University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Gymnastics Hosts Bruin Classic
Feb. 16, 1998
THIS WEEK -- Defending NCAA Champions UCLA (8-1, fifth-ranked) will host the second annual Bruin Classic Sunday, Feb. 22 at Pauley Pavilion at 2 pm. UCLA's competition will be seventh-ranked Penn State (6-2), 14th-ranked Oregon State (5-1) and Cal State Fullerton (2-4). The Bruin gymnastics team will sign autographs for fans following the meet. Tickets can be purchased at the door or at the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310/UCLA-WIN). Reserved seats are $10, while general admission tickets are $5.
LAST YEAR'S CLASSIC -- UCLA won the inaugural Bruin Classic a year ago with a score of 195.225, edging out Washington by one point. Cal State Fullerton placed fourth with a 192.15. Individually, UCLA's Luisa Portocarrero won the beam with a career-high tying 9.9, and Leah Homma won the bars with a 9.925. Lena Degteva had second place finishes on bars and floor.
SENIORS TO BE HONORED AT CLASSIC -- In their last regular season home meet of 1998, UCLA seniors Stella Umeh, Andrea Fong and Carmen Tausend will be honored.
* In her four years at UCLA, Umeh has established herself as one of the greatest Bruin gymnasts of all time. As a freshman in 1995, she won the NCAA floor exercise title and took home four All-American awards. Also that year, she won the Pac-10 bars, beam, floor and all-around crowns. In her career, the 1992 Canadian Olympian has compiled seven All-American awards and has three times tied the Pauley Pavilion floor exercise record with a 9.95.
* Fong has evolved in 1998 from an infrequent vault competitor to a solid and valuable all-arounder. Last week at Cal, she set career-highs in the all-around (38.525) and beam (9.75) and has hit career-highs on bars (9.65) and floor (9.8) this season.
* Tausend returned to the Bruins to finish her eligibility after briefly retiring from the sport following the end of the 1997 season, during which she earned Academic All-Pac-10 honors. This year, she is averaging a 9.7 on bars with a career-high of 9.75 set in January.
A LOOK AT THE BRUINS -- UCLA is on a roll, winning its last four meets in a row. The Bruins have broken 195 points in their last two meets, with a season-high of 195.4 set at the UCLA Invitational Feb. 7. UCLA's all-arounders have been outstanding this year, with Stella Umeh posting a 39.2 average (high of 39.4), Heidi Moneymaker scoring a career-high 39.325 in consecutive meets, Kiralee Hayashi averaging a 38.725, and Andrea Fong hitting a career-high 38.525 in just her second all-around competition ever last week. The Bruins'