UCLA
Collegiate Challenge Powered by Under Armour (vs. California, Michigan State and UC Davis)
Gymnastics Competes at Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim Saturday
January 09, 2019 | Gymnastics
No. 2 UCLA at Collegiate Challenge powered by Under Armour
Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019 โ 6 p.m. (PT)
@ Anaheim, Calif. (Anaheim Arena at Anaheim Convention Center)
vs. No. 9 California, No. 14 UC Davis, No. 33 Michigan State
BRUINS COMPETE IN ANAHEIM SATURDAY
Defending NCAA champion and No. 2-ranked UCLA will compete in Anaheim on Saturday, Jan. 12 at the Collegiate Challenge powered by Under Armour. The meet between UCLA, No. 9 California, No. 14 UC Davis and No. 33 Michigan State will take place at the Anaheim Arena in the Anaheim Convention Center at 6 p.m.
TICKETS/PROMOTIONS
General admission tickets for the Collegiate Challenge are on sale at cacollegiatechallenge.com for $29.99. UCLA fans can use the code: cachallenge30 for 30% off tickets. The discount offer is good until Jan. 9. A pre and post-meet Fan Fest will take place on the plaza from 3-10pm for ticket-holders, featuring music, food trucks, games, activities and athlete appearances.
ROTATION ORDER
UCLA will begin the meet on vault and end on floor exercise. California starts on uneven bars, UC Davis begins on balance beam, and Michigan State starts on floor.
BRUINS TO GAIN PODIUM EXPERIENCE FOR POSTSEASON
UCLA will compete on a podium for the first time this season at the Collegiate Challenge, giving the team valuable experience for the postseason. Both the Pac-12 and NCAA Championships will be held on the elevated platforms.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
California enters the week as the Bruins' highest-ranked opponent, checking in at No. 9 after scoring 195.650 at LSU. The Golden Bears led after one rotation and were tied with the Tigers at the halfway mark before LSU pulled away in the final two rotations, finishing with a 196.775. Cal gymnasts had a pair of Top 3 finishes, with freshman Milan Clausi earning third on vault and 2016 Olympian Toni-Ann Williams placing third on floor with scores of 9.850.
UC Davis placed second at the NorCal Classic in its season opener, scoring a program-best season-opening mark of 194.950 to move into No. 14 in the national rankings. The Aggies posted the highest beam total of the meet with a 49.100 and are currently ranked No. 6 nationally on that event. Sophomore Cammi Johnson captured a share of the vault title with a 9.825.
Michigan State opened its season on Saturday with a 193.750-191.700 loss to North Carolina State. A pair of Spartan freshmen earned event victories, with Ashley Hofelich winning vault with a 9.800 and Alaina Raybon taking first on floor with a 9.850. The Spartans rank No. 33 nationally overall and No. 21 on floor exercise.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA, who began the season ranked No. 1 in the national preseason coaches poll, slipped one spot to No. 2 after competition in week one. National rankings are currently based on season average. The Bruins are ranked No. 1 on floor exercise, No. 2 on balance beam, No. 4 on vault and No. 5 on uneven bars. Kyla Ross, Gracie Kramer and Katelyn Ohashi are tied for No. 1 nationally on floor exercise. Ross also ranks No. 2 on vault, No. 4 in the all-around and No. 14 on uneven bars. Ohashi ranks No. 7 on beam. Also among the Top 25 individually are Felicia Hano, who is No. 7 on vault; Margzetta Frazier, who ranks No. 14 on bars; Grace Glenn and Norah Flatley, who are tied for No. 15 on beam; and Nia Dennis, who is tied for No. 18 on floor.
OHASHI EARNS FIFTH CAREER PAC-12 SPECIALIST OF WEEK AWARD
UCLA senior Katelyn Ohashi earned Pac-12 Gymnastics Specialist of the Week honors for the fifth time in her career. The 2018 Pac-12 Specialist of the Year won both events she competed in the Bruins' season opening win over Nebraska (197.250-195.700), taking first on balance beam with a 9.900 and tying for first on floor exercise with a 9.950. Ohashi upgraded both her beam and floor routines this season, adding difficulty to already impressive sets.
STRONG START FOR BRUINS
UCLA recorded its highest score in a season opener in 14 years, kicking off the season with a 197.250-195.700 win over No. 11 Nebraska on Jan. 4. Kyla Ross won the all-around with four scores of 9.850 or better for a total of 39.650, the third-highest all-around mark in her collegiate career and the highest all-around score by a Bruin in the season opener in 15 years. Ross also won vault with a career-high 9.975, sticking a Yurchenko 1.5 vault the first time competing it. She earned another career-high score of 9.950 to tie for first on floor exercise with Katelyn Ohashi and Gracie Kramer. Ohashi took a second event title, winning balance beam with a 9.900.
FLIRTING WITH PERFECTION
Two Bruins flirted with perfection in the season opener, as Kyla Ross and Gracie Kramer each performed routines that earned one perfect 10 from the two judges. Ross did it twice, scoring career-highs of 9.975 on vault and 9.95 on floor. Kramer earned her first career 10 from a judge on floor and finished with a career-high 9.95.
OHASHI GOES VIRAL, PART TWO
They say it's always hard to follow up a masterpiece, but Katelyn Ohashi did it with her new floor exercise routine. The sequel to her NCAA championship-winning Michael Jackson routine that went viral with over 90 million views has garnered nearly 800,000 views on UCLA Gymnastics' social platforms the last five days. The senior's new routine features music cuts from Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, the Jackson Five, Tina Turner and Earth Wind & Fire. She scored 9.950 in her first meet, tying for the nation's highest score so far this season. Ohashi scored three perfect 10s with her 2018 routine, finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation and swept through the postseason as the Pac-12, NCAA Columbus Regional and NCAA floor champion.
FRESHMEN MAKE STRONG DEBUTS
Freshmen and former U.S. National Team members Norah Flatley and Margzetta Frazier made their much-anticipated collegiate debuts last week. Flatley competed on three events, scoring 9.875 to tie for second on beam and notching marks of 9.825 on bars and 9.750 on vault. Frazier hit UCLA's top mark on uneven bars, tying Kyla Ross for second place overall. Both freshmen performed well-received and well-executed exhibition routines on floor exercise.
29 STRAIGHT
With the victory over Nebraska, UCLA has now outscored 29 straight opponents over its last nine 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 63 straight rotations, the team's last sub-49 score coming in the first rotation of the 2018 season opener โฆ The Bruins scored 49.5 or better on 21 of those 63 rotations โฆ UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in its last 29 meets and 49+ on floor in its last 23 meets.
FAREWELL SEASON
The 2019 season will be the swan song for legendary head coach Valorie Kondos Field, who will retire from coaching at the conclusion of the season. Kondos Field has led UCLA to all seven of its NCAA Championships, along with 14 conference and 19 NCAA Regional championships. She enters her 29th and final season with a career record of 516-120-3. In 2010, Kondos Field became just the second active coach ever inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame, and she was also named the Pac-12 Gymnastics Coach of the Century and was selected by her peers as the National Coach of the Year four times in her career. Kondos Field recently wrote her first book, Life is Short, Don't Wait to Dance, which is available in bookstores nationwide, as well as digitally. Through personal stories and anecdotes, she shares insights and advice on how to use uniqueness and authenticity to achieve success.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA returns all but four routines from the NCAA Championships and has five All-Americans on the roster - 2018 NCAA floor champion Katelyn Ohashi, 2017 NCAA bars and beam champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross, 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist Madison Kocian, Felicia Hano and Grace Glenn. The Bruins lose 10.0-caliber routines from Christine Peng-Peng Lee on bars and beam, consistent high marks from Napualani Hall on vault and JaNay Honest on bars, and all-around potential from Sonya Meraz but bring in national team freshmen Margzetta Frazier and Norah Flatley and three-time JO National vault champion Sekai Wright.
UCLA's strength lies in its depth. The Bruins have 20 gymnasts on the roster, including 10 who competed in at least 10 meets last season - Nia Dennis, Anna Glenn, Grace Glenn, Hano, Kocian, Gracie Kramer, Brielle Nguyen, Ohashi, Ross and Pauline Tratz. UCLA finished the 2018 regular season ranked in the Top 4 in the nation on all four events - No. 1 on floor, No. 2 on beam and No. 4 on vault and bars.
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 412,000. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on both Instagram (226k) and Facebook (157k) and second on Twitter (29.1k). 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 host Arizona State on Monday, Jan. 21 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) at 2 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Tickets are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets.
Players Mentioned
