TYSON EVANS Sophomore Jamie Dantzscher
has received a perfect 10 in five straight meets.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
Saturday nights are meant for parties, but the UCLA gymnastics
team does not plan a warm reception when Oregon State visits Pauley
Pavilion this weekend. Even if Beaver coaches Tanya and Michael
Chaplin are both former Bruin gymnasts.
The two teams are among the top in the Pac-10, and consistently
challenge each other for the conference title.
Last year UCLA set the Pac-10 record with a 198.25 total score
in Corvallis. In that meet, three Bruins scored perfect 10s to give
the visiting Bruins their highest score ever.
The Bruins have yet to break the 197 barrier this year,
suffering through injuries and inconsistent performances. They are
coming off a victory at Berkeley during which the team rested key
performers recovering from injuries. Kristin Parker and Onnie
Willis both sat out against Berkeley. Willis should return, but
Parker will continue to rest and may only compete in the vault.
Most of all, the team is looking forward to a home meet.
“We’re excited about being in Pauley again,”
head coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “We’re planning
on building on our excitement from our last home meet.”
In their last home meet against Stanford, the Bruins tallied
their highest score of the season, a 196.925, capped by Jamie
Dantzscher’s fourth straight perfect 10 on the floor. She
extended the streak last week against Cal when she hit her fifth in
a row.
But the story recently has been the production of the role
players, team members who step up to fill voids left by injured
stars. Last week sophomore Jamie Williams hit three for three, and
could see action on Saturday.
In addition, sophomore Jeanette Antolin rejoined the team,
competing a week ago on vault.
Another Bruin who has produced recently is sophomore Alyssa
Beckerman. Last weekend she tied a career-best mark on the floor
with a 9.875.
“As a team we want to focus on one meet at a time, one
event at a time, one skill at a time,” she
said. “We want to keep our rhythm going because
we’re in a good pattern right now.”