#6 UCLA vs. Arizona State
Saturday, Feb. 27 - 1:00 pm
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Jim Watson, Amanda Borden)
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets
UCLA Hosts Arizona State Saturday
No. 6 UCLA (5-2, 4-1 in the Pac-12) hosts Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1pm in Pauley Pavilion in the first of three-straight home meets. The UCLA-Arizona State meet will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks, with Jim Watson and Amanda Borden on the call.
Pint-Sized Appreciation
UCLA is showing its appreciation to the pint-sized Bruin fans by offering a free general admission ticket to anyone shorter than the 4'10” Katelyn Ohashi. Come to the main entrance of Pauley Pavilion to see if you measure up.
Tickets & Promotions
For those who stand over 4'10”, tickets for the UCLA-Arizona State meet can be purchased 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. UCLA Faculty & Staff can receive four free admissions when presenting their Bruin Card or pay stub at the main entrance.
The Bruin team will participate in a formal autograph signing on the concourse at the conclusion of the meet.
Follow Live
Live stats will be available at uclabruins.com. Live updates can also be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics. British Olympian and undergraduate assistant coach Jennifer Pinches will be live tweeting from the arena during the meet.
In the Rankings
UCLA is ranked No. 6 in the nation with a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) of 196.810. RQS is determined by taking the top six scores, three of which must be on the road, dropping the high score and averaging the remaining five marks. The Bruins are tied for No. 1 on floor (49.420) and ranked No. 4 on beam (49.240), No. 11 on vault (49.070) and No. 15 on bars (49.045). Although only three Bruins are ranked in the Top 25 nationally, they are all ranked in the Top 5 - Sadiqua Bynum is No. 1 on floor, Danusia Francis is No. 2 on beam, and Angi Cipra is No. 4 on floor.
Sophina Goes Viral
Senior Sophina DeJesus gained overnight fame when a video of her floor exercise routine went viral on Super Bowl weekend. The video has topped 28 million views on Facebook at 12 million on YouTube. DeJesus was the top trending topic on Facebook for two days and was featured on countless news programs and websites around the world, including People Magazine, Time, New York Times, BuzzFeed, Upworthy, Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR and Cosmo. Celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, Chris Brown and Ashton Kutcher posted about her routine on social media.
DeJesus made her biggest appearance yet last week with a guest turn on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. During the broadcast, DeJesus did a modified version of her floor routine and reminisced with Ellen about her first appearance on the show 10 years ago when she performed with her dance crew Diamonds in the Rough. DeJesus and her teammates also danced on stage during a commercial break with dancer/actor/Ellen DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss.
UCLA vs. Arizona State - The Matchup
UCLA is 57-23 all-time against Arizona State and has not lost to the Sun Devils since Jan. 26, 2001 in Tempe, a streak of 29 consecutive wins. The Bruins won both meetings last year, winning a dual meet in Tempe and then placing ahead of ASU at the Pac-12 Championship.
The Sun Devils, who are ranked 46th nationally, are coming off their best performance of the season in a loss to Arizona, scoring 193.975 and posting season-highs on three events. Allie Salas won the all-around with a score of 39.100.
Last Time Out
A short-handed Bruin team battled Washington to the wire, using strong floor and beam sets in the final two rotations to defeat the Huskies, 196.675-196.450. Washington held the lead for the first two rotations with solid numbers on vault and bars, but UCLA came storming back with a 49.35 on floor, thanks to a 9.925 from Sophina DeJesus and 9.95s from Angi Cipra and Sadiqua Bynum, to grab a one-tenth of a point lead going into the last rotation. The Bruins had five scores of 9.825 or higher on beam and a team total of 49.325 to seal the victory.
Bynum Ranked No. 1 on Floor, Named Pac-12 Specialist of the Week
Senior Sadiqua Bynum may have started her UCLA career as a redshirt walk-on, but she is ending her career as a superstar. Bynum is ranked No. 1 in the nation on floor exercise and was named this week's Pac-12 Gymnastics Specialist of the Week after recording two victories in UCLA's win at Washington on Sunday. Bynum won both events that she competed, tying her season-high on vault with a 9.875 and recording a 9.95 on floor exercise. Bynum's 9.95 on floor was her fourth score of 9.95 or higher this season. In addition to being the nation's top-ranked floor performer, she is also the Bruins' top-ranked vaulter, checking in at 29th nationally with a RQS of 9.845. Bynum now has a team-high four event titles and also leads the team with six scores of 9.9 or higher and four scores of 9.95 or higher. The Pac-12 weekly honor is Bynum's second of the season and her career. She was previously named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week on Feb. 9.
High Marks
After seven meets, UCLA has posted 13 9.95 scores this season - Danusia Francis three times on beam, Christine Peng-Peng Lee and Sophina DeJesus once on beam, Sadiqua Bynum four times on floor, Angi Cipra three times on floor and Hallie Mossett once on floor. Francis leads the crew with 12 9.95+ scores in her career (11 on beam and 1 on floor). Lee has eight (3 on bars, 5 on beam), Bynum has five, all on floor. Cipra has four on floor, and Mossett has one on floor. DeJesus has one each on bars and beam. The Bruins have also tallied 35 scores of 9.9 or higher this year and had a season-high eight in the meet vs. Oregon State.
Notables
Nine Bruins have hit all of their routines without a fall so far this season. Danusia Francis is 22-for-22, JaNay Honest is 15-for-15, Sadiqua Bynum is 14-for-14, Madison Preston is 11-for-11, Mikaela Gerber is 10-for-10, Napualani Hall is 8-for-8, and Melissa Metcalf is 5-for-5. Rechelle Dennis is 3-for-3, and Nicki Shapiro is 2-for-2 … Francis has hit 57 routines in a row without a fall, with 51 of those routines scoring 9.8 or above … Bynum hit all 23 routines in 2015 and has hit 44 in a row since 2014 … Sophina DeJesus has scored 9.8 or higher on 16 of her last 17 beam routines … Sonya Meraz is a perfect 16-for-16 on beam in her career, with 11 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.
Bruin Depth
The depth of the UCLA team has been on full display this season, with 16 gymnasts getting into the lineup at least once. The latest newcomer to crack the lineup is Rechelle Dennis, who made her season debut on vault at Washington and on bars vs. Oregon State. Dennis had a solid meet at Washington, earning a career-high 9.8 on bars and scoring 9.725 in her vault debut. Nicki Shapiro has also solidified her place in the lineup on beam in the last two meets, scoring 9.9 on her debut routine vs. Oregon State and 9.85 at Washington. JaNay Honest made her season debut on floor at Washington and scored a career-high 9.85.
Injury Update
Junior Hallie Mossett remains out with a fractured sternum. Christine Peng-Peng Lee had her knee scoped earlier this week and will be out a few weeks. Freshman Katelyn Ohashi missed the last four meets but may return to the lineup on beam this weekend. Also expected back this week is Napualani Hall, who missed the last two meets due to a low back strain.
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 four meets. Napualani Hall has scored career-highs of 9.9 on stuck Yurchenko 1.5s twice, and Sadiqua Bynum has twice scored 9.875 on her Yurchenko Arabian. JaNay Honest and Madison Preston have UCLA's highest score on a Yurchenko layout full with 9.9s against Oregon State.
Singing Bruins
Juniors Christine Peng-Peng Lee and Hallie Mossett and team manager Alex Waller made their vocal debut singing the national anthem at the Bruins' last home meet. On Friday, Feb. 12, they made their live television debut on the Pac-12 Networks, singing the national anthem live prior to UCLA-USC swimming and diving meet. The trio will also take their vocal talents to the UCLA-Oregon men's basketball game on Mar. 2.
UCLA Dominates Pac-12 All-Century Team
UCLA Gymnastics dominated the Pac-12 All-Century Team, with 12 Bruins selected to the 16-gymnast roster, in addition to current head coach Valorie Kondos Field being named Coach of the Century and two-time NCAA all-around champion Tasha Schwikert being selected the Gymnast of the Century.
Also selected to the All-Century team from UCLA were Jill Andrews (balance beam), Mohini Bhardwaj (all-around, uneven bars, floor exercise), Jamie Dantzscher (floor exercise, all-around), Kim Hamilton (floor exercise), Kristen Maloney (vault), Heidi Moneymaker (vault), Samantha Peszek (balance beam, all-around), Kate Richardson (floor exercise), Schwikert (all-around), Sharon Shapiro (all-around), Stella Umeh (floor exercise) and Vanessa Zamarripa (vault).
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 or Friday on uclabruins.com. This week's episode features guests Rechelle Dennis and Nicki Shapiro.
Get Social
UCLA Gymnastics ranks first among all NCAA gymnastics teams in Instagram followers (42k) and Facebook likes (83k+) and ranks sixth in Twitter followers (9.1k). Follow the Bruins at @UCLAGymnastics on Instagram and Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/uclagymnastics.
Looking Ahead
UCLA has two remaining home meets left before postseason begins. The Bruins host Georgia and Stanford on Sunday, Mar. 6 at 12pm and Oklahoma on Sunday, Mar. 13 at 1pm.