UCLA
Georgia and Stanford
Francis Scores 10.0 in Tri-Meet Loss
March 07, 2016 | Gymnastics
UCLA senior Danusia Francis scored a perfect 10 on balance beam, but the seventh-ranked Bruins had to count a fall on the event, dropping them to third place in a tri-meet with Stanford and Georgia. The 16th-ranked Cardinal won the meet with a season-high 197.400, while 10th-ranked Georgia was second with a 197.025. UCLA finished with a team score of 196.825.
Francis hit perfection during the third rotation with a flawless and difficult performance and punctuated it with a stuck sideways side aerial to full-twisting layout dismount. It was Francis' second perfect 10 of her career. She previously scored a 10 in Mar. 16, 2014, also in Pauley Pavilion.
Watch: Danusia Francis' Perfect 10
UCLA had three 9.9+ scores on beam - a leadoff 9.925 from Mikaela Gerber, a 9.9 from Katelyn Ohashi, and Francis' 10 - plus a 9.85 from Sonya Meraz but also had two falls, which dropped the team score to 48.95, and not even a 49.475 on floor exercise in the final rotation could lift the Bruins from third place.
But that didn't stop the Bruins from trying. Gerber scored a leadoff 9.825 on floor. Meraz scored 9.875, including a 9.95 from one judge, despite a music malfunction that had her starting her routine to different music and then doing two-thirds of her routine to no music and just the audience's applause. Napualani Hall scored 9.8, and the final three Bruins scored 9.9 or higher. Ohashi recorded her second 9.9 of the day (and her third 9.9 in three routines since coming back from a fractured sternum) to post a new career-high. JaNay Honest earned her second consecutive 9.925 on floor, tying her career-high, and Sadiqua Bynum picked up her fifth-consecutive score of 9.95 or higher, tying for first place with a 9.95.
The Bruins also had a strong performance on vault in the first rotation, taking the early lead, along with Stanford, with a season-best 49.375. Bynum earned a career-high 9.95 with a stuck Yurchenko Arabian, and Madison Preston stuck her Yurchenko layout full for a career-high-tying 9.9. The Bruins had 9.8 or higher on all six vaults.
Uneven bars was a little shaky for the Bruins, however, and UCLA's 49.025 on the event allowed Stanford to surge ahead after a 49.25 on floor. Sophina DeJesus was the team's leading scorer with a 9.875, and Meraz and Honest posted 9.85s.
Stanford was strong on all four events, scoring 49.25 or higher on each apparatus. The Cardinal used a 49.525 on uneven bars to solidify the victory. Elizabeth Price, who won the all-around with a 39.675, scored 9.975s on vault and bars. Georgia had its strongest showing in the final rotation with a 49.525 on vault, punctuated by a perfect 10 by Brittany Rogers on a stuck Yurchenko 1.5.
The Bruins will close their regular season on Sunday, Mar. 13 against Oklahoma on Senior Day. The meet begins at 2pm and will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks. UCLA will honor its esteemed seniors - Bynum, DeJesus and Francis - in post-meet ceremonies. Tickets can be purchased at uclabruins.com/tickets.
Players Mentioned
