COURTNEY STEWART Malia Jones competes on
the balance beam, turning in a 9.85, beating the 9.4 she scored at
Regionals.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
ATHENS, GA. “”mdash; Preliminary meet number one at the NCAA
women’s gymnastics championships Thursday turned out to be a
very tight competition for third place. UCLA dominated the meet,
leading by five-tenths of a point after two rotations, eight-tenths
after three rounds, and by the end outdistanced second place
Alabama by more than one full point. No one came close to
challenging Bruin dominance in round one as the team hit 24 out of
24 routines for the first time this year for a score of
197.625.
Michigan and Florida found themselves in a tight battle for the
all-important third place, the final spot given to advance to
today’s Super Six. Michigan claimed the third spot,
outscoring Florida 196.375-195.825. Alabama finished with a final
score of 196.525.
UCLA opened with a bye, allowing for more time to focus before
the start of its championship run. That was pretty much the only
time other schools had a chance to contend for first, as the Bruins
swept through the rest of the field with ease.
The Bruins had their usual strong showing on the floor exercise,
turning in a combined 49.525. Senior Mohini Bhardwaj and freshman
Jamie Dantzscher led the way as each drew a 9.950 from the judges.
Sophomore Onnie Willis had a strong showing and finished with a
9.9.
UCLA recorded the highest scores on all four events, but seemed
to struggle on the vault with a score of 49.200. Kristin Parker
scored a team-high 9.9, with Willis and Dantzscher close behind at
9.850.
The six-team schedule provided for two byes, allowing the Bruins
to regroup in time for the uneven bars. UCLA tore up the apparatus,
averaging 9.9 en route to a 49.5 team score.
After the event, Assistant Coach Steve Gerlach walked by the
small but noisy UCLA cheering section and asked, “Are we on
fire or what?”
Indeed they were, as the Bruins went on to score 49.375 on the
beam to finish with a 197.625 for the day.
“It is really comforting to hear fans cheering
UCLA,” Willis said. “It makes us feel more at
home.”
That atmosphere in Stegeman Coliseum was laid back as just 2,037
fans attended the first preliminary meet. Clearly the local crowds
were waiting until the evening session when the host Georgia
Bulldogs began their drive to dethrone UCLA. Despite the lack of
energy in the stands, athletes on the floor maintained an intense
level of competition.
“What I found exciting about the day was that there was so
much difficulty out there, and there really didn’t need to
be,” Head Coach Valorie Kondos Field said.
At the same time, the team remained poised. Even before taking a
large lead the Bruins looked relaxed as a team.
“Even though we have a young team, we do not lack
experience,” Bhardwaj said.
The Bruins will need all of that experience when they compete in
today’s Super Six. In addition to Alabama and Michigan, the
Bruins will have to contend with Utah, Nebraska, and the
crowd-favorite Georgia Gym Dogs.
“Honestly, I like it when more people are there,”
Dantzscher said of the crowd. “It gets me more pumped up, and
I do better.”
When asked about the rowdy Georgia crowd, Willis merely
responded, “They bark.”
The Gym Dogs’ domain should be pretty hostile today, but
Kondos Field is not concerned with the way her team will react.
“In true Wooden form, we try not to get too high or too
low. We try to stay even keel,” she said.