UCLA
Elevate the Stage (vs. Stanford, Utah and Washington)
UCLA Wins Elevate the Stage in Reno
January 14, 2018 | Gymnastics
Reno, Nev. - No. 4 UCLA scored 197.200 to take first place at Elevate the Stage, defeating No. 2 Utah (196.975), Washington (195.725) and Stanford (195.350).
The Bruins scored 49.4 on floor exercise and vault and clinched the meet with a 49.375 on uneven bars in the final rotation.
Beautiful bar set for @kyla_ross96 to earn a 9.95 and help @uclagymnastics to a team victory at @ElevatetheStage! #NCAAGym pic.twitter.com/wgg8l2Aby8
— FloGymnastics (@FloGymnastics) January 15, 2018
UCLA (4-0) began the meet with a 49.025 on balance beam, led by 9.825 scores by Brielle Nguyen in her UCLA competitive debut, Kyla Ross and Christine Peng-Peng Lee. Katelyn Ohashi scored 9.8 in her first beam routine of the year, and Grace Glenn and Nia Dennis added 9.75s. Their beam score put the Bruins in third place after one rotation, behind Utah (49.3) and Stanford (49.175).
The Bruins took the lead after rotation two thanks to a 49.4 on floor exercise. Gracie Kramer and Ross led off with a pair of 9.9s for the second-straight meet. Ohashi scored 9.825, Dennis went 9.8, and Felicia Hano added a 9.875. Pauline Tratz closed the rotation with the Bruins' third 9.9 to give UCLA a two-event score of 98.425, moving into first place by 0.175 over Stanford after the Cardinal scored 49.075 on vault and 0.325 over Utah after the Utes scored 48.8 on beam.
Moving over to vault for rotation three, the Bruins knew they would need to improve upon their season-opening vault total of 48.4 to maintain their lead, and they improved by a full point, scoring 49.4. Sonya Meraz led off with a solid 9.8, and Dennis followed with a 9.85. Napualani Hall hit her Yurchenko 1.5 for a career-high tying 9.9, and Ross and Tratz followed with a pair of 9.875s. Hano matched Hall with a 9.9 on a Yurchenko 1.5, also a career-high, and the Bruins soared into the final rotation with a 147.825-147.550 lead over Utah.
UCLA started strong on uneven bars with a leadoff 9.85 from JaNay Honest and back-to-back 9.825s from Dennis and Meraz. A fall by Katelyn Ohashi put some pressure on the back two, but when the back two are Ross and Lee, who each scored two perfect 10s on bars last year, the Bruins had every reason to remain confident. Ross answered with a 9.95, and Lee clinched the victory with a 9.925 for a team total of 49.375. Utah scored 49.425 on vault, but it was not enough to catch the Bruins.
Every meet should end with a dance party. #BackThePac pic.twitter.com/wuPWXmG8nZ
— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) January 15, 2018
UCLA returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 20 in a dual meet at Arizona.
Players Mentioned
