UCLA d. Michigan 197.700 – 194.000
UCLA d. Michigan St. 195.475 – 194.000
By Eli Karon
Daily Bruin Contributor
You know you’re a good team when opponents ask you to stay
for an autograph session in their gym. The top-ranked UCLA
women’s gymnastics team did just that. The Bruins traveled to
Michigan over the weekend, swept the Michigan schools, and then
signed autographs for throngs of fans.
“I had a lot of people tell me how nice it was of us to
stay and do autograph sessions, but why wouldn’t we?”
Coach Valorie Kondos-Field said. “It was a good thing we did
and I’m very proud of the girls.”
In the first meet against Michigan on Friday the Bruins never
trailed, riding another outstanding performance from sophomore
Onnie Willis to a 197.700-197.125 victory over the Wolverines.
Willis won the all-around for the third consecutive time with a
39.5, eking out Michigan Olympian Elise Ray (39.4).
Against Michigan, despite competing far from home in front of a
Crisler Arena-record crowd of 3,854, the Bruins got strong
performances on each apparatus.
The meet against No. 23 Michigan State presented the Bruins an
entirely different atmosphere. The team competed in front of a
small, unenthusiastic crowd and still managed to secure a
195.475-194.000 victory, led by Kristin Parker’s all-around
victory (39.4).
The meet gave the Bruins an opportunity to try out a new lineup,
giving many gymnasts who don’t usually compete the chance to
do so.
Of the Bruins who competed, many set either career or
season-bests. Lindsey Dong bolstered the Bruin attack with a
season-best on vault (9.8) and a career-high on the floor with a
9.5.
“It was a good opportunity for everyone to compete,”
Dong said. “I was pretty excited about my vault, because
I’ve been training really hard and it was rewarding to hit my
routine.”
Mohini Bhardwaj recorded her second perfect 10 of the season on
the uneven bars, the team’s strongest event of the meet.
Bhardwaj was set up by an impressive performance from sophomore
Doni Thompson, who recorded a nearly flawless career-high 9.95.
Carly Raab led off the meet with her career-high on bars, a
9.75
UCLA’s beam routines were particularly strong, with two
Bruin gymnasts recording career highs. Onnie Willis had a
career-high 9.9 and Malia Jones tied her career-high with a 9.875
en route to coming in second in the all-around.
“I did the best that I could on every event except vault.
(The team) did well, considering the meet was small and the crowd
wasn’t into it,” Jones said. “It was a really
good test to see if we could keep up the energy in a meet like
this. We had to pump ourselves up.”
UCLA looks to stay on top of the national rankings next week
when they face one of the toughest programs in the nation, the
five-time National Champion Georgia Bulldogs. The team hopes to
continue competing as a unit, with everyone showing support for one
another.
“United we are intimidating and unbeatable,”
Kondos-Field said.