UCLA
Oklahoma
No. 8 UCLA Challenges No. 2 Oklahoma Sunday
January 12, 2017 | Gymnastics
#8 UCLA at #2 Oklahoma
Sunday, Jan. 15 - 4:00 pm CT
TV: Fox Sports Network
Live Stats: soonersports.com
Bruins Travel to Oklahoma on Sunday
UCLA will face the defending NCAA champion Oklahoma on Sunday, Jan. 15 in Norman, Okla. at 4pm CT. The meet between the No. 8 Bruins and No. 2 Sooners will be televised live on Fox College Sports. This is the second-straight year UCLA has competed against the defending NCAA Champion in its first road meet. Last year, the Bruins' first road meet was at Florida.
Follow Live
Live stats will be available at soonersports.com. Live updates can be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics.
Four World Champions Featured
Four World Champions, two on each team, will be featured competitors in Sunday's meet. UCLA boasts World and Olympic champions Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross, while Oklahoma has World champions Maggie Nichols and Brenna Dowell. Kocian and Ross were teammates on Team USA's 2014 world championship squad, while Kocian, Nichols and Dowell made up half of the 2015 world championship team. Ross has a total of five World medals (2014 team gold and all-around bronze; 2013 all-around, bars and beam silver), Kocian has three (2015 uneven bars and team gold, 2014 team gold), Nichols has two (2015 team gold and floor bronze), and Dowell has one (2015 team).
Kocian, Ross Become First Olympic Gold Medalists to Compete Collegiately
UCLA freshmen Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross made history on Saturday when they became the first two Olympic gold medalists ever to compete in an NCAA women's gymnastics meet. Kocian won team gold as a member of the Final Five along with uneven bars silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, while Ross won team gold at the 2012 Olympics in London (along with UCLA volunteer coach Jordyn Wieber) as a member of the Fierce Five.
Kocian won the all-around with a 39.425 in her collegiate debut and also tied for first place on uneven bars (9.875), balance beam (9.85) and floor exercise (9.875) and fourth place on vault (9.825). Ross tied for first on uneven bars (9.875) and placed third on vault (9.875). She also competed on balance beam and scored 9.7.
Bruins Win Season Opener Over Arkansas
Using 13 competitors throughout the day, UCLA defeated Arkansas, 195.7-195.35 in the season opener. The Bruins used strong 49.25 performances on vault and uneven bars in the first two rotations to build a strong enough lead to withstand errors on balance beam and floor exercise. Senior Hallie Mossett clinched the victory for the Bruins with her 9.8 on floor on the final routine of the meet. Freshman Madison Kocian won the all-around and three events, and sophomore Madison Preston earned first-place finishes on both events in which she competed (vault and floor). Christine Peng-Peng Lee and Kyla Ross tied with Kocian for the bars title, and Mikaela Gerber tied for first with Kocian on beam.
Preston Vaults to Victory
Sophomore Madison Preston was stellar in the Bruins' season opener, winning both events in which she competed. She won vault with a stuck Yurchenko layout full, scoring a career-high-tying 9.9, and tied for first place on floor exercise with a 9.875. Preston, who won the NCAA Regional vault title last season, is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation on vault and No. 14 on floor.
Gerber Wins First Title
Senior Mikaela Gerber picked up her first career victory on Sunday, tying for first place on balance beam with a 9.85. Gerber, who is UCLA's leadoff performer on the event, has hit 18 consecutive beam routines and 27 consecutive routines overall.
Kocian Wins UCLA Athlete of the Week Honors
Madison Kocian was voted the UCLA/Muscle Milk Student-Athlete of the Week after her debut performance against Arkansas. Kocian won the all-around and three events in her first collegiate competition.
In the Rankings
UCLA enters the week ranked No. 8 in the nation after scoring 195.7 in the season opener. The Bruins are ranked fourth on vault and fifth on bars. Madison Kocian is ranked in the Top 15 in the all-around (10th) and two events (14th on floor and 15th on bars). Madison Preston is Top 15 on two events (8th on vault and 14th on floor), as is Kyla Ross (14th on vault and 15th on bars). Christine Peng-Peng Lee is the fourth Bruin to rank in the Top 15, ranking 15th on bars. Rankings are currently based on average score.
UCLA vs. Oklahoma
Oklahoma is the defending NCAA champion and won its season opener last weekend against Alabama, 197.750-196.700. The Sooners return eight All-Americans from last year's squad, including 2016 national all-around runner-up Chayse Capps and three-even All-American AJ Jackson. Head coach K.J. Kindler is a three-time National Coach of the Year.
The two teams met last year in Pauley Pavilion, with the Sooners winning, 197.950-197.200. This is the Bruins' first trip back to Oklahoma since 2013. UCLA also scored 197.2 in that meet, while Oklahoma scored 198.375. The Bruins are 1-5 all-time against the Sooners, with their lone win coming in 2012 in Los Angeles, 197.525-196.475.
Streaks
Mikaela Gerber has a streak of 27 consecutive hit routines dating back to 2015. She hit all 19 of her routines last year, including all 14 as the leadoff on beam โฆ Katelyn Ohashi has hit 24 consecutive routines without a fall โฆ Four Bruin returners competed in all 14 meets last season - Mikaela Gerber, JaNay Honest, Sonya Meraz and Madison Preston. Meraz has competed in 25-straight meets, and Gerber has competed in 20-straight.
About the Bruins
UCLA returns 12 athletes from last year's Pac-12 Championship squad, including All-Americans Angi Cipra and Christine Peng-Peng Lee, All-Pac-12 honoree Katelyn Ohashi, and Pac-12 uneven bars co-champion JaNay Honest. The Bruins will have to replace three important seniors in All-American Sadiqua Bynum, All-American Sophina DeJesus and NCAA beam champion Danusia Francis, but bring in two Olympic gold medalists in Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross, plus former U.S. national team member Felicia Hano. Additionally, the Bruins will get back 2015 Level 10 all-around champion Macy Toronjo, who redshirted last season with a torn rotator cuff. UCLA is coached by Pac-12 Gymnastics Coach of the Century Valorie Kondos Field, Associate Head Coaches Chris Waller and Randy Lane, and volunteer coach and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber.
Coming Back
UCLA returns 11 athletes who saw competition time a year ago, as well as 15 of 24 routines (63%) competed at the 2016 NCAA Super Six, including five on vault and four on bars. Back in 2017 are Sonya Meraz and JaNay Honest, who ranked No. 1 and No. 3 on the team in routines competed. Meraz led all Bruins with 42, and Honest was third with 36 (all of which were hit). Nine Bruin returners scored at least one 9.9 last season - Katelyn Ohashi (8), Angi Cipra (7), JaNay Honest (6), Madison Preston (4), Christine Peng-Peng Lee (3), Mikaela Gerber (2), Napualani Hall (2), Hallie Mossett (2), and Sonya Meraz (1).
Glenn Twins to Redshirt 2017 Season
Freshmen Anna Glenn and Grace Glenn will redshirt the 2017 season after suffering torn labrums that will require surgery. The identical twins are both JO National Champions, with Anna winning uneven bars in 2012, and Grace winning the all-around and beam in 2014.
Vaulting Towards 10.0 Vaults
The Bruins will be easing in upgraded vaults during the season. Felicia Hano, Gracie Kramer, Sonya Meraz, Angi Cipra and JaNay Honest have been training Yurchenko 1.5 vaults. Napualani Hall, Kyla Ross and Katelyn Ohashi, have been training the Omelianchik (Yurchenko half-on, front pike). Madison Preston may not need to upgrade her vault, as her Yurchenko layout full (9.95 start value) scored 9.9 in the season opener.
Raising the Bar
UCLA's uneven bars lineup features some of the world's best on the event. Madison Kocian is the reigning World co-champion and Olympic silver medalist on the event. Christine Peng-Peng Lee won a World Cup title on bars in 2012 and has won the event at each of the last two NCAA Regional Championships. Lee performs three difficult release moves - a Ray, a Bhardwaj and a Shaposh half. Kyla Ross was the U.S. champion and World silver medalist in 2013. Additionally, JaNay Honest is the reigning Pac-12 co-champion, and Stella Savvidou placed fourth at the conference championships. Sonya Meraz has added difficulty to her routine, upgrading her Tkatchev to a toe-on Tkatchev (Ray).
Bruins are Beaming
UCLA was one of the nation's best teams on beam last year, and although the Bruins lose 2016 NCAA beam champion Danusia Francis, they gain one of the best beam workers in the world in Kyla Ross, who was the U.S. champion in 2013 and 2014 and the world silver medalist in 2013. Madison Kocian is also a strong beam competitor, earning Top 7 finishes on the event at each of the last two USA Championships. Katelyn Ohashi, Mikaela Gerber and Sonya Meraz are the Bruins' only returners on beam from last season's NCAA Championships, but all three are capable of 9.9+ scores. Ohashi scored 9.9 five times last year and may bring back her old elite series (backhandspring-backhandspring-layout full). Gerber was solid as a rock as the leadoff last year, hitting all 14 routines and averaging 9.833. In the No. 2 spot, Meraz went 9.85 or higher eight times last year, with a high of 9.9. Also back is Christine Peng-Peng Lee, who owns a career-high of 9.975 and does some of the most unique skills in NCAA, including the Homma flairs mount and a double turn.
Putting on a Show on Floor
UCLA's floor exercise routines are not to be missed. With routines choreographed by Valorie Kondos Field and Hallie Mossett, the Bruins put on a show every time they step onto the floor. Mossett choreographed the floor routines for JaNay Honest, Sonya Meraz, Gracie Kramer, Giulianna Pino and Mercedez Sanchez, along with co-choreographing her own Beyonce-inspired routine with Kondos Field.
Leading the returning performers on floor is Angi Cipra, who earned All-America honors with her iPhone routine last year. Cipra scored 9.9 or higher seven times in 2016, with a high of 9.975. Mossett earned a perfect 10 from one judge on her first routine last season and has a career-high mark of 9.95. Both JaNay Honest and Madison Preston averaged over 9.85 with career-highs of 9.925, and Katelyn Ohashi and Sonya Meraz each have career-highs of 9.9. Also look for freshmen Felicia Hano, Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross to provide dynamic routines.
Looking Ahead
UCLA will have a week off before going back on the road at Oregon State on Jan. 28.
Get Social
UCLA Gymnastics has one of the largest social media followings in all of women's collegiate sports, ranking third across all women's sports in combined likes/followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on both Instagram (96k) and Facebook (125k) and fifth on Twitter (14k). Among all UCLA teams, gymnastics ranks first on Instagram and Facebook. Follow the Bruins at @UCLAGymnastics on Instagram and Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/uclagymnastics. The team's Snapchat name is also uclagymnastics.
Players Mentioned
