Thursday, April 16, 1998
Bounding to win back to back
STORY: Bruins to host event, feel added pressure to perform
By Christie DeBeau
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s gymnastics team has endured a season of ups and
downs, but with the commencement of the NCAA Championship today at
7:30 p.m., the Bruins will have a chance to keep their crown and
end the 1998 year on the up.
The Bruins started the season on a high, breaking a 195.
However, they lost the meet to Georgia, which is the No. 1 seed in
the Championships, a team that might prove to be the Bruins’
toughest competition.
"Georgia is the strongest team on the floor," said head coach
Valorie Kondos. "If they open the door we will be ready to take it
from them. I have not seen most of the teams in this year’s twelve,
but I feel we are prepared. We have hit under stressful situations
in the past and are ready."
UCLA changed the tide from its first meet and hit a five-meet
winning streak shortly after the Georgia meet, keeping its scores
high until February, when they began to wane.
It was in this month that the Bruins began to suffer from
injuries. Junior Luisa Portocarrero, freshman Mohini Bhardwaj and
senior Carmen Tausend all sustained injuries that prevented them
from competing. However, all but Tausend, who tore her anterior
cruciate ligament, are healthy for the championships.
By the end of the season, UCLA managed to overcome its injuries
and qualify for Regionals, but misfortune hit once again, when
senior all-arounder Stella Umeh fell on the first event of the
meet, uneven bars. Umeh landed on her head but was able to return
to the meet for the last event, and is set to compete at the NCAA
Championships.
The Bruins qualified to compete at Nationals as the 10th seed
out of 12 teams after they placed second at Regionals.
In addition to competing in the championships, this year is also
notable because it is the first time UCLA has hosted Nationals
since 1984. Kondos was with the Bruins in 1984, serving as an
assistant coach. After leading the team to a championship title
last year, Kondos and the Bruins are prepared to repeat their
victory.
"I am thrilled to be granted the championship again this year,"
Kondos said. "For the first time in 14 years the championship is
west of the Rockies. We had a great year (1997), all my peers know
what it is like to repeat. Every year is a different team, whether
you lose one or more athletes. (This year ) Stella threw in some
drama for us at regionals . We used to be able to take it for
granted that we were going to the National Championships. We are
truly thrilled to be here and hosting."Derrick Kudo/Daily Bruin
Lena Degteva and the rest of the gymnastics team qualified for
Nationals despite a rocky start.