UCLA
Arizona State
UCLA Gymnastics Returns Home Saturday to Face Arizona
February 15, 2019 | Gymnastics
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 25 Arizona
Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019 โ 2:30 p.m. (PT)
Los Angeles, CA (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom)
MEET INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom (13,659)
Time: 2:30 p.m. PT
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Jim Watson, Samantha Peszek
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
Tickets: $20 reserved/$12 general admission (UCLA students are free)
Pre-Meet Giveaway: NCAA Championships pin (2,000)
Post-Meet Activities: Junior class trading cards + photo opp
UCLA RETURNS HOME FOR BRUINCLUSION MEET
No. 3 UCLA (8-0) returns home for the first time in nearly a month, hosting No. 25 Arizona (3-5) in the program's first-ever BruInclusion meet, promoting inclusivity and unity. The dual meet will take place at 2:30pm PT in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom and will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks. Doors open at 1:30pm.
TICKETS/PROMOTIONS
Tickets for the UCLA-Arizona meet, as well as tickets for the Bruins' remaining 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. Saturday's giveaway item for the first 2,000 fans is a UCLA Gymnastics NCAA Championships commemorative pin.ย Following the meet, the junior class of Anna Glenn, Grace Glenn, Felicia Hano, Madison Kocian, Gracie Kramer, Kyla Ross and Mercedez Sanchez will be available for photos on the concourse.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Pauley Pavilion has 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.
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, a record 7,228 at Washington in a snowstorm on Feb. 10, and a sell-out crowd of 6,000 at Stanford, a total that nearly doubled Stanford's previous record attendance. UCLA's also helped draw 6,505 fans to Oregon State on Feb. 2.
PERFECT TRIO
UCLA leads the nation with six perfect 10s this season. Kyla Ross leads the nation with three perfect 10s and is the only gymnast this season with a perfect 10 on multiple events. She scored the first 10.0 of the season on Jan. 12 on uneven bars, earned another on bars on Feb. 2 and then recorded her first-ever 10 on vault on Feb. 10. Ross has eight career 10s overall, five on bars, two on beam and one on vault. Katelyn Ohashi also earned a 10.0 on Jan 12, with her now famous perfect 10 on floor exercise, and repeated the feat on Feb. 10 at Washington. She has five in her career on floor and seven overall. Madison Kocian notched her second career 10.0 on uneven bars on Jan. 21. UCLA gymnasts have totaled 132 perfect 10s all-time. Ross ranks tied for sixth all-time at UCLA with eight, and Ohashi is right behind with seven.
ROSS IS BOSS
Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross continues to show who's boss, winning the all-around in every meet in which she has competed all four events. Ross recorded a career-high 39.775 last weekend at Washington, scoring her first career 10.0 on vault and earning a season-high 9.975 on beam. She has won Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors three times this season, including the last two weeks in a row. Ross ranks third nationally in the all-around with an all-around average of 39.645 and also ranks No. 3 on uneven bars (9.933), No. 4 on floor exercise (9.930) and No. 6 on balance beam (9.900). She leads UCLA with 13 event titles and 15 scores of 9.9 or higher.
KATE THE GREAT
After going mega-viral last month, UCLA senior Katelyn Ohashi is the current face of collegiate gymnastics, not to mention the No. 1-ranked gymnast in the nation on both balance beam and floor exercise. Ohashi's Jan. 12 perfect 10 floor exercise routine is the most-watched sports video on social media so far this year, with over 110 million views across Twitter (42.8M), Facebook (38M) and YouTube (33M). 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 also made appearances on Steve Harvey's talk show, Home and Family and E!'s Busy Tonight, and was a guest speaker at the Makers Conference.
LAST TIME OUT
For the second time this season, Kyla Ross and Katelyn Ohashi each scored a perfect 10, and the Bruins ran their record to a perfect 8-0 after a 197.600-196.000 victory at Washington in front of a record crowd of 7,228 fans. Ross scored UCLA's first perfect 10 on vault since 2013 and won the all-around with a career-best 39.775. Competing in front of her hometown crowd, Ohashi earned her second perfect 10 of the season on floor exercise. Both she and Ross nearly added another, each scoring 9.975 on beam. Ross was awarded the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week for the second-straight week and third time overall this year, and Ohashi earned Specialist of the Week for the fourth time this season.
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 this season. Flatley has scored 9.825 or higher on eight consecutive routines and has highs of 9.975 on bars and 9.900 on beam. She currently ranks No. 12 nationally on beam and No. 18 on bars. Frazier has scored 9.825 or higher on every routine this season and averages 9.888 on bars in the leadoff position and 9.894 on floor. Frazier ranks No. 16 on bars and 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 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 six 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, a season-high 197.900 in week five and a 197.600 in week six. 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 197.575 but held at No. 3 in the national rankings behind Oklahoma (197.813) and Florida (197.670). The Bruins dropped out of the top spot on floor for the first time since Mar. 12, 2018 and is second overall with an average of 49.538. UCLA is No. 3 on uneven bars and balance beam, and tied for No. 4 on vault. Katelyn Ohashi tops the nation on both balance beam (tied with Maggie Nichols of Oklahoma) and floor exercise. Kyla Ross ranks No. 3 in the all-around and on bars, No. 4 on floor and No. 6 on beam. The Bruins have five gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 on beam (No. 1 Ohashi, No. 6 Ross, No. 12 Norah Flatley, No. 25 Kendal Poston and Anna Glenn), and four gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 on bars (No. 3 Ross, No. 12 Madison Kocian, No. 16 Margzetta Frazier, and No. 18 Flatley), and floor (No. 1 Ohashi, No. 4 Ross, No. 16 Frazier and No. 24 Gracie Kramer). Felicia Hano is the lone Bruin in the Top 25 on vault, ranking at No. 25.
FLOORED BY FLOOR
UCLA's floor exercise squad has been exceptional so far this season, averaging 49.538, 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 scored 49.55 or better in four of six meets and have scored 49+ in 28 consecutive meets.
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. Half 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, Kocian is No. 12, and Flatley is No. 18. Additionally, Margzetta Frazier, who is averaging 9.888 as the leadoff performer, ranks No. 16.
36 STRAIGHT
Following the victory at Washington, UCLA has now outscored 36 straight opponents over its last 14 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 83 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 28 of those 83 rotations โฆ UCLA's streak of 20 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) โฆ UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in its last 34 meets (the longest active streak in the nation and the second-longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma's 37 from 2016-18) and 49+ on floor in its last 28 meets.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Arizona enters the week ranked No. 25 in the national rankings with a season average of 194.329. The GymCats have a season-high of 195.975, set in a victory over Cal on Jan. 26. Arizona's highest-ranked event is the balance beam, where it ranks No. 20. UCLA is 72-10 all-time against Arizona and has won 23 straight against the Wildcats. Arizona has not beaten UCLA since 2006 in Tucson.
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 620,000. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on Instagram (284k), Facebook (276k) and Twitter (60k). 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 head to Utah for a dual meet on Saturday, Feb. 23 against the Utes.
Players Mentioned
