UCLA
Stanford
No. 5 UCLA Gymnastics Returns Home Saturday
February 08, 2017 | Gymnastics
#5 UCLA vs. Stanford
Saturday, Feb. 11 - 2pm PT
TV: Pac-12 Network (Jim Watson, Samantha Peszek)
Tickets: $16 (uclabruins.com/tickets)
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
Twitter: @uclagymnastics
Bruins Back Home
No. 5 UCLA (3-1, 2-0 in the Pac-12) returns to Pauley Pavilion for the first time in nearly a month. After a three-meet road swing, the Bruins are back home for a Saturday, Feb. 11 dual meet against Stanford. The "Heart of a Champion" meet will take place at 2pm in Pauley Pavilion and will be televised live on Pac-12 Network. Jim Watson and distinguished UCLA Gymnastics alumna Samantha Peszek will be on the call.
Meet Timeline
1:00 pm - Doors Open 1:40 pm - Pre-meet entertainment begins/Be in your seats 1:48 pm - National Anthem (Camp del Corazon) 1:50 pm - Introductions 2:00 pm - Meet Begins 3:50 pm (approximately) - Heart of a Champion presentation + announcement of meet results
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-Stanford meet are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office. Season tickets are also available for the Bruins' five remaining home meets. 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, pink pom poms courtesy Massage Envy will be distributed to the first 1,000 fans as part of National Cancer Prevention Month.
Follow Live
Live stats will be available at uclabruins.com. Live updates can be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics.
Heart of a Champion
UCLA is using Saturday's meet to raise awareness for Camp del Corazon, a non-profit organization that provides a summer camp to youngsters with heart disease. It is a cause near and dear to Associate Head Coach Chris Waller, who was born with a congenital heart defect and underwent his first open heart surgery at age 15. Several UCLA gymnasts have volunteered at the camp over the years. Campers from Camp del Corazon will sing the national anthem prior to Saturday's meet.
Champion Meet & Greet Up for Grabs
Four lucky fans at Saturday's meet will win a golden ticket to a special Champion Meet and Greet with Olympic champions Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian. Show your Bruin spirit for your chance to win the golden ticket.
Kocian Wins Pac-12 Gymnast, Freshman of the Week
For the second consecutive week, a Bruin won two of the three Pac-12 Weekly Awards. A week after Kyla Ross earned Specialist and Freshman of the Week honors, Madison Kocian won Gymnast and Freshman of the Week acclaim. Kocian, a 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist, scored career-highs of 39.625 in the all-around, 9.95 on beam and floor and 9.875 on vault to lead UCLA to victory at Arizona State. Kocian has won the all-around in three of her four meets this year and now ranks third in the nation on beam and seventh on floor.
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 four routines in her last two meets that have earned at least one perfect score. Ross earned the nation's first perfect 10 of the season on uneven bars at the Bruins' Jan. 28 meet at Oregon State. Her perfect 10 was the first by a Bruin since Danusia Francis scored a 10 on beam on Mar. 6, 2016 and UCLA's first perfect 10 on bars since Samantha Peszek in 2014. Ross nearly scored another perfect 10 the following week at Arizona State, receiving a 9.975 on beam. She has also scored 9.925 on her 9.95 start-valued vault in the last two meets, receiving the maximum 9.95 score from one of the two judges.
UCLA Debuts New Routines in Win at ASU
The Bruins debuted a few new routines last week at Arizona State. Senior Angi Cipra made her season debut after sitting out the first three meets with a foot sprain. Cipra competed on vault and tied for second place with a career-high-tying 9.875. On floor exercise, sophomore Katelyn Ohashi made her season debut and scored 9.875 to place third. Freshman Kyla Ross debuted her new floor exercise routine, and senior Hallie Mossett competed on balance beam for the first time in two years. Mossett tied her career-high on beam with a 9.875, placing third. She also thrilled the crowd with a side somi to layout full dismount.
In the Rankings
UCLA remained at No. 5 in the nation, holding a season average of 196.750. The Bruins are ranked second on bars and fifth on vault and moved up to sixth on beam and 14th on floor. Madison Kocian ranks third on beam, seventh on floor and 23rd in the all-around. Christine Peng-Peng Lee now ranks third on bars. Three Bruins are ranked on vault - Madison Preston (8th), Kyla Ross (12th) and Angi Cipra (19). Hallie Mossett debuted in the rankings at No. 10, and Katelyn Ohashi is tied with Preston for 20th on floor. Rankings are currently based on average score.
UCLA vs. Stanford
Stanford has steadily improved its scores from week to week and is on a two-meet winning streak after home wins over Arizona (195.900-195.650) and Washington (195.925-195.825). The Cardinal is led by reigning Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Elizabeth Price, who is a six-time All-American and 2015 NCAA vault champion. Price, who is this week's Pac-12 Specialist of the Week, is undefeated this season on vault and bars and has won nine of the 12 events she has competed this season. Price currently ranks No. 2 in the nation on bars and No. 8 on vault. UCLA is 52-17-1 all-time against Stanford and split the season series last year, losing in a tri-meet at home but winning the Pac-12 Championship.
Streaks
Mikaela Gerber has a streak of 30 consecutive hit routines dating back to 2015. She hit all 19 of her routines last year, including all 14 as the leadoff on beam … Four Bruin returners competed in all 14 meets last season - Mikaela Gerber, JaNay Honest, Sonya Meraz and Madison Preston. Meraz has competed in 28-straight meets, and Gerber has competed in 23-straight … Madison Kocian is the only Bruin to compete on every event in every meet this year for a total of 16-straight routines.
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 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.
Vaulting Upwards
Although the Bruins have yet to throw a 10.0 start-value vault this season, the team has been posting solid scores. UCLA ranks fifth in the nation on vault with an average of 49.213 and a high of 49.3 set last week. Three Bruins are ranked in the Top 25 on vault - No. 8 Madison Preston, No. 12 Kyla Ross and No. 19 Angi Cipra. Ross has the team's highest vault score of the season with a 9.925, set in each of the last two weeks. Madison Kocian is on the brink of the Top 25 on vault, averaging 9.863, with her last three vaults scoring 9.875.
Raising the Bar
UCLA's uneven bars lineup features some of the world's best on the event. Kyla Ross scored the nation's first perfect 10 on uneven bars at Oregon State and has three bars victories in four meets. Ross won a world silver medal and the U.S. national championship on bars in 2013. Madison Kocian is the reigning World co-champion and Olympic silver medalist on the event. Christine Peng-Peng Lee currently ranks third in the nation on bars with an average of 9.919 and has three event titles to her credit this year. She is a two-time NCAA Regional bars champion and performs three difficult release moves - a Ray, a Bhardwaj and a Shaposh half. Additionally, JaNay Honest is the reigning Pac-12 co-champion, and Stella Savvidou placed fourth at the conference championships and is averaging 9.813 this season. Sonya Meraz is averaging 9.825 on bars this season with career-highs of 9.85 the last two weeks. She has added difficulty to her routine this year, upgrading her Tkatchev to a toe-on Tkatchev (Ray). UCLA's bars crew scored a season-high 49.55 at Oregon State two weeks ago and ranks second in the nation with an average of 49.363.
Bruins are Beaming
UCLA's balance beam lineup is stacked with experienced, consistent, difficult and elegant routines from start to finish. Solidified in the leadoff position is Mikaela Gerber, who has hit 21 consecutive beam routines. Gerber has a career-high of 9.925 and is averaging 9.819 this season. She captured her first career win on beam in the season opener. Competing for the two-spot is Sonya Meraz, who scored 9.85 or higher eight times last year, with a high of 9.9, and Hallie Mossett, whose 9.875 last weekend tied her career-high. Kyla Ross nearly scored a perfect 10 last week, going 9.975 at ASU. She was the U.S. beam champion in 2013 and 2014 and the world silver medalist in 2013. Madison Kocian ranks third in the nation on beam with an average of 9.894 and a high of 9.95 set last week. 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 has competed possibly the most difficult flight series in NCAA history, a backhandspring-backhandspring-layout full. Ohashi set her career-high at Oklahoma with a 9.925. The Bruins rank sixth nationally on beam with an average of 49.194 and have averaged 49.35 in the last three meets.
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 is the highest-ranked Bruin on floor, currently ranking seventh with an average of 9.913 and a high of 9.95. Although she has not competed since the season opener due to an ankle injury, Madison Preston is ranked 20th based on her meet-winning 9.875 score against Arkansas, tied with Katelyn Ohashi, who matched that mark in her season debut at ASU. Honest is averaging 9.863 in two meets and holds a career-best of 9.925, and Mossett has a 9.856 season average and career-high of 9.95. UCLA's floor lineup will be bolstered by the return of Angi Cipra, who earned All-America and All-Pac-12 honors a year ago. Cipra scored 9.9 or higher seven times in 2016, with a high of 9.975. Napualani Hall and Sonya Meraz each have season-highs of 9.85, and Stella Savvidou scored a season-high 9.8 last week at ASU. UCLA has had its strongest showings of the season on floor the last two weeks, scoring 49.2 at Oregon State and 49.3 at ASU.
Looking Ahead
UCLA begins a grueling stretch next week in which the Bruins will compete three times in seven days, starting with a Feb. 18 meet at Utah. UCLA will then return home and compete on Feb. 20 against Bridgeport and Utah State before hosting Arizona on Feb. 25.
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 (107k) and Facebook (127k) and fourth on Twitter (16k). 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. 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
