#6 UCLA vs. #3 Alabama
Sunday, Jan. 10 - 2:00 pm PT
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Jim Watson, Amanda Borden, Greg Marsden)
App: Pac-12 Now
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
2016 Season Opens Sunday
The sixth-ranked UCLA gymnastics team will kick off the 2016 season on Sunday, Jan. 10 against third-ranked Alabama. The meet will take place at 2pm in Pauley Pavilion (arrive by 1:45 to catch the pre-meet festivities) and will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks, with Jim Watson, Amanda Borden and Greg Marsden on the call.
Tickets and Promotions
Tickets for the UCLA-Alabama meet are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office. Season tickets are also available for the Bruins' super-sized six-meet home schedule. Single-meet tickets are on sale at the UCLA Central Ticket Office and at Ticketmaster for as low as $8. UCLA students are free with ID and eligible to win a raffle prize each home meet. This week's prize is an Apple Watch. The first 1,000 fans in Bruin Blue for this week's Blue-Out will receive a UCLA Gymnastics poster. At the conclusion of the meet, the Bruin team will sign autographs on the concourse.
Follow Live
Live stats will be available at uclabruins.com. Live updates can be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics.
Battle of Six-Time Champions
UCLA and Alabama have combined to win 12 NCAA team championships, winning six each. UCLA captured its titles in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2010. Alabama was victorious in 1988, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2011 and 2012.
Bruins Open Season Ranked No. 6
UCLA will open the season at No. 6 in the 2016 preseason coaches poll. The Bruins have been ranked in the preseason Top 10 every year since the rankings were established in 1998.
UCLA will face six Top 10 teams in 2016, including each of the Top 4 teams - No. 1 Oklahoma on Mar. 13, No. 2 Florida on Jan. 15, No. 3 Alabama on Jan. 10 and No. 4 Utah on Feb. 6. UCLA will also host No. 8 Stanford and No. 9 Georgia on Mar. 6. Other Top 25 teams on the schedule are No. 12 Oregon State (Feb. 13), No. 14 California (Feb. 1) and No. 18 Arizona (Jan. 23).
UCLA vs. Alabama
This will be Alabama's first regular season appearance at UCLA since the 2008 season and the first dual meet between the two schools since the Bruins traveled to Tuscaloosa in 2013. Alabama holds the regular season series advantage, 2-8, with UCLA's last win coming in a quad meet in Los Angeles in 2001. Alabama returns five All-Americans - Katie Bailey, Lauren Beers, Mackenzie Brannan, Keely McNeer and Carley Sims.
About the Bruins
UCLA returns four All-Americans from last year's squad - Sadiqua Bynum (floor), Sophina DeJesus (bars), Danusia Francis (beam) and Christine Peng-Peng Lee (bars and beam). Newcomers to the squad this year include 2013 America Cup winner Katelyn Ohashi, 2014 Level 10 national vault champion Madison Preston, eight-time Region 1 champion Nicki Shapiro and 2015 World Championships competitor Stella Savvidou. Additionally, 2013 Level 10 national bars champion Melissa Metcalf is back after missing the 2015 season with a knee injury. Freshman Macy Toronjo, who won the 2015 Level 10 national all-around and floor titles, is out for the year after undergoing rotator cuff surgery.
The Bruins lose seven gymnasts from a year ago, most notably All-Americans Samantha Peszek and Jordan Williams. Peszek won the NCAA all-around and beam titles last season and finished her career as a 17-time All-American and a 2015 Academic All-American.
Coming Back
UCLA returns 10 athletes who saw competition time a year ago and 17 of 24 routines (71%) competed at the 2015 NCAA Championships, including five each on bars and beam. The Bruins will need to replace 9.9+ scores from Samantha Peszek (all-around) and Jordan Williams (vault). Six Bruin returners scored at least one 9.9 last season - Sonya Meraz (1), Sophina DeJesus (2), Angi Cipra (3), Sadiqua Bynum (8), Danusia Francis (15), and Christine Peng-Peng Lee (15). Additionally, Lee pulled in seven scores of 9.95 or better, including one 9.975 on beam; Francis had five 9.95s, and Bynum had one, a 9.975 on floor.
Lee Goes Hands-Free on Beam
Christine Peng-Peng Lee underwent surgery in November on her left thumb for a ligament sprain, but it will not be keeping her out of competition. She has been training a hands-free “Bluetooth” beam routine that includes an aerial-back layout combo and an aerial-layout full dismount.
International Competitors
UCLA was well-represented at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, as senior Danusia Francis competed for Jamaica and freshman Stella Savvidou competed for Cyprus. Bruin signee Madison Kocian, who will defer enrollment until the 2017 season, won a pair of gold medals for the uneven bars and team competition. The Bruins have two other former World Championship competitors in Christine Peng-Peng Lee and Mikaela Gerber, who were on Canada's 2011 Worlds team, and an American Cup (2013) and Pacific Rim Championship (2012) all-around champ in Katelyn Ohashi.
Vault Changes
With the Yurchenko layout full and Yurchenko layout half vaults being devalued to 9.95 start values, several Bruins have been working on new vaults in 2016 to maintain a 10.0 start value. Among the new 10.0 vaults to keep an eye out for this season are a Yurchenko Arabian from Sadiqua Bynum and a Yurchenko 1.5 from Napualani Hall.
Notables
Danusia Francis ended the 2015 season having hit 35 routines in a row, with 33 of those routines scoring 9.8 or above and no score dipping below 9.775 … Sadiqua Bynum hit all 23 routines in 2015 and has hit 30 in a row since 2014 … Sophina DeJesus has scored 9.8 or higher on 10 straight beam routines … Hallie Mossett choreographed JaNay Honest's floor exercise routine.
Pac-12 Networks to Televise 10 UCLA Meets
Nine of UCLA's 10 regular season meets, along with the Pac-12 Championships, will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks this season. Also televised live for the first time will be the NCAA Championships on Apr. 15 and 16 on ESPNU. UCLA's nine regular season televised meets are the most among the Pac-12 schools. New to the Pac-12 Networks' broadcast team is 2015 UCLA graduate Samantha Peszek, who will be a color analyst on three of UCLA's meets (at Cal, Oregon State and at Washington).
Looking Ahead
UCLA travels to three-time defending NCAA champion Florida for a Friday, Jan. 15 meet at the O'Connell Center.