#4 UCLA at #21 California
Monday, Feb. 1 - 7:00 pm
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Brian Webber, Samantha Peszek)
Live Stats: calbears.com
Bruins Face Bears in Berkeley Monday
No. 4 UCLA (2-1) concludes a three-game road stretch with a Monday night matchup at No. 21 California (6-2). The meet will take place at Haas Pavilion on Monday, Feb. 1 at 7 pm PT and will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks with Brian Webber and UCLA Gymnastics legend Samantha Peszek on the call.
Follow Live
Live stats will be available at calbears.com. Live updates can be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics.
In the Rankings
UCLA moved up one spot to No. 4 in the nation rankings with a season average of 196.758. The Bruins remain ranked No. 1 on floor (49.4) and are fifth on beam (49.208), 10th on bars (49.092) and 12th on vault (49.058).
Individually, Danusia Francis continues to lead the nation on beam with a 9.917 average. Sadiqua Bynum leads three Bruins in the Top 10 on floor, ranking sixth (9.925 average), while Hallie Mossett is seventh (9.912) and Angi Cipra is 10th (9.908). Napualani Hall makes her debut in the national rankings, checking in at 21st on vault (9.858).
UCLA vs. California - The Matchup
UCLA leads the all-time regular season series with Cal, 65-2. The two teams faced each other twice last season, with UCLA winning the dual in Pauley Pavilion, 196.800-195.425, and the Bruins placing second to the Bears' sixth at the Pac-12 Championships.
The Golden Bears are coming off a season-best performance in a tri-meet at Stanford, where they finished second with a score of 195.650. Toni-Ann Williams, last year's Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, won floor exercise with a score of 9.925 and now ranks 22nd in the nation on the event with an average of 9.883. As a team, California ranks ninth on floor (49.1), 14th on vault (48.967), 24th on beam (48.650).
Berkeley Homecoming for Bynum
UCLA fifth-year senior Sadiqua Bynum will be competing for the last time in her hometown on Monday. Bynum, who came to UCLA from Berkeley High School as a walk-on, has developed into a tremendous leader for the Bruins, anchoring the team on floor the last two seasons, earning All-America honors and currently ranking sixth in the nation with an average score of 9.925. She has been one of the Bruins' most consistent competitors over the years, hitting every routine both this season and last season and 36 straight going back to 2014.
Bruins Battle Through Adversity at Arizona
UCLA battled through illness and adversity to post a 196.800-196.475 victory at Arizona on Jan. 23. With several team members sick or resting, the Bruins nevertheless put up its second-highest score of the season. Freshman Katelyn Ohashi was the epitome of Bruin Strong, coming back from a hard fall on her beam dismount that was caused by an equipment malfunction. After being evaluated by medical and athletic training staff, Ohashi was cleared to repeat her routine, and she hit the same routine, including the double pike dismount, for a career-high 9.825. Ohashi won the all-around (39.375) and uneven bars (9.925). Napualani Hall won vault (9.9), and Sadiqua Bynum won floor (9.925). It was UCLA's vault performance that proved to be the difference, as the Bruins outscored the Wildcats on that event, 49.150-48.800.
Ohashi Again Named Pac-12 Freshman of Week
Katelyn Ohashi was named the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week for the second consecutive week. Ohashi set or tied career-highs on all four events and won the all-around with a career-best 39.375 in UCLA's 196.800-196.475 win at Arizona. The freshman from Plano, Texas started the meet with a career-high 9.925 on bars that gave her the event victory, the first of her career. She then set a new career-best on vault with a 9.775 and tied her career-best on floor with a 9.85. On beam, she was well on her way to a big score when the cap of the beam came off while she was dismounting, causing her to fall on her neck. After being evaluated by medical and athletic training staff, she was cleared to repeat her routine and finished with a career-high score of 9.825.
High Marks
After three meets, UCLA has 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 15 scores of 9.9 or higher this year.
Bruin Debuts
Some new faces made their season debuts at Arizona. Freshman Stella Savvidou, who joined the Bruins in late December, performed an exhibition routine on bars, scoring 9.75. Freshman Nicki Shapiro also made her Bruin debut with an exhibition beam performance that scored 9.725. Sonya Meraz and Madison Preston had strong showings on floor, competing for the first time this season and scoring 9.8 and 9.875, respectively.
Bluetooth Waning
For the first two weeks of the season, Christine Peng-Peng Lee has been performing a hands-free beam routine due to thumb surgery in November for a torn ligament. On Saturday at Arizona, she brought back her Homma Flairs mount, marking the first step in her return to full usage of her hands. Lee kept her tumbling hands-free still, performing an aerial/back layout combo and an aerial/layout full dismount. She scored 9.825 on the routine and has a high of 9.95 in the season opener.
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 three meets. Napualani Hall has scored career-highs of 9.9 on stuck Yurchenko 1.5s in her last two meets, and Sadiqua Bynum scored a season-high 9.875 on her Yurchenko Arabian at Arizona. 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 43 routines in a row without a fall, with 40 of those routines scoring 9.8 or above … Sadiqua Bynum hit all 23 routines in 2015 and has hit 36 in a row since 2014 … Sophina DeJesus has scored 9.8 or higher on 12 of her last 13 beam routines, with her 9.7 at Florida snapping her streak of 11 straight … JaNay Honest had a streak of 10-straight 9.8+ vaults snapped with a 9.775 at Arizona, but she has scored a career-high 9.85 on bars in two straight meets … Sonya Meraz is a perfect 13-for-13 on beam in her career, with nine 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, week one's Pac-12 Specialist of the Week, currently ranks seventh 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 freshman Katelyn Ohashi.
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 (35k) and Facebook likes (77k+) and ranks eighth in Twitter followers (8k+). The Bruins also have 4500+ followers on Vine. Follow the Bruins at @UCLAGymnastics on Instagram and Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/uclagymnastics.
Looking Ahead
UCLA returns home for a two-meet homestand, beginning with a Saturday, Feb. 6 matchup against Utah and a Saturday, Feb. 13 meeting with Oregon State. Tickets can be purchased in advance at uclabruins.com/tickets.