Friday, March 6, 1998
Gymnastics Briefs
The UCLA women’s gymnastics team (11-2) competes tonight at
Oregon State University’s Shanico Invitational, where they will
face, in addition to No. 14 OSU, George Washington and
Seattle-Pacific.
With Regionals less than a month away and the team battling
injury problems, UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos is focusing on
keeping the team healthy and well-rested.
Remaining healthy has been difficult for the Bruins, who lost
senior Carmen Tausend last week when she tore her anterior
collateral ligament, ending her collegiate career. Throughout the
week, UCLA has prepared for tonight’s meet by physically resting
and emotionally keeping its spirits up.
"We have been working on rest and motivation," Kondos said.
"About four years (ago) I changed my tactics because or win loss
record does not matter, we train through the season. Those athletes
that have their routines down are learning new skills, so they do
not even do the routines they are competing with on weekends during
the week."
Junior Kiralee Hayashi and sophomore Heidi Moneymaker have
helped the team keep their energy and practices running well when
the Bruins are down. "Consistently Kiralee and Heidi, because of
their work ethic in the gym, really keep things going," Kondos
said. "Also, we are getting Mohini Bhardwaj back on beam and bars,
so that is exciting and helps boost morale every time a teammate
comes back into the lineup."
Briefs compiled by Daily Bruin Contributor Christie Debeau.