CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin Senior Mohini
Bhardwaj has been a top performer for the Bruins this
year. She is a big factor in their national title hopes.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
The road to the national championship comes through Westwood and
Bruins guard the gate.
The UCLA gymnastics team hopes to return to reach the big dance
in Athens, Georgia, but it must first defeat Brigham Young
University and Oregon State, among others, in the Regional
Championships.
The Bruins are hosting the meet, which features BYU, OSU, Cal
and Cal State Fullerton. In addition to the five universities
competing, individuals representing schools in the Western Region
will compete for the right to advance to the NCAA
Championships.
UCLA has won the last two regionals, and seven of the last
eight. UCLA is coming off its first loss in over a month. Stanford
defeated the Bruins in Seattle for the Pac-10 title two weeks ago.
But the Bruins know that is in the past.
“Regionals are going to be a real exciting meet,”
head coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “I have a feeling we
are going to turn a corner.”
Bruin gymnasts have been dominant in 2001. They have scored 20
perfect 10s and compiled a season-high 198.250 earlier this year in
Corvallis.
But UCLA should be tested this weekend by the Beavers and
Cougars. BYU is led by Kelly Parkinson, the nation’s
fifth-ranked all-arounder. She also ranks nationally in the top 20
on floor, bars and vault.
Oregon State features Katrina Severin, who ranks 12th on floor
and 23rd on beam. She is ranked No. 4 in the nation on the
vault.
In addition to tough competition, the Bruins face the added
challenge of trying not to look ahead to the championship
tournament two weeks down the road.
“It is going to take all of the athletes on the floor
working as one,” Kondos Field said
As the favorite, UCLA will need to stay focused in order to take
its next step towards repeating as national champions.
“We’re taking it one step at time,” sophomore
Kristin Parker said. “We’re not taking nationals for
granted at all. There’s a lot of teams out there who want it
just as bad as we do.”
Bruin gymnasts should be up to the challenge.
Senior Mohini Bhardwaj, sophomore Onnie Willis, Parker and
freshmen Kristen Maloney and Jamie Dantzscher have all tallied
perfect scores this year. It will take similar feats for the Bruins
to advance to the finals for the second year in a row.
“If we hit our routines like we know we can there’s
no reason why we shouldn’t do really well,” Parker
said. “We want as a team to hit 24 out of 24
routines.”
As a team, UCLA’s score against Oregon State is tops in
the nation this year. Bhardwaj’s 39.975 in a dual meet
against Georgia earlier this year is also a top score nationally.
Last year, Bhardwaj won the all-around, bars and beam routines
during the regional competition.