UCLA
NCAA Team Semifinals
UCLA Places 5th at NCAA Championships
April 17, 2016 | Gymnastics
Fort Worth, Texas – The UCLA gymnastics team finished in fifth place with a score of 196.825 in its first Super Six in three years, hitting 48-for-48 routines over the weekend. The Top 4 teams finished within .0325 of each other, and it was top-ranked Oklahoma who took home the crown with a score of 197.675. The championship was the Sooners' second overall and first outright. LSU was second with 197.450, Alabama was third with 197.4375, and Florida finished fourth with 197.350.
Celebrating a successful weekend! 48-for-48 and a 5th place finish! #BruinProud pic.twitter.com/VFXo9s846b
— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) April 17, 2016
The Bruins started strong on floor exercise, scoring 49.200, with five routines scoring 9.8125 or higher. Sadiqua Bynum led the charge with a 9.8625. Sophina DeJesus returned to the floor lineup to perform the routine that made her a viral sensation, and she scored 9.85. The Bruins started the rotation with a pair of 9.8375s from JaNay Honest and Hallie Mossett, and Danusia Francis added a 9.8125.
UCLA got three stuck vaults from Sonya Meraz, Madison Preston and Napualani Hall to score 49.0875, an improvement upon its semifinal score. Meraz scored 9.775, Preston 9.825 and Hall 9.85. Also adding to the team total were Bynum, who scored 9.825 on her last collegiate routine, and Angi Cipra, who had a clean leadoff vault that scored 9.8125.
At the halfway mark, however, Alabama took over the lead with a 98.7, followed by Oklahoma (98.675), Florida (98.575), Georgia (98.55), LSU (98.4625) and UCLA (98.2875). The Bruins scored 49.1 on uneven bars in rotation four, led by DeJesus' 9.875 and Christine Peng-Peng Lee's 9.85. Francis' 9.825 and Honest's 9.8125 gave UCLA four scores of 9.8 or higher. Meraz and Katelyn Ohashi added scores of 9.7375. The Bruins made up a little ground on Georgia, but the leaders continued to pull ahead, with Oklahoma scoring 49.425 on beam, and Florida scoring 49.325 on vault.
UCLA closed it out with a monster final rotation on balance beam, scoring 49.4375. Mikaela Gerber started the rotation with a 9.875, and Meraz scored 9.8625. Nicki Shapiro drilled her dismount and scored 9.825. Ohashi stuck all of her elements cold and earned a 9.9, and DeJesus finished her career with a 9.85. Francis, the 2016 NCAA beam co-champion closed with a 9.95 to push UCLA ahead of Georgia, leaving Oklahoma, Florida, LSU and Alabama to duke it out in the final rotation for the title.
In an epic final battle, LSU took the lead after scoring 49.525 on vault, only to see Oklahoma take the crown with a 49.575 on floor.
UCLA finishes its season with a Top 5 national finish, a NCAA balance beam title by Francis and a Pac-12 team title.
Final Results:
1. Oklahoma 197.6750
2. LSU 197.4500
3. Alabama 197.4375
4. Florida 197.3500
5. UCLA 196.8250
6. Georgia 196.8125
Players Mentioned
