Monday, January 13, 1997
GYMNASTICS:
Tiny point spread not as important as staunch performancesBy
Lisa Quon
Daily Bruin Contributor
The season home opener for the UCLA women’s gymnastics team
could not have begun with a more exciting match-up. Yesterday at
Pauley Pavilion, the No. 1 ranked Bruins faced tough competition in
the No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
Unfortunately, the Bruins fell a few steps short of a victory,
losing with a score of 195.725 to Georgia’s 196.95.
Still, the team was very pleased with their performance overall.
"I saw a lot of really great things happen to individual team
members on every event," junior Stella Umeh said. "We felt really
good going into the meet and after it was over."
Along with practically every member of last year’s talented team
returning, there were high hopes for freshman recruits Lena
Degteva, Deborah Mink and Heidi Moneymaker. They did not fail to
deliver exceptional performances.
Moneymaker competed in two events, helping the team out with a
9.85 on bars and a team high 9.925 on vault.
Also impressive was new recruit Lena Degteva, a two-time
Canadian National Champion. In her first big college gymnastics
meet, she was one of only five competitors to compete in all four
events.
When asked about competing on the college level Degteva
responded, "I’m excited about competing for UCLA. I didn’t know
exactly what to expect, but having a team around you helps a
lot."
Other strong performances were turned in by senior Leah Homma,
who scored 9.8 on vault and a 9.95 on bars, junior Stella Umeh,
with a 9.9 on bars and 9.95 on floor, and senior Amy Smith, with a
9.8 on vault and 9.9 on floor.
Though UCLA lost in overall score to the Bulldogs, Georgia head
coach Suzanne Yoculan believes that it matters little. "This early
in the season, there is really no loser." Yoculan said. "What is
important is what this win makes us do."
Yoculan says that although neither team made any major mistakes,
the difference was in overall depth of the team.
UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos was thrilled with the team’s
performance. "We are notorious for starting the season off slowly,
but today we really performed like we are in a championship
season," Kondos said.
The Bruins hope to stay healthy and continue training for the
tough season ahead of them.