University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Ohio State
UCLA Opens 2018 Season Saturday vs. Ohio State
January 04, 2018 | Gymnastics
MEET INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion (13,659)
Time: 6 p.m. PT
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Jim Watson (play-by-play), Samantha Peszek (analyst)
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
Tickets: $12 (UCLA students are free)
Ticket Promotion: UCLA Faculty/Staff receive 4 free admissions with UCLA ID
Giveaway: Team Poster
Postmeet: Freshmen Autograph Session
UCLA BEGINS 2018 SEASON SATURDAY
Preseason No. 6 UCLA will open its 2018 season on Saturday against No. 22 Ohio State. The meet will take place in Pauley Pavilion at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson and UCLA gymnastics legend Samantha Peszek on the call. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and be in their seats by 5:45 p.m. to catch the pre-meet festivities. Doors open at 5 p.m.
TICKETS/PROMOTIONS
Tickets for the UCLA-Ohio State meet, as well as season tickets for the Bruins' five-meet home schedule, are on sale now at the UCLA Central Ticket Office and at Ticketmaster. UCLA students are free with ID and eligible to win a raffle prize each home meet. This week's prize is an Apple Watch. The UCLA-Ohio State meet is Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. All UCLA faculty and staff can receive four free admissions by showing their UCLA ID at the door. Saturday's giveaway item is the team poster. Following the meet, the Bruin freshman class of Nia Dennis, Sofia Gonzalez, Rebecca Karlous, Savannah Kooyman, Kendal Poston, Pauline Tratz and Lilia Waller will sign autographs on the concourse.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Pauley Pavilion continues to implement a clear bag policy which limits the size and type of bags that may be brought into the arena. One large clear bag, either a one gallon Ziploc style bag or a 12' by 6" by 12" clear bag, or a small clutch may be allowed into the arena. Increased screening through the use of electronic security equipment will be used at all entry gates. For more information, visit uclabruins.com/pauleygamedayinfo.
UCLA IN SEASON OPENERS
UCLA has won four of its last five season openers, including victories in the last three years. In 2017, UCLA's Olympic gold medalist duo of Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross led UCLA to a 195.700-195.350 victory over Arkansas. Kocian won the all-around and three events, and Ross tied for first on bars and placed third on vault. Senior Hallie Mossett clinched the Bruin victory with a 9.8 on floor in the final routine. In 2016, it was Sadiqua Bynum who clinched the win on the final routine, as her 9.95 on floor sealed a come-from-behind 196.550-196.300 victory over Alabama. In 2015, clutch beam routines by Mikaela Gerber and Christine Peng-Peng Lee in the final rotation sealed the win at Oregon State, 196.000-195.450.
PRESEASON RANKING
UCLA begins the season ranked No. 6 in the preseason coaches poll and was selected by the Pac-12 coaches to win the conference. The Bruins are set to face four teams in the preseason Top 10, including No. 1 Oklahoma at home on Feb. 4. UCLA also hosts No. 5 Utah on Feb. 18 and faces No. 3 LSU and No. 9 Nebraska on the road.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA returns 13 competitors from last year's fourth-place NCAA Championship squad, including 2017 NCAA bars and beam champion Kyla Ross and All-Americans Madison Kocian, Christine Peng-Peng Lee, Katelyn Ohashi and Felicia Hano. Lee was selected the 2017 West Region Gymnast of the Year and the Pac-12 Specialist of the Year, while Ross earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors. The Bruins lose high-scoring routines from Madison Preston (vault), Mikaela Gerber (beam), Angi Cipra (floor) and Hallie Mossett (beam and floor) but bring in national team freshmen Nia Dennis (U.S.) and Pauline Tratz (Germany) and walk-on Savannah Kooyman, who each showed strong routines at Meet the Bruins in early December. UCLA also retains all four gymnasts who scored perfect 10s last season - Ross (four), Lee (three), Ohashi (two) and Kocian (one). 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.
BRUINS SHINE IN SEASON PREVIEW
UCLA displayed big skills and impressive performance quality in its Meet the Bruins event in Pauley Pavilion Dec. 9. The blue team, led by freshman Nia Dennis and sophomore Felicia Hano, won the blue vs. gold intrasquad, 117.800-116.375. Dennis scored 9.8 or higher on all four events and scored 39.4 in her UCLA debut. Hano had the meet-high score on all three events in which she competed, scoring 9.9 on vault and 9.85 on beam and floor. Hano, Dennis and Kyla Ross tied for first on vault with 9.9s, and Dennis and Ross tied for first on bars with 9.85s. On beam, Dennis again tied for first place, with Hano, as each scored 9.85. Hano recorded the highest score on floor with a 9.85.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State enters the 2018 season with a new head coach in Meredith Paulicivic, a familiar face to the Pac-12 as a former assistant at Utah, Arizona and California. The Buckeyes return 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships. Among the returning letterwinners is NCAA qualifier Alexis Mattern, who rotated with the Bruins at the NCAA Championships last season. The Buckeyes are ranked 22nd in the preseason coaches poll.
STREAKS
Dating back to 2016, the Bruins have scored 49.0 or higher on vault in 15 straight meets โฆ UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in its last 13 meets โฆ Sonya Meraz has competed in 38-straight meets, and JaNay Honest has competed in 28-straight โฆ Madison Kocian has hit 45 consecutive routines without a fall.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITORS
UCLA's roster is filled with international competitors, led by Olympic gold medalists Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross. Kocian is a three-time World Champion, having won a share of the uneven bars title in 2015 and team titles in 2014 and 2015. Ross was also part of the 2014 World Championship team and won a total of four individual medals in 2013 and 2014. Stella Savvidou, Giulianna Pino and Pauline Tratz competed at the 2015 Worlds along with Kocian, with Savvidou representing Cyprus, Pino representing Ecuador and Tratz competing for Germany. Christine Peng-Peng Lee competed at the 2011 World Championships for Canada. Katelyn Ohashi has American Cup (2013) and Pacific Rim Championship (2012 juniors) all-around championship titles to her credit. The 2012 Pacific Rim Championship podium had a decidedly UCLA-flavor to it, as Jordyn Wieber, Ross and Lee went 1-2-3 in the senior competition, and Ohashi won the all-around, bars, beam and floor titles in the junior competition. Nia Dennis and Ross both competed at the 2014 Pacific Rim Championship, with Dennis winning team gold and all-around and vault silver in the junior competition and Ross winning beam and team gold and all-around silver in the senior division.
INJURY UPDATE
UCLA begins the season with Madison Kocian on the sidelines after undergoing shoulder surgery in August. Senior Rechelle Dennis will have to sit out this season with a ruptured Achilles, but she is expected to return next year for a fifth season.
BRUINS SIGN FRAZIER, WRIGHT FOR 2019 SEASON
U.S. National Team member Margzetta Frazier (Erial, N.J.) and Level 10 vault champion Sekai Wright (Paramount, Calif.) signed national letters of intent with UCLA in November and will join the Bruin squad in 2019. Frazier, who trains at Parkettes, is a rising star coming off a fifth-place national all-around finish at the P&G Championships in August. She also had Top 10 showing on three events, placing fifth on bars, seventh on floor and eighth on beam. Her Top 6 all-around finish placed her on the U.S. National Team for the first time in her career. Wright, who trains at American Gymnastics Academy, is a two-time Level 10 National vault champion, winning the Junior E division in 2016 and the Junior B division in 2015. She also won the Region 1 vault title and the State all-around, vault, and floor titles in 2017 and the Region 1 vault and State beam titles in 2016.
NO. 1 IN SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS
UCLA Gymnastics has the largest social media followings in all of women's collegiate sports, ranking No. 1 across all women's sports in combined likes/followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, a total that is approaching 335,000. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on both Instagram (165k) and Facebook (148k) and third on Twitter (21.2k). Among all UCLA teams, gymnastics ranks first on Instagram and Facebook, and UCLA Gymnastics is the most followed collegiate women's team Instagram account 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.
STAY CONNECTED
Download the UCLA Bruins Mobile App to your device, free of charge, to stay up-to-date on all things UCLA Athletics. The official app of UCLA Athletics allows fans to receive in-game stats and live updates during events. Fans can also sign up to receive push notifications about gameday promotions, game times, live scoring and more. Fans can shop for UCLA gear with one click in addition to getting breaking news from UCLA Athletics. When searching iTunes or Google Play, use the term "UCLA Bruins" for more direct access.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will compete on podium for the first time in a regular season meet on Sunday, Jan. 14 when they travel to Reno, Nev. for Elevate the Stage. The Bruins will compete against Pac-12 foes Stanford, Utah and Washington.
Players Mentioned
