UCLA
NCAA Semifinal I
UCLA Wins Semifinal I to Advance to NCAA Super Six
April 20, 2018 | Gymnastics
St. Louis, Mo. - No. 3 UCLA took first place in the first semifinal of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, scoring 197.5625 to qualify for Saturday's Super Six Team Finals. Also qualifying to the finals were second-place LSU (197.4750) and third-place Nebraska (197.0125).
The Bruins were led by three gymnasts who finished the first session leading the competition on an event – all-around (39.6375) and uneven bars (9.9500) leader Kyla Ross, balance beam leader Christine Peng-Peng Lee (9.9875) and floor exercise leader Katelyn Ohashi (9.9625). The individual event and all-around winners will be determined after both semifinal sessions are complete.
UCLA, who hit 24-for-24 in the meet and posted a meet-high team score of 49.5375 on the balance beam, did not just rely on its veteran stars. Six Bruins made their NCAA Championships debuts and made big contributions. Freshman Pauline Tratz tied for the team's top score on vault with a 9.85 and added a 9.8625 on floor. Freshman Nia Dennis contributed important leadoff scores of 9.8125 on vault and 9.8735 on bars. Redshirt freshman Anna Glenn scored 9.85 on both vault and uneven bars, while her twin sister Grace Glenn led off beam with a 9.8375. Junior transfer Brielle Nguyen also scored 9.8375 on beam, and sophomore Gracie Kramer added a 9.875 on floor her first time competing at the Championships.
The Bruins started the meet with a 49.1875 on vault, receiving six scores of 9.8 or higher, including three-straight 9.85s from team-leaders Anna Glenn, Tratz and Ross. The Bruins were just one-tenth behind first-place LSU, which scored 49.2875 on beam, and a smidge ahead of third-place Alabama, which scored 49.1625 on bars.
The competition remained tight in rotation two as the Bruins sat on a bye. Alabama claimed a one-tenth lead over Georgia, 98.2375-98.1375, while Arkansas and Nebraska scored below the Bruins but within .125 after their first events.
For rotation three, UCLA moved to uneven bars and received 9.8375 from Dennis to lead off. JaNay Honest had a big routine, sticking her full-twisting double-back dismount and scoring 9.8625. Anna Glenn scored 9.85, followed by a 9.775 from Madison Kocian and 9.875 from Lee. Defending uneven bars co-champion Ross was nearly perfect, earning a 10.0 from one of the six judges and scoring 9.95 to put her in contention to defend her title.
At the halfway mark, the Bruins trailed first-place LSU by just .0625, 98.625-98.5625, and on their way to their best two events, beam and floor. On beam, UCLA started with three-straight 9.8375s from Grace Glenn, Kocian, and Nguyen before Ohashi broke the streak with a 9.925. Ross added her second-straight 9.95, and Lee finished with a routine that nabbed four perfect 10s from the six judges and a final score of 9.9875. UCLA's final total of 49.5375 pushed the Bruins into first place ahead of LSU, 148.1000-147.9750.
The Bruins and Tigers battled in the last rotation for first place. LSU posted a 49.5 on uneven bars, thanks to three scores of 9.9 or higher, but the Bruins had built enough of a cushion after beam to maintain the lead after scoring 49.4625. Ohashi earned perfect 10s from two judges and a final mark of 9.9625 to not only move herself into first place on floor but her team into first overall in the meet.
Three more teams will qualify to the Super Six after tonight's semifinal. The team finals will take place on Saturday, Apr. 21 at 6pm CT/4pm PT and will be televised on ESPNU.
Players Mentioned
