UCLA
Pac-12 Championships - Session 2
UCLA Wins 2018 Pac-12 Gymnastics Championship
March 24, 2018 | Gymnastics
No. 3 UCLA won its 18th Pac-12 Gymnastics championship with a strong second half, outscoring defending champion Utah, 197.500-197.350. The Bruins overcame a nearly disastrous uneven bars rotation, roaring back on balance beam with a 49.600 and then clinching the victory with a 49.475 on floor exercise in the final rotation.
Ross Post-Meet Interview | Lee Post-Meet Interview
Bruin sophomore Kyla Ross tied for first in the all-around with Utah's MyKayla Skinner, with each scoring 39.675. Ross also tied for first on uneven bars with Stanford's Elizabeth Price with a 9.975. Sixth-year senior Christine Peng-Peng Lee won the balance beam with her fourth perfect 10 on balance beam this year, and Katelyn Ohashi tied for first place on floor exercise with Price and Skinner with a 9.95.
The Bruins started the meet with a 49.275 on vault thanks to a 9.9 from Ross and a 9.875 from Napualani Hall. Felicia Hano added a 9.85, and Nia Dennis and Pauline Tratz each scored 9.825. The score was good for third place, as Cal took the early lead with a 49.4 on beam.
Rotation two was a struggle for the Bruins, who had to count a 9.65 from Katelyn Ohashi and 9.775 from Sonya Meraz after Lee overshot her Bhardwaj and scored just 9.425. But the Bruins got high marks from Dennis, who led off with a 9.85, JaNay Honest, who contributed her second-straight 9.9, and Ross, who closed the rotation with a meet-high 9.975 to salvage a team score of 49.15 and a two-event score of 98.425, just .125 behind first-place Utah (98.550) and .050 behind second-place Cal (98.475).
UCLA hit the refresh button in the third rotation and blasted a 49.6 on beam to take the lead over Utah by .150 over Utah. Grace Glenn led off with a 9.875, followed by a 9.85 from Madison Kocian, and then it was 9.9 or higher the rest of the way down the lineup. Brielle Nguyen tied her career-high with a 9.9, Ohashi added a 9.9, and Ross a 9.925, before Lee closed with a perfect 10, the eighth of her career.
Utah earned three 9.9s and a 9.95 for a team total of 49.475 on vault, but UCLA matched the Utes' score, scoring 49.475 on floor, thanks to a leadoff score of 9.825 from Kocian, a 9.85 from Gracie Kramer, a 9.875 from Ross, and a pair of 9.9s from Tratz and Hano. By the time Ohashi went up on floor to close the meet, the Bruins had already clinched the win by .025, and her 9.95 just extended the Bruins' margin of victory to 0.15.
Ohashi was selected the Pac-12 Specialist of the Year, and Lee was honored as the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Price was named the Gymnast of the Year, and Arizona State won Freshman of the Year (Cairo Leonard-Baker) and Coach of the Year (Jay Santos) honors.
Players Mentioned
