UCLA
Arizona State
Bruin Depth Showcased in Win over ASU
February 28, 2016 | Gymnastics
Los Angeles, Calif. - Sixth-ranked UCLA showcased its depth in a 196.625-192.950 victory over Arizona State on Saturday afternoon in front of a Pauley Pavilion crowd of 5,127.
With UCLA resting star gymnasts Danusia Francis and Angi Cipra this week and Christine Peng-Peng Lee and Hallie Mossett out with injuries, some fresh faces emerged as top contributors alongside veteran stars Sophina DeJesus and Sadiqua Bynum. Sophomore JaNay Honest earned career-high marks on bars (9.9) and floor (9.925), while her classmate Rechelle Dennis achieved a new season high of 9.85 on bars to claim third place for the second-straight week. Freshman Stella Savvidou scored 9.825 on beam in her first-ever collegiate routine, earning a 9.9 from one of the judges, and also added a 9.875 exhibition score on bars.
Saturday's meet also marked the return of freshman Katelyn Ohashi, who had missed the last four meets with a sternum injury. Ohashi owned the balance beam, scoring a career-best 9.9 to win the event. Napualani Hall also returned to the lineup and scored a season-high 9.85 on floor exercise.
DeJesus and Bynum maintained their season-long excellence, with Bynum winning floor, where she is ranked No. 1 in the nation, with a 9.95, her fifth 9.95+ score of the year. She also placed third on vault with a 9.825. DeJesus won bars with a season-high-tying 9.925, was second on floor with a 9.925 and placed third on beam with a 9.825.
UCLA (6-2, 5-1 in the Pac-12) led Arizona State (1-9, 0-6) from start to finish despite a slow start on vault, where the Bruins scored 48.675. Madison Preston led the team with a 9.85, followed by Bynum's 9.825. The Bruins gained momentum on uneven bars with scores of 9.8 or better by Melissa Metcalf (9.8), Dennis (9.85), Honest (9.9) and DeJesus (9.925), leading to a team total of 49.250. Balance beam also saw an abundance of solid marks, with Mikaela Gerber, Savvidou and DeJesus earning 9.825s, Sonya Meraz scoring 9.85 and Ohashi going 9.9.
UCLA showed why it was the No. 1 team in the nation on floor exercise with a team total of 49.475 and six scores of 9.8 or higher. Gerber led off with a season-high 9.825, and Meraz followed with a 9.8. Honest sent the crowd into a frenzy with her high-energy routine that earned her a career-high 9.925. Hall made a welcome return to the floor lineup, scoring a season-best 9.85, and DeJesus (9.925) and Bynum (9.95) closed the meet with big numbers to close the show.
"It was wonderful," UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field said. "The team committed to coming in and having a great time and having a party just like we do all the time. The athletes who stepped in to give Danusia and Angi a rest did a fantastic job. I was absolutely thrilled with how they did. I was really excited by their poise and their performance quality on the events. I was really impressed."
The Bruins will be back in Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, Mar. 6 to take on Georgia and Stanford at 12pm.
Players Mentioned
