Gymnastics wins west regionals, earns fourth seed for NCAA
tourney
Marrow sets record, Kondos named Coach of Year
By Esther Hui
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It was a battered and bruised UCLA women’s gymnastics team which
boarded the plane for the West Regional qualifying meet last
Thursday. But despite losing sophomore Leah Homma and senior Megan
Fenton in events due to nagging injuries, the Bruins returned from
Corvallis, Ore. after Saturday’s meet, not just as the West
Regional champions, but as national title contenders.
The Bruins crushed second place Oregon State by a full point,
and in front of a crowd of 6,000, they totalled their
second-highest team score of the year (195.950) and took the top
two all-around places, including a school record by senior Kareema
Marrow (39.600). The scores give UCLA a fourth place seeding for
the tournament, to be held in Athens, Geor. in two weeks.
"It was a great meet," UCLA head coach and 1995 West Regional
coach of the year Valorie Kondos said. "We played the meet event by
event. We were beat up going in, but not injured. We had no falls
until the last rotation."
The Bruins competed only five athletes on their first event,
vault. Eventual second place finisher in the all-around Stella Umeh
started the Bruin lineup with a 9.725, followed by Amy Smith, Homma
and Dee Fischer, who each tied for fifth place with a 9.875. Marrow
ended the rotation with a 9.95 to begin her quest for the
all-around championship.
The next event was the uneven parallel bars, where the Bruins
were missing their bars leader in senior Fenton, who was sidelined
on all events except beam with a shoulder injury. UCLA managed its
highest bars total of the year, however, with a 49.450 out of a
possible 50 points. The Bruins captured second place with a 9.95
from Homma, as well as a three-way tie for third with Kristin
Harmell, Umeh and Marrow’s 9.90.
On beam, the Bruins had no falls to total a 49.200. They swept
the first four places, with Umeh’s first place 9.950, Homma’s 9.875
for second and Marrow and Corinne Chee’s 9.850 tie for third.
Floor was the undoing for the Bruins, where they had three falls
and a three-tenths deduction from the team score due to a mix-up in
the line-up. Andrea Fong scored a 9.70, stepping up to compete for
only the second time this year after Chee fell twice. Fischer
scored a 9.775 for fourth, and Umeh and Marrow tied for first with
a 9.900, scores which put both the Bruins and Marrow on top.
"I was going by mottos," Marrow said. "I kept saying to myself,
‘Don’t take anything for granted’, and ‘Refuse to lose’. I didn’t
want to lose to Oregon State, and I didn’t want to lose to myself.
I just did the best I could."
Marrow’s victory is an example of the Bruins’ all-around power.
UCLA has three strong gymnasts who trade off championships, and who
each have a legitimate shot at the national all-around title.
Homma, the 1994 Pac-10 gymnast of the year, beat top-ranked Utah
powerhouse Suzanne Metz and won the Gilda Marx Invitational
championship in February.
Freshman Umeh won the Pac-10 all-around championship two weeks
ago, and Marrow, fifth at last year’s nationals, now has the
Western Regional title.
"Regionals really showed we’re contending for the title," Marrow
said. "We just have to hit and not hold back. For me, it’s a goal
to win the all-around, it’s what I’ve hoped for for a long time.
We’ve been building and building, but this is a meet where anybody
can win. It’s just a matter of who can hit."