No. 3 UCLA at No. 15 Washington
Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019 – 3:00 p.m. (PT)
Seattle, Wash. (Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion)
MEET INFORMATION
Television: ESPN2
TV Talent: Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke
Live Stats: gohuskies.com
Tickets: $10 adults, $5 youth/senior
UCLA FINISHES THREE-MEET ROAD SWING AT WASHINGTON
No. 3 UCLA (7-0) will wrap up a three-meet road swing on Sunday, Feb. 10 at No. 15 Washington (2-2). The dual meet will take place at 3pm PT at Alaska Airlines Arena and will be televised live on ESPN2.
HOTTEST TICKET
UCLA Gymnastics continues to draw crowds everywhere they go. The Bruins have competed in front of at least 5,000 fans in every meet this season, including a home season-best 10,270 on Jan. 21 and a sell-out crowd of 6,000 at Stanford, a total that nearly doubled Stanford's previous record attendance. UCLA's most recent meet at Oregon State drew 6,505 fans.
SEATTLE'S BEST RETURNS HOME
UCLA senior Katelyn Ohashi returns to her hometown of Seattle for the first time since her freshman season. Ohashi comes home ranked No. 1 in the nation on both balance beam and floor exercise. She also returns as the current face of collegiate gymnastics after her Jan. 12 perfect 10 floor exercise routine went mega-viral. Video of Ohashi's routine is the most-watched sports video on social media so far this year, with over 110 million views across Twitter (42.5M), Facebook (36M) and YouTube (32M). The reach of Ohashi's routine extended world-wide, and her video was shared by celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Sara Bareilles, and Sophia Bush; politicians like Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jesse Jackson; and athletes like Troy Aikman and Laurie Hernandez. Her routine was also imitated by comedienne Ali Wong and talk show host Stephen Colbert. Ohashi was interviewed on Access Hollywood and on the Ryan Seacrest Show, where she discussed her dream of being on Dancing with the Stars and was surprised with a phone call on-air with the show's casting director. Ohashi and UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field also made an appearance on Good Morning America, where Ohashi recited some of her poetry and talked about rediscovering her joy in gymnastics. She is scheduled to appear on Steve Harvey's talk show Feb. 12, and was on Home and Family and E!'s Busy Tonight on Feb. 6.
PERFECT TRIO
UCLA leads the nation with four perfect 10s this season. Kyla Ross is the only gymnast in the country with multiple 10s, having scored the first on Jan. 12, as well as the most recent on Feb. 2, both on uneven bars. Ross has five perfect 10s in her career on beam and seven 10s overall. Katelyn Ohashi also earned a 10.0 on Jan 12, with her now famous perfect 10 on floor exercise. The 10 was her fourth on the event and sixth overall in her career. Madison Kocian notched her second career 10.0 on uneven bars on Jan. 21. UCLA gymnasts have totaled 130 perfect 10s all-time. Ross ranks seventh all-time at UCLA with seven, and Ohashi is right behind with six.
LAST TIME OUT
Both No. 3 UCLA and No. 20 Oregon State posted season-high team scores, with the Bruins coming out on top, 197.900-197.450, in Corvallis in front of 6,505 fans. Kyla Ross won the all-around with a 39.650 and recorded her second perfect 10 of the season on uneven bars. The Bruins' morning started out with a bang, with the team recording a 49.650 on uneven bars in the first rotation, thanks to 9.95+ scores from Norah Flatley (9.95), Madison Kocian (9.975) and Ross. UCLA scored a season-high on vault with a 49.3 to increase its lead, and another season-best team score of 49.575 on beam, led by Nia Dennis' 9.975, sealed the win.
ROSS IS BOSS
Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross continues to show who's boss, winning the all-around at Oregon State for the fourth time in as many tries and receiving Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors for the second time this season. Ross ranks fifth nationally in the all-around and scored 39.650 to take first at Oregon State. She scored her second perfect 10 of the season on uneven bars and currently ranks No. 2 in the nation on that event, No. 3 on floor, No. 5 in the all-around and No. 12 on beam.
NIA NATION REIGNS
Sophomore Nia Dennis reigned supreme at Oregon State, scoring a career-high 9.975 to win beam and recording a pair of 9.925s on vault and floor. Dennis's vault and beam routines each received a perfect score from one of the two judges (her vault has a start value of 9.95). For her efforts, she earned Pac-12 Specialist of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN
UCLA freshmen Norah Flatley, Margzetta Frazier and Sekai Wright have been on point for the Bruins, hitting all of their routines so far is season. Flatley has scored 9.975 and 9.950 on bars in her last two meets and currently ranks No. 11 nationally on that event. Frazier has scored 9.825 or higher on every routine this season and averages 9.89 on bars in the leadoff position and 9.894 on floor. Frazier is tied for No. 13 on bars and No. 17 on floor. Wright made her collegiate debut on Jan. 21 after sitting out the first two meets with an ankle injury and has scored 9.875 on her Yurchenko 1.5 vault in two of three meets, capturing her first event victory on Jan. 27 at Stanford. She debuted her floor routine on Feb. 2 in an exhibition performance, scoring 9.775.
RECORD-SETTING START FOR BRUINS
The Bruins have set a new standard by recording 197+ scores in the first five meets of the year for the first time ever. UCLA began the year with a 197.250, scored 197.700 in week two, 197.775 in week three, 197.225 in week four and a season-high 197.900 in week five. The previous best start came in 2003 when the team scored 197+ in its first two meets.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA improved its season average to 197.570 but held at No. 3 in the national rankings behind Oklahoma (197.835) and Florida (197.625). The Bruins remain ranked No. 1 on floor exercise for the seventh consecutive week, dating back to last season. UCLA is also No. 3 on uneven bars and balance beam, and tied for No. 5 on vault. Katelyn Ohashi tops the nation on both balance beam (tied with Maggie Nichols of Oklahoma) and floor exercise. Kyla Ross ranks in the Top 5 on bars (No. 2), floor (No. 3) and all-around (No. 5) and is also No. 12 on beam. The Bruins have four gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 on bars (No. 2 Ross, No. 11 Norah Flatley, No. 13 Margzetta Frazier and Madison Kocian), beam (No. 1 Ohashi, No. 12 Ross, No. 16 Flatley and Grace Glenn) and floor (No. 1 Ohashi, No. 3 Ross, No. 17 Frazier and No. 23 Gracie Kramer). Felicia Hano is the lone Bruin in the Top 25 on vault, ranking at No. 22.
FLOORED BY FLOOR
UCLA's floor exercise squad has been exceptional so far this season, averaging 49.525, with a high of 49.700 set at the Collegiate Challenge on Jan. 12. The 49.700 was the fifth-highest floor score in school history, and it was highlighted by Katelyn Ohashi's now-viral perfect 10 that was preceded by back-to-back-to-back-to-back 9.925s from Gracie Kramer, Kyla Ross, Margzetta Frazier and Pauline Tratz. The Bruins have been ranked No. 1 in the nation on floor all season and have four athletes ranked in the Top 25 - defending NCAA floor champion Ohashi is No. 1, Ross is No. 3, Frazier is No. 17, and Kramer is No. 23.
RAISING THE BAR
The Bruin bar squad has posted big numbers as well, including a season-high score of 49.700 against Arizona State on Jan. 21. The 49.700 was the fourth-highest bars score in school history, and it was highlighted by a perfect 10 from Madison Kocian. Three of UCLA's perfect 10s this season have come on uneven bars - two from Kyla Ross and one from Kocian. The Bruins have seven 9.95+ uneven bars routines so far this season - three from Ross and two each from Kocian and Norah Flatley. All three are ranked in the Top 15 nationally - Ross is No. 2, Flatley No. 11 and Kocian No. 13, along with Margzetta Frazier, who is averaging 9.890 as the leadoff performer.
35 STRAIGHT
With the victory over Stanford, UCLA has now outscored 35 straight opponents over its last 13 meets. The Bruins lost just two meets last season by a total of .225 points (.1 loss to Oklahoma Feb. 4, .125 loss to Utah Feb. 18).
MORE STREAKS
UCLA has scored 49+ in 79 straight rotations, the team's last sub-49 score coming in the first rotation of the 2018 season opener … The Bruins scored 49.5 or better on 27 of those 79 rotations … UCLA's streak of 19 straight meets scoring 49+ on all four apparatus is the longest active streak in the nation and the third-longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma (34 from 2016-18)) and LSU (30 from 2016-18) … UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in its last 33 meets (the longest active streak in the nation and the second-longest in NCAA history) and 49+ on floor in its last 27 meets.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Washington is coming off a 195.825-195.475 victory at Stanford last week. The Huskies are led by Evanni Roberson, who has won the all-around in back-to-back meets. Roberson leads the team in individual victories with six and holds season-best marks of 39.475 in the all-around, 9.95 on beam, 9.9 on bars and floor and 9.8 on vault. The Huskies are coached by 2000 Olympic medalist Elise Ray-Statz in her third season.
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 followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, a total over 600,000. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on Instagram (278k), Facebook (266k) and Twitter (59k). 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.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will return home to host Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2:30 p.m. in UCLA Gymnastics' first-ever BruInclusion meet.