UCLA
Bridgeport and Utah State
UCLA Gymnastics Hosts Arizona Saturday at 1pm
February 23, 2017 | Gymnastics
#6 UCLA vs. Arizona
Saturday, Feb. 25 - 1pm PT (Pauley Pavilion)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Brian Webber, Tim Daggett)
Tickets: uclabruins.com/tickets
Online: pac-12.com/now
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
Twitter: @uclagymnastics
UCLA Hosts Arizona Saturday
Competing for the third time in seven days, UCLA (6-2, 3-1 in the Pac-12) returns to Pauley Pavilion for a Saturday, Feb. 25 meet against Arizona (6-4, 1-3). The meet will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks at 1pm. UCLA alumnus and Olympic gold medalist Tim Daggett will call the action with Brian Webber.
Meet Timeline
11:45 am - Doors Open
12:45 pm - Pre-meet entertainment/Be in your seats
12:49 pm - National Anthem (Maggie Mackenzie)
12:52 pm - Introductions
1:00 pm - Meet Begins
Clear Bag Policy in Effect at Pauley
Enhanced screening procedures have been implemented at Pauley Pavilion. The Clear Bag Policy limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into Pauley Pavilion. The policy is designed to provide more consistent screening and to expedite fan entry. Increased screening through the use of electronic security equipment will be used at all entry gates. For more information, visit uclabruins.com/pauleygamedayinfo.
Tickets and Promotions
Tickets for the UCLA-Arizona meet are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office. UCLA students are free with ID and eligible to win a raffle prize each home meet. This week's prizes are an Apple Watch and Mammoth Mountain passes. Additionally, pom poms will be distributed to the first 500 fans.
Follow Live
Live stats will be available at uclabruins.com. Live updates can be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics.
UCLA Splits Two Meets in Three Days
The Bruins had mixed results in last weekend's two-fer, losing at Utah on Saturday, 197.875-197.500, and winning the tri-meet over Utah State and Bridgeport with a score of 195.875. Kyla Ross scored a perfect 10 at each meet, nabbing her second on uneven bars on Saturday and her first on balance beam on Monday. Katelyn Ohashi and Madison Kocian tied for first on balance beam at Utah, and Ross won the all-around, vault and beam in the tri-meet. Christine Peng-Peng Lee won bars, and Ohashi and Macy Toronjo tied for first on floor in the tri-meet.
Ross, Ohashi Win Pac-12 Weekly Awards
For the fourth consecutive week, a Bruin has won two of the three Pac-12 Weekly Awards. Kyla Ross received her second Freshman of the Week honors, and Katelyn Ohashi earned her first Specialist of the Week award of the season. Ross scored two perfect 10s in three days and won the all-around, vault and beam on Monday. Ohashi earned a pair of 9.95s on beam in the two meets and also tied for first on floor on Monday with a career-high-tying 9.9.
Perfect Scores Abound for Ross
Freshman Kyla Ross, a member of the gold medal-winning 2012 U.S. Olympic team and a five-time World medalist, has performed seven routines in her last five meets that have earned at least one perfect score. Ross has scored two perfect 10s on bars, both on the road, and scored her first perfect 10 on beam at home on Monday. Only one other gymnast in the nation has more perfect 10s than Ross this season - Oklahoma's Maggie Nichols, who has four.
Ross' first perfect 10 came on Jan. 28 at Oregon State on uneven bars, and her second was earned on bars again at Utah on Feb. 18. She nabbed her first 10 on beam in the Bruins' tri-meet on Feb. 20, giving her two 10s in less than 48 hours. Ross also has two 9.975s - one on beam on Feb. 4 and another on bars on Feb. 11 - and has also scored 9.925 on her 9.95 start-valued vault in two meets, receiving the maximum 9.95 score from one of the two judges. Ross is the first Bruin gymnast to score three 10s in a season since Tasha Schwikert in 2005.
Perfect Pair
Madison Kocian and Christine Peng-Peng Lee made history on Feb. 11 when they became the first UCLA duo to score perfect 10s on uneven bars in the same meet. The perfect 10s were the first of their careers, and the second and third by a Bruin gymnast on bars this season. Kyla Ross scored the first 10.0 on Jan. 28. Kocian and Lee are the first Bruins to score perfect 10s on the same event in the same meet since Kristen Maloney and Jeanette Antolin scored a pair of perfect 10s on vault at the NCAA Regionals on Apr. 3, 2004.
10.0 Club
Three Bruins have joined the 10.0 club this season, as Kyla Ross (Jan. 28, Feb. 18, Feb. 20), Madison Kocian (Feb. 11) and Christine Peng-Peng Lee (Feb. 11) have all scored perfect 10s in the last three weeks. Twenty-eight different UCLA gymnasts have scored a total of 109 perfect 10s, with 12 Bruins totaling 24 perfect 10s on uneven bars and six scoring 10 perfect 10s on balance beam. Ross, Kocian and Lee are the first Bruin trio to score perfect 10s on the same event in one year since Kate Richardson, Jeanette Antolin and Kristen Maloney all did so on vault in 2004.
Preston Hits Perfect 9.95 Vault
Sophomore Madison Preston was the third Bruin to receive a perfect score on one of her routines against Stanford Feb. 11, scoring 9.95 on her 9.95-start value vault. Preston stuck a perfect Yurchenko layout full to score a career-high and win the event for the second time in as many meets.
Macy Makes Mighty Comeback
After sitting out over a year with a torn rotator cuff and having her comeback delayed this year due to a rare eye condition (VKH syndrome), redshirt freshman Macy Toronjo completed her comeback on Monday. Toronjo made the competition lineup for the first time in her career and scored 9.9 on floor exercise to tie for first place.
Kramer Hits First 10.0-Start Value Vault
During Saturday's win over Stanford, freshman Gracie Kramer became the first Bruin to hit a 10.0-start value vault - a Yurchenko 1.5. Kramer scored a career-best 9.925 on the vault to place second. Kramer has vaulted in every meet this season but had been throwing the 9.95-start value Yurchenko full in the four previous meets, with a high mark of 9.8.
In the Rankings
National rankings are now based on Regional Qualifying Score, which takes the team's Top 3 away scores plus three other scores, drops the high and averages the remaining five scores. UCLA's RQS of 196.900 puts the Bruins at No. 6 in the national rankings. UCLA is tied for third on bars, ranks sixth on vault and beam, and is tied for 14th on floor. Madison Kocian ranks 11th in the all-around, seventh on floor, 20th on beam and 21st on vault. Kyla Ross ranks 12th on vault.
A Look at the Wildcats
UCLA leads the overall series against Arizona, 68-10. The Bruins have won the last 19 regular season matchups with Arizona, with the Wildcats' last win coming in 2006 in Tucson. Arizona ranks 28th nationally and 23rd on uneven bars, an event on which junior Victoria Ortiz has scored 9.9 or higher in the last three meets, including 9.95 last weekend at Washington. The Wildcats are coached by second-year head coach Tabitha Yim, who was a 14-time All-American gymnast at Stanford.
Streaks
Mikaela Gerber has a streak of 31 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 Four Bruin returners competed in all 14 meets last season - Mikaela Gerber, JaNay Honest, Sonya Meraz and Madison Preston. Meraz has competed in 31-straight meets, and Honest has competed in 21-straight. Mikaela Gerber's 24-meet streak ended on Saturday when she injured her foot in warmups and was held out of competition โฆ Madison Kocian competed on 24 consecutive events, going all-around in the first six meets before being held to just bars and beam at the Bruins' tri-meet on Feb. 20.
Kocian, Ross Become First Olympic Gold Medalists to Compete Collegiately
UCLA freshmen Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross made history in the season opener 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, bars, beam and floor in her collegiate debut, while Ross tied for first with Kocian on bars.
Go All-Access with Bruins
Pac-12 Networks will debut a behind-the-scenes documentary featuring UCLA and Utah in the lead-up to last Saturday's matchup in Salt Lake City. The 30-minute documentary, Pac-12 All-Access: UCLA & Utah Gymnastics, will premiere on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 6pm PT on Pac-12 Network and at 9pm PT on Pac-12 Los Angeles.
Vaulting Upwards
Although the Bruins have only thrown a total of two 10.0 start-value vaults all season, the team holds a season average of 49.250 and a high of 49.5 set Feb. 11. Madison Preston holds the team's highest vault score of the season with a 9.95. Kyla Ross has two 9.925s and two 9.9s. Gracie Kramer has performed the only 10.0 vaults of the season, twice throwing a Yurchenko 1.5. Her career-high is 9.925, set Feb. 11. Seven Bruins are averaging 9.8 or higher on vault this season - Ross (9.893), Preston (9.869), Angi Cipra (9.867), Madison Kocian (9.854), Felicia Hano (9.825), Sonya Meraz (9.8) and Stella Savvidou (9.8).
Raising the Bar
UCLA scored the highest uneven bars total in the nation on Feb. 11 with a 49.725 that included two perfect 10s and a 9.975. Three Bruins have scored four perfect 10s in the last five meets, with Kyla Ross recording the first in the nation on bars on Jan. 28 at Oregon State and her second one at Utah on Feb. 18, and Madison Kocian and Christine Peng-Peng Lee each earning a perfect score against Stanford on Feb. 11. Lee leads the team in uneven bars victories with five, while Ross has four and Kocian two. Lee's bar routine is one of the most dynamic in the NCAA. She performs three difficult release moves in her routine - a Ray (toe-on Tkatchev), a Bhardwaj (full-twisting Pak salto) and a Shaposh half. Kocian is the reigning World co-champion and Olympic silver medalist on the event and now has a perfect 10 to her credit. Ross has a national-best two perfect 10s on bars and has won a world silver medal on the event. Additionally, JaNay Honest is the reigning Pac-12 co-champion with a career-high score of 9.95, and Stella Savvidou earned a career-high 9.9 at Utah on Feb. 18. Sonya Meraz earned a career-high of 9.875 on Feb. 11 and has added difficulty to her routine this year, upgrading her Tkatchev to a toe-on Tkatchev (Ray).
Bruins are Beaming
UCLA's balance beam lineup is stacked with experienced, consistent, difficult and elegant routines from start to finish. Sonya Meraz, who scored 9.85 or higher eight times last year, earned a season-best 9.875 at Utah on Feb. 18 and owns a career-high of 9.9. Hallie Mossett set a new career-high at Utah with a 9.9 and has consistently hit a unique side somi to layout full dismount. Kyla Ross scored a perfect 10 in her last meet and also has a 9.975 to her credit, scoring that total at ASU. She was the U.S. beam champion in 2013 and 2014 and the world silver medalist in 2013. Madison Kocian averages 9.846 and has twice scored 9.95 on the road (at ASU and at Utah). Christine Peng-Peng Lee owns a career-high of 9.975 and a season-high of 9.95. She does some of the most unique skills in NCAA, including the Homma flairs mount, a backhandspring-two-foot layout and a double turn. Katelyn Ohashi is getting consistent on what is possibly the most difficult flight series in NCAA history, a backhandspring-backhandspring-layout full. Ohashi set her career-high Feb. 11 with a 9.975 and followed it up with a 9.95 in the Bruins' last two meets. Regular leadoff performer Mikaela Gerber has missed the last two meets and is likely out for a few more with a broken pinky toe, but when she is healthy, she is as consistent as can be, hitting 22 consecutive beam routines and a career-high of 9.925. The Bruins average 49.289, with a high of 49.55 set on Feb. 18 at Utah. In their last six meets, UCLA is averaging 49.383.
Show-Stoppers
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 helped choreograph the floor routines for JaNay Honest, Gracie Kramer, Giulianna Pino and Mercedez Sanchez, along with co-choreographing her own Beyonce-inspired routine with Kondos Field. Madison Kocian holds the team's highest season average with a 9.921 and a high of 9.95, set twice in the last three weeks. Kocian has three event titles on floor this season. Katelyn Ohashi and Madison Preston each average 9.875. Mossett has a 9.867 season average and set a season-best 9.925 at Utah on Feb. 18. Her career-high score is 9.95. Macy Toronjo made her floor debut on Feb. 20 and hit 9.9 to capture first place. UCLA's floor lineup was bolstered by the return of Angi Cipra, who earned All-America and All-Pac-12 honors a year ago. She has scored 9.825 in her last two meets. In 2016, she scored 9.9 or higher seven times, with a high of 9.975. Stella Savvidou and Napualani Hall each scored new career-highs on Feb. 11 with scores of 9.925 and 9.875, respectively. Sonya Meraz has a season-high of 9.85. UCLA earned a season-high of 49.475 on floor on Feb. 11.
Looking Ahead
UCLA will host California on Sunday, Mar. 5 at 1pm in Pauley Pavilion before hosting North Carolina on Mar. 12 for the regular season finale.
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 (118k) and Facebook (129k) and third on Twitter (17k). Among all UCLA teams, gymnastics ranks first on Instagram and Facebook, and UCLA Gymnastics is the most followed Instagram team account in any sport in the Pac-12 and the most followed collegiate women's team in the nation. 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
