#5 UCLA at Arizona
Saturday, Jan. 23 - 1:00 pm MT/12:00 pm PT
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Live Stats: arizonawildcats.com
Bruins Travel to Tucson
No. 5 UCLA (1-1) is back on the road for a Saturday afternoon Pac-12 dual meet at Arizona (2-0). The meet will take place at the McKale Center on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 1pm MT/12 pm PT and will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
Follow Live
Live stats will be available at arizonawildcats.com. Live updates can be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics.
In the Rankings
UCLA retained the No. 5 spot in the national rankings after posting a season-high score of 196.925 at Florida on Jan. 15. The Bruins are ranked first on floor, fourth on beam and 13th on vault and bars.
Individually, Danusia Francis continues to lead the nation on beam with a 9.95 average. Sadiqua Bynum leads three Bruins in the Top 10 on floor, ranking fifth, while Hallie Mossett and Angi Cipra are tied for eighth.
UCLA vs. Arizona - The Matchup
UCLA leads the overall series against Arizona, 66-10. The Bruins have won the last 17 regular season matchups with Arizona, with the Wildcats' last win coming in 2006 in Tucson.
Arizona is coached by first-year head coach Tabitha Yim, a former 14-time All-American at Stanford. The Wildcats are 2-0 to start the year, with wins over Michigan State and Texas Woman's University. Arizona was ranked No. 10 a week ago but dropped down to 29th in the current rankings. They are ranked 18th on bars and 24th on floor.
Bruins Show Improvements at Florida
UCLA gymnasts set six career-high marks and recorded season-high team marks on vault (49.125) and uneven bars (49.35) to post a big road score of 196.925 last Friday. Third-ranked Florida won the meet with a score of 197.675. UCLA scored 49+ on all four events and totaled six scores of 9.9 or higher, including a meet-winning 9.95 on beam by Danusia Francis and career-high scores of 9.9 by Napualani Hall on vault and Katelyn Ohashi on bars. Also tallying career-best scores were JaNay Honest and Melissa Metcalf on bars (9.85), Madison Preston on vault (9.825), and Mikaela Gerber on beam (9.85).
Ohashi Named Pac-12 Freshman of Week
Katelyn Ohashi was named the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week after scoring a career-high 9.9 on bars, tying her career-best on beam with a 9.8 and adding a 9.825 on floor at Florida. Her scores helped the Bruins achieve season-bests of 49.35 on bars and 196.925 overall. Ohashi has competed seven of eight routines for the Bruins, the most on the team so far this season.
High Marks
After just two meets, UCLA has already posted five 9.95 scores this season - Danusia Francis twice on beam, Christine Peng-Peng Lee once on beam and Hallie Mossett and Sadiqua Bynum once on floor. Mossett's 9.95 was the first 9.95+ score of her career, and Bynum's was her second. Lee now has eight (3 on bars, 5 on beam), and Francis has 11 (10 on beam, 1 on floor). The Bruins have also tallied 11 scores of 9.9 or higher this year.
Bruins Beat Bama in Opener
UCLA used strong performances on beam and floor to defeat third-ranked Alabama in the season opener, 196.550-196.300. The Bruins scored 49.4 on beam and 49.475 on floor to overtake the Crimson Tide. The meet came down to the final routine, and UCLA senior Sadiqua Bynum scored 9.95 to clinch the victory. The Bruins were boosted by four 9.95 scores - Bynum's on floor, Hallie Mossett on floor and Danusia Francis and Christine Peng-Peng Lee on beam.
Bruin Debuts
Three Bruins made their collegiate debuts in the season opener. Freshman Madison Preston anchored the Bruins on vault and scored 9.775. Sophomore Melissa Metcalf, who sat out the 2015 season with a knee injury, competed on uneven bars and scored 9.725 with a stuck double front dismount. Freshman Katelyn Ohashi was UCLA's lone all-arounder and scored 38.625, with scores including a 9.8 on beam and 9.85 on floor.
Lee Goes Hands-Free on Beam
Christine Peng-Peng Lee underwent surgery in November for a torn ligament in her left thumb, but it has not stopped her from performing to the best of her abilities. In her only routine of the meet in the season opener, she scored 9.95 on beam with a hands-free “Bluetooth” routine that included an aerial-back layout combo, a double turn and an aerial-layout full dismount.
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. Two Bruins have competed 10.0 vaults in their two meets. Napualani Hall scored a career-high 9.9 on a stuck Yurchenko 1.5 at Florida, and Sadiqua Bynum scored 9.825 on her Yurchenko Arabian at Florida. Angi Cipra had UCLA's top score on vault in the season opener with a 9.85 on a Yurchenko layout full.
Notables
Danusia Francis has hit 41 routines in a row without a fall, with 38 of those routines scoring 9.8 or above … Sadiqua Bynum hit all 23 routines in 2015 and has hit 34 in a row since 2014 … Sophina DeJesus has scored 9.8 or higher on 11 of her last 12 beam routines, with her 9.7 at Florida snapping her streak of 11 straight … JaNay Honest has 10-straight 9.8+ vaults … Sonya Meraz is a perfect 12-for-12 on beam in her career, with eight of those routines scoring 9.8 or higher … Hallie Mossett choreographed the floor exercise routines for JaNay Honest, Napualani Hall and Rechelle Dennis and helped head coach Valorie Kondos Field choreograph others on the team, including her own. Mossett, last week's Pac-12 Specialist of the Week, currently ranks eighth in the nation on floor exercise.
Francis Hosts Bruin Banter
Senior Danusia Francis has taken over hosting duties from Samantha Peszek in the weekly gymnastics web series Bruin Banter, which can be viewed every Thursday on uclabruins.com. This week's guest will be sophomore Napualani Hall.
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.
Get Social
UCLA Gymnastics ranks first among all NCAA gymnastics teams in Instagram followers (33k) and Facebook likes (76k+) and ranks eighth in Twitter followers (8k+). Follow the Bruins at @UCLAGymnastics on Instagram and Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/uclagymnastics.
Looking Ahead
UCLA will conclude its three-meet road stretch with a Monday, Feb. 1 meet at California at 7pm.