Thursday, January 9, 1997
GYMNASTICS:
Top-notch recruiting class joins four returning All-AmericansBy
Lisa Quon
Daily Bruin Contributor
Last spring at the NCAA Nationals, the UCLA women’s gymnastics
team finished the season with an inspirational second-place showing
to prove that they had the hearts of champions. This year they have
the talent to match it.
With four returning All-Americans as well as what head coach
Valerie Kondos calls "the best freshman recruiting class in the
country," the team has earned a No.1 ranking in the coaches’
preseason gymnastics poll.
Guiding the Bruins again this season is Kondos, who is in her
seventh year as head coach. The exceptional job she did last year
earned her the Coach of the Year award from the National
Association of College Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC).
In addition, the team will also benefit from the help of new
volunteer assistant coach Kerri Strug. Strug, a two-time Olympic
gymnast who helped her team win a gold in the 1996 Olympics with
her inspiring vault performance will not only coach, but also
perform exhibition routines at home meets throughout the
season.
Though the team is confident about the upcoming season, they
admit that there are challenges to face.
"It took us a while to learn to compete as a team last year, but
it all came together in the end," senior standout Leah Homma said.
"Staying consistent will be our biggest challenge throughout the
season."
As far as the added pressure of being ranked No.1, Homma says,
"I don’t really feel any more pressure than normal because I don’t
think about polls. They don’t affect my attitude or
performance."
Sophomore Luisa Portocarrero agrees.
"People may have expectations, but as long as we keep training
our hardest, we don’t worry too much about our ranking yet."
Over the past few years, the Bruins have been continually
improving in the rankings. In 1994, they finished the season ranked
fifth. In 1995, they came in fourth. Last year, they finished an
impressive second. With these showings, they have officially
established their place as one of the top women’s gymnastics
programs in the nation. And with the returning and incoming talent
on the team, there is little to stop UCLA from staying at the top
of the polls and winning the title this year.
The Bruins will begin their season this Friday at 7 p.m. at Cal
State Fullerton. On Sunday at 2 p.m., UCLA will have its home
opener at Pauley Pavilion against perennial powerhouse Georgia, who
is currently ranked third. This will be a tough meet for the
Bruins, who have always had a hard time against the Bulldogs,
tallying just two wins in seven meets against them.
The Bruins, however, look forward to meeting Georgia early in
the season.
"It’s great to compete against a tough team on our home turf,"
third-year gymnast Andrea Fong said. "We want to send a message out
to other top teams  that we plan to be a contender for the
title this year."
Special appearances will be made by former Olympic gymnastics
gold medalists Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner, as well as Kerri
Strug, who will be performing an exhibition routine following the
meet. The meet is free to all UCLA students.
Daily Bruin File Photo
Senior Leah Homma returns to lead the women’s gymnastics
team.