UCLA
Oklahoma
Bruins Score 197.2 in Loss to Oklahoma
March 14, 2016 | Gymnastics
Los Angeles, Calif. - UCLA's seniors bid farewell to the Pauley Pavilion faithful by helping the Bruins post their second-highest team score of the season, 197.200. No. 1 Oklahoma took first-place honors with a score of 197.950. The Bruin seniors gave show-stopping performances that led to standing ovations in their last home meet, highlighted by 9.95s on floor exercise by Danusia Francis and Sadiqua Bynum.
Francis earned a 10.0 on floor from one of the judges en route to her career-best mark of 9.95, a score that was later matched by both Angi Cipra and Bynum, with all three placing first on the event along with Oklahoma's AJ Jackson and Haley Scaman. The Bruins' other event win came from sophomore JaNay Honest, who scored a new career-best of 9.95 to tie for first on uneven bars with Oklahoma's McKenzie Wofford.
UCLA had solid numbers on all four events, recording a 49.525 on floor , 49.3 on bars, 49.225 on beam and 49.150 on vault. But Oklahoma posted huge numbers to top the Bruins, with a 49.625 on floor, 49.55 on beam, 49.4 on bars and 49.375 on vault.
Freshman Madison Preston led the way on vault with a 9.875, tying for second place. Bynum (9.85), Honest (9.825), Cipra (9.8) and Napualani Hall (9.8) also contributed 9.8+ scores for the Bruins. On bars, Honest recorded her second bars win of the season with her 9.95. Freshman Stella Savvidou recorded a career-best 9.875, and sophomore Melissa Metcalf tied her career-high with a 9.85.
On balance beam, five Bruins scored 9.8 or higher, led by freshman Katelyn Ohashi, who turned in her third consecutive 9.9 on beam to place third. Francis scored 9.875, senior Sophina DeJesus turned in a 9.85, and sophomore Mikaela Gerber and freshman Nicki Shapiro recorded 9.8s.
The Bruins lit up the crowd of over 7,000 fans on floor exercise in the final rotation. Ohashi tumbled her way to a 9.825, and Honest danced her way to a 9.85. Francis nailed her tumbling passes before taking one last shot at the student section to end her routine in her last performance in Pauley. One of the judges gave her a perfect 10, while the other scored it a 9.9, with her final score tying her career-best 9.95. DeJesus gave the Pauley fans one last look at her famous floor routine that made her a viral superstar, and she finished with a score of 9.775 and a standing ovation. Cipra nailed her routine and had the crowd clamoring for a perfect 10 but had to settle for a 9.95, as did Bynum, who capped her home career with big tumbling and perfect landings and scored 9.95 or higher for the sixth consecutive meet.
UCLA (6-5) now heads to the Pac-12 Championships in Washington on Saturday, Mar. 19, competing in the second session of the championship, along with No. 1 seed Utah, No. 3 seed California and No. 4 seed Oregon State. Oklahoma finishes the regular season with a 20-1 overall record and will next compete in the Big 12 Championships on Mar. 19.
Players Mentioned
