Friday, April 17, 1998
Champion-hopefuls UCLA qualify for NCAA Super Six
Bruins up against Alabama, Utah, ASU, Georgia and Florida
By Christie DeBeau
Daily Bruin Contributor
The team to be crowned the 1998 NCAA Champion will be decided
tonight – and the UCLA women’s gymnastics team is in the running to
defend their title when the team takes the floor in Pauley Pavilion
at 7:30 p.m.
Joining the Bruins tonight in the Super Six are the University
of Georgia, University of Alabama, Arizona State University, UCLA,
University of Florida and the University of Utah.
At the first session of the semi-final competition on Thursday,
No. 1 seed Georgia scored the highest with a team total of 197.825,
followed by Alabama with a 196.475. ASU was the third team in this
session to advance to the finals with a 195.450.
At the second session UCLA placed first with a 196.925 The
University of Florida followed the Bruins with a 196.750 and the
University of Utah was the last team to qualify with a 196.925.
UCLA managed to compete well at the semi-finals despite some
falls on every event.
"I am really proud that we had a fall on every event and it did
not effect them at all, they did not flinch," UCLA head coach
Valorie Kondos said. "We vaulted better tonight than we have all
season so we are definitely peaking at the right time."
The Bruins will face tough competition from all the teams,
especially Georgia who UCLA lost to at its first meet of the
season.
"I think that it is anybody’s ball game," Kondos said. "I
believe that whoever competes the cleanest will win. I think before
tonight I thought that Georgia could drop the ball a few and win
but if we do what I think we are capable of doing now, that is not
the case. I think that we competed great tonight but we counted
some mistakes. We had some wobbles on beam that are not natural for
us. In my opinion, it is all about how calm we can get. We are
playing to win but it is kind of nice knowing that the lowest we
can finish is six."
The Bulldogs have won every meet this season and are not ready
to lose now.
"We’re excited to qualify for the Super Six," Georgia head coach
Suzanne Yoculan said. "We did not come here just to qualify, we
wanted to compete well and win. Everyone knows about Kim (Arnold)
and Karin (Lichey), but its about the whole team. We have five
upperclassmen who have been through some Super Sixes and gained
lots of experience."