Championship team in 1997) and the Bhardwaj on uneven bars (named after Mohini Bhardwaj, who won four NCAA titles from 1998-2001). Additionally, Danusia Francis performs a Maloney on uneven bars (named after Kristen Maloney, who won five NCAA titles from 2001-05).
Bruin Banter
Samantha Peszek is back hosting her third season of Bruin Banter, a weekly web series that offers an inside look at UCLA Gymnastics. Each week, Peszek, who co-produces the show alongside team videographer Deanna Hong, interviews a team member and recaps the previous week's activities. New this season is a behind-the-scenes segment that provides a glimpse at the inner workings of the team.
Pac-12 Championships Move to Utah
Due to possible scheduling conflicts with preliminary rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships on Mar. 21 will be moved to Salt Lake City for the second time in four years. Utah hosted the Championships in 2012, and UCLA took home the title thanks to a final rotation rally on balance beam that pushed the Bruins into first place ahead of the second-place Utes, 197.425-197.375.