UCLA
Utah State
Final Home Meet for Seniors, Miss Val Set for Saturday
March 15, 2019 | Gymnastics
No. 2 UCLA vs. Utah State
MEET INFORMATION
Venue: Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom (13,244)
Date: Saturday, Mar. 16
Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
Doors Open: 2:30 p.m. PT
Television: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Jim Watson, Samantha Peszek, JaNay Honest
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
Pre-Meet Giveaway: Miss Val tote bags (4,000); Tissue packets (1,000)
Post-Meet Activities: Senior and Miss Val ceremony
BRUINS CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON SATURDAY
No. 2 UCLA (11-1) finishes its 2019 regular season with a Saturday, Mar. 16 dual meet against Utah State (5-9) at 4:30 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The meet is the final home competition for seniors Katelyn Ohashi, Brielle Nguyen and Macy Toronjo, as well as retiring head coach Valorie Kondos Field. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 4 p.m. for pre-meet entertainment. The seniors and Kondos Field will be honored at the conclusion of the meet.
ADVANCE TICKETS SOLD OUT
For the second-straight meet, advance tickets are sold out for the meet. A limited number of tickets will be available the day of the event on a space-permitting basis.The Pauley Pavilion box office will open at 2 p.m. on Saturday for day-of-meet sales. Fans with Wooden Athletic Fund, Olympic Sports or Alumni cards will be admitted on a space-available basis. The first 1,000 UCLA students are guaranteed admission through the Northwest entrance.
PROMOTIONS
Saturday's giveaway item is a Miss Val tote bag to the first 4,000 fans. Additionally, tissue packets for our post-meet ceremony will be available to the first 1,000 fans.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Pauley Pavilion continues to implement 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.
SENIOR SALUTE
UCLA's senior class of Katelyn Ohashi, Brielle Nguyen, Macy Toronjo, along with team manager Matteah Brow, will be honored in post-meet ceremonies. The senior class has won a national championship, two NCAA Regional titles, two Pac-12 titles and has won 17 of its last 18 meets. Ohashi is a six-time All-American and the 2018 NCAA and Pac-12 floor exercise co-champion. She has scored nine perfect 10s in her career, including four this season. The 2018 Pac-12 Specialist of the Year has won the award a Pac-12 record-tying nine times. Nguyen, who transferred from Illinois in 2018, has been a consistent competitor on the balance beam and has posted career-high scores of 9.9 six times. She was a second-team All-Big Ten performer in 2017. Toronjo has battled through injuries throughout her career but was a star performer on floor exercise in 2017, winning the event in her first-ever competition and later scoring a career-high 9.95 on floor, with a perfect 10 from one judge. Toronjo has competed twice on uneven bars this season.
MISS VAL'S FINAL BOW
Also in Pauley Pavilion for the last time will be 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. In 29 seasons as head coach, she holds a career record of 527-121-3. 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. She 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, and she has also become a highly sought-after public speaker.
HOTTEST TICKET
UCLA continues to draw huge crowds everywhere they go. Last week's meet against Stanford set a new UCLA Gymnastics attendance record of 12,907, marking the third home meet with over 10,000 in attendance. The Bruins have competed in front of at least 5,000 fans in every meet this year and helped set new attendance records at three schools - Oklahoma on Mar. 3 (10,177, nearly double the previous record), Washington on Feb. 10 (7,228 in a snowstorm), and Stanford on Jan. 27 (6,000, nearly double the previous record). Additionally, UCLA performed in front of a sell-out crowd of 15,558 at Utah on Feb. 23 and helped draw 6,505 fans to Oregon State on Feb. 2.
10.0 HOARDERS
Of the 22 perfect 10 routines around the nation this season, UCLA has earned 13 of them (59%). Kyla Ross leads the nation with eight (four on bars, three on vault, one on beam) and remains the only gymnast in the nation to have 10s on multiple events. Katelyn Ohashi is the only other gymnast who has multiple 10s, recording four on floor exercise. Madison Kocian has one perfect 10, on uneven bars. The only other schools with multiple perfect 10s are LSU (four) and Oklahoma (three). Denver and Michigan have one each. UCLA gymnasts have totaled 139 perfect 10s all-time. Ross ranks third all-time at UCLA with 13 (seven on bars, three on vault, three on beam). Ohashi ranks fifth with nine (seven on floor and two on beam). Kocian has two on bars, and Felicia Hano has one on floor.
ROSS IS BOSS
Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross continues to show who's boss, holding steady at No. 1 in the national all-around rankings. She also ranks in the Top 5 on all four events - No. 1 on vault and bars, No. 4 on beam and No. 5 on floor. Ross holds the nation's top all-around score, a 39.850 set twice. That all-around mark ranks No. 4 all-time at UCLA. She is averaging 39.713 in the all-around and is unbeaten in all-around competition this year, winning eight times with seven scores of 39.65 or higher. Ross has won Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors a Pac-12 record-tying seven times this season, including the last six weeks in a row, which is a new Pac-12 record for consecutive wins. She leads UCLA with 25 event titles, 29 scores of 9.9 or higher and 18 scores of 9.95 or higher.
KATE THE GREAT
After going viral the second week of the season, Katelyn Ohashi has continued to prove she wasn't a one-hit wonder. She has since picked up three more perfect 10s, in back-to-back weeks, on Feb. 10 in front of a hometown crowd in Seattle, and on Feb. 16 in front of her home crowd in Pauley Pavilion. She received her fourth 10 at Oklahoma on Mar. 3. Ohashi, who is unbeaten on floor this year with nine victories, ranks No. 1 in the nation on that event and holds an astonishing season average of 9.972. She ranks second on beam and averages a national-best 9.936 on the event.
Ohashi's Jan. 12 perfect 10 floor exercise routine is the most-watched sports video on social media so far this year, with over 117 million views across Twitter (43M), Facebook (39M) and YouTube (35M). 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
In front of a UCLA Gymnastics record home crowd of 12,907, the Bruins posted a season-high 198.325 in an over two-point victory over Stanford (196.275) on Mar. 10. Kyla Ross earned a perfect 10 for the sixth-consecutive meet, capturing her first 10 of the season on the balance beam. She also won vault with a 9.95, while Nia Dennis won bars with a 9.925, and Margzetta Frazier, Felicia Hano and Katelyn Ohashi tied for first on floor with 9.95s. The Bruins earned season-high scores on vault (49.45) and balance beam (49.7) and added a 49.7 on floor exercise and 49.475 on uneven bars. The 198.325 is the fifth-highest team score in school history and highest in 15 years.
PAC-12 AWARD DOMINATION
UCLA gymnasts have dominated the Pac-12 weekly awards, winning 18 of the 30 awards so far this season. Kyla Ross has won Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week a record-tying seven times this season, including an unprecedented six weeks in a row after her performance against Stanford, during which she scored a perfect 10 on beam, won vault with a 9.95 and tied for second on bars with a 9.9.
SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN
UCLA freshmen Norah Flatley, Margzetta Frazier and Sekai Wright have been on point for the Bruins this season. Flatley has scored 9.825 or higher on 15 of her last 16 routines, with highs of 9.975 on bars and 9.925 on beam. She currently ranks No. 13 nationally on bars and No. 18 beam and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 26. Frazier has three Freshman of the Week awards to her credit and has scored 9.775 or higher on every routine this season. She averages 9.883 on bars and 9.891 on floor and ranks No. 22 on bars and No. 25 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 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 10 meets of the year for the first time ever. UCLA's previous best start came in 2003 when the team scored 197+ in its first two meets. UCLA has broken 198 three times this season, scoring 198.325 on Mar. 10 against Stanford and 198.025 on Feb. 16 against Arizona and on Feb. 23 at Utah. The last Bruin team to score at least three 198s in one season was the 2004 NCAA Championship squad, who totaled four that season. The school record for most 198s in a season is five set by the 2003 squad.
IN THE RANKINGS
In the third week of the National Qualifying Score (NQS), UCLA remains ranked No. 2 behind Oklahoma with a NQS of 197.885. The Bruins rank No. 1 in the nation on floor, No. 2 on bars and beam and No. 4 on vault. Kyla Ross ranks No. 1 in the all-around and is Top 5 on every event (No. 1 on vautl and bars, No. 4 on beam and No. 5 on floor). Katelyn Ohashi ranks No. 1 on floor and No. 2 on beam. The Bruins have five gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 on floor (No. 1 Ohashi, No. 5 Ross, No. 14 Gracie Kramer, No. 17 Felicia Hano and No. 25 Margzetta Frazier). Four Bruins are ranked in the Top 20 on bars (No. 1 Ross, No. 7 Madison Kocian, No. 13 Norah Flatley and No. 22 Frazier), three in the Top 20 on beam (No. 2 Ohashi, No. 4 Ross, and No. 18 Flatley) and on vault (No. 1 Ross, No. 16 Felicia Hano and No. 19 Nia Dennis).
FLOORED BY FLOOR
UCLA's floor exercise squad has been exceptional so far this season, averaging a national-best 49.585, with a high of 49.750 set Feb. 16 against Arizona. The 49.750 was the fourth-highest in school history and was highlighted by Katelyn Ohashi's third perfect 10 floor routine of the year, plus 9.95s from Kyla Ross and Felicia Hano and leadoff 9.925s from Margzetta Frazier and Gracie Kramer. The Bruins have scored 49.5 or better in eight of 10 meets and have scored 49+ in 32 consecutive meets. Five Bruins are nationally ranked this week - No. 1 Ohashi, No. 5 Ross, No. 14 Kramer, No. 17 Hano and No. 25 Frazier
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, a 49.650 at Oregon State on Feb. 2 and a 49.625 against Arizona on Feb. 16. The 49.700 was the fourth-highest bars score in school history, and it was highlighted by a perfect 10 from Madison Kocian. The 49.650 ranks fifth, and the 49.625 ranks seventh all-time. Five of UCLA's 13 perfect 10s this season have come on uneven bars - four from Kyla Ross and one from Kocian. The Bruins have 12 9.95+ uneven bars routines so far this season - six from Ross, three from Kocian, two from Norah Flatley, and one from Margzetta Frazier. All four are ranked in the Top 20 nationally - Ross is No. 1, Kocian is No. 7, Flatley is No. 13, and Frazier is No. 22.
BEAMING ON BEAM
The Bruins unleashed a national season-best score of 49.700 on beam last weekend against Stanford, marking the third-best score in school history. Kyla Ross led the way with a perfect 10, her first of the season on beam and her third in her career. Katelyn Ohashi nearly scored a 10 but had to settle for a 9.975, her fourth this season. The Bruins were aided by a pair of 9.9s from Grace Glenn and Brielle Nguyen to start the rotation and a career-high 9.925 from Norah Flatley. UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in an NCAA record 38 consecutive meets.
VAULTING UP
UCLA has moved up to No. 4 in the national rankings on vault after scoring a season-best 49.450 on vault last weekend. The Bruins have three ranked in the Top 20 on vault - top-ranked Kyla Ross, 16th-ranked Felicia Hano and 19th-ranked Nia Dennis. Ross has three perfect 10s on vault this season, and Dennis also has a perfect mark under her belt this year, scoring a 9.95 on her 9.95-start valued Yurchenko full on Jan. 21. Hano, who vaults a Yurchenko 1.5, has a season-best of 9.95.
BRUIN STREAKS
UCLA has scored 49+ in 99 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 36 of those 99 rotations โฆ UCLA's streak of 24 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 38 meets, breaking the NCAA record set by Oklahoma from 2016-18โฆ The Bruins have gone 49+ on floor in their last 32 meets โฆ Kyla Ross has scored 39+ in the all-around in 22-straight all-around attempts โฆ Ross has scored a perfect 10 in six consecutive meets, tying the school record set by Jamie Dantzscher in 2002 โฆ Katelyn Ohashi has scored 9.925 or better on floor in 20 straight meets.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Utah State is coached by former UCLA All-American Amy Smith, who was a team captain on UCLA's first NCAA Championship team in 1997. Smith is in her second season as head coach of the Aggies, who enter the meet with a 5-9 record. The Aggies are led by senior Madison Ward-Sessions, who ranks 17th in the nation on floor exercise. Ward-Sessions averages 9.9 on the event and is coming off a career-high 9.975 last week.
ACHIEVING HIGH MARKS IN THE CLASSROOM
The Bruins had large success in the classroom in the fall, with 13 team members making the Director's Honor Roll (3.0 or better). Five Bruins earned 3.5 or higher GPAs - Anna Glenn, Madison Kocian, Gracie Kramer, Sara Taubman and Pauline Tratz. Also making the honor roll were Grace Glenn, Brielle Nguyen, Katelyn Ohashi, Kendal Poston, Kyla Ross, Mercedez Sanchez, Stella Savvidou and Macy Toronjo.
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 650,000. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on Instagram (303k), Facebook (290k) and Twitter (62k). 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, Twitter and Snapchat and on Facebook at facebook.com/uclagymnastics.
Players Mentioned
