UCLA
Oregon State
Bruins Beat Beavers, 197.475-196.225
February 14, 2016 | Gymnastics
Los Angeles, Calif. - Nearly 5,000 fans packed Pauley Pavilion for a late-night gymnastics meet and were rewarded for staying up past 9pm with masterful performances by UCLA on beam and floor, leading to a season-high team total of 197.475, over one point ahead of Oregon State, which scored 196.225.
Everyone wanted to know what Sophina DeJesus would do for an encore after a whirlwind week in which she became a viral superstar, and the UCLA senior delivered with a balance beam routine that earned a perfect 10 from one judge and a career-high final score of 9.975. DeJesus wasn't the only Bruin to nearly reach perfection. Her senior classmates also earned one perfect score on a routine. Danusia Francis had a perfect 10 from one beam judge and a 9.9 from the other for a final score of 9.95, and Sadiqua Bynum followed up her meet-clinching performance last week with a career-high-tying 9.975 on floor exercise.
Watch Sophina DeJesus' 9.975 Beam
Watch Sadiqua Bynum's 9.975 Floor
The Bruins (4-2, 3-1 in the Pac-12) came out the gates hard with a vault rotation that scored a season-high 49.35. Francis set the tone with her first collegiate vault, which she stuck for a score of 9.775. Sonya Meraz followed with another stick and the first of her four 9.85s in the meet. JaNay Honest hit the vault of her career, sticking a Yurchenko layout full for a career-high 9.9 that gave her a share of the event title. After Angi Cipra's 9.825, freshman Madison Preston also scored a career-best 9.9 with a big vault with perfect form before Bynum hit a season-high-tying 9.875.
UCLA had to rearrange its uneven bars lineup after Hallie Mossett was injured during bars warmups with a sternal contusion. Francis led off with a 9.85, and substitute Rechelle Dennis made her competitive debut, scoring 9.725. Meraz added a 9.85, and Melissa Metcalf and Honest went 9.825 on back-to-back routines. DeJesus had a fluke fall on her mount but got back up and finished with a nearly flawless routine and stuck dismount, scoring 9.4. UCLA's 49.075 score kept the Bruins ahead of the Beavers, who scored 48.975 on vault, and the Bruins headed into the halfway mark with a 98.425-98.200 lead.
The Bruins got a huge boost on balance beam with another season-best, scoring 49.5. Freshman Nicki Shapiro made a huge splash in her first-ever competitive routine, scoring 9.9 and paving the way for DeJesus' career-high 9.975 and Francis' 9.95. Also scoring for the Bruins were Mikaela Gerber, who led off with a 9.825, and Meraz, who tied her career-high with a 9.85.
UCLA closed it out on floor exercise and delivered six strong routines, with three scores of 9.9 or higher. Meraz led off with a season-high 9.85, Preston added a 9.825, and Francis tied her season-best with a 9.875. DeJesus brought her famous moves to the floor and scored 9.9, and Cipra followed last week's 9.975 with a 9.95. Bynum closed the night with a career-high-tying 9.975 to boost the Bruins' team score to 49.55, its second 49.5+ floor score in as many meets.
Winning the all-around in her first-ever all-around attempt was Francis, who scored 39.45.
"I'm just so happy for her," said UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field. "She's so consistent at a very high level. It is absolutely remarkable."
Meraz placed second in the all-around in her first all-around effort of the year, earning a career-high 39.4.
UCLA will travel to Washington on Sunday, Feb. 21 for a 1pm meet in Seattle that will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
Players Mentioned
