MARY HOLSCHER Sophomore Doni Thompson
performs on the uneven bars in UCLA’s high-scoring victory over CSU
Fullerton on Sunday. UCLA 196.825 CSUF 192.9
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Reporter
FULLERTON “”mdash; The No. 1 UCLA women’s gymnastics team
traveled to Fullerton this weekend and returned home with an
impressive victory.
UCLA turned in the nation’s highest score of the year at
196.825, while Cal State Fullerton finished with a score of
192.9.
Sophomores Doni Thompson, Malia Jones, and freshman Yvonne
Tousek led the way for the Bruins, who competed without NCAA bars
champion Mohini Bhardwaj, All-American Onnie Willis and Olympians
Jamie Dantzscher and Kristen Maloney, all of whom were taking a
break from competition to rest.
“I’m very happy with how we performed because we
didn’t have our very best athletes out there,” Jones
said. “We are all good competitors, but this meet really
showed the team’s depth.”
Head coach Valorie Kondos Field agreed.
“We tried to compete as many as we could,” Kondos
Field said. “I was very impressed with how they kept their
level of competition up.”
Thompson won the all-around for the first time as a Bruin,
edging out teammate and roommate Malia Jones.
“I was kind of shocked,” Thompson said. “I
just try and go into each meet the same way.”
Thompson’s all-around score of 39.425 was a career high.
Her best individual score came on the balance beam with a mark of
9.875.
Jones finished third on the vault and beam, and nearly caught
Thompson with a score of 39.275. But the sophomore from Nevada
competed in the first spot in the lineup, a traditionally
lower-scoring position.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it until the
end,” Jones said of her competition with teammate Thompson.
“But I am a competitive person.”
The Bruins dominated the meet from top to bottom, claiming the
three highest scores in all four events. Tousek, a member of the
2000 Canadian Olympic team, finished first in three of four events.
She won the bars and beam with a 9.9 and the floor routine with a
mark of 9.95.
Sophomore Kristen Parker finished first on the vault with a
9.925. Jeanette Antolin, whose sister Katie competes for Fullerton,
finished second in vault, bars and floor, completing the domination
of the Titans.
“Fullerton is always a relaxing meet for us because there
is no negative rivalry,” Kondos Field said. “(The
Bruins) never let their performance level drop.”
Carly Raab and Alyssa Beckerman both completed their first
competitions for the Bruins. Raab was forced to sit out last year
after sustaining a knee injury and Beckerman is a freshman who did
not compete last week in Hawaii.
Cal State Fullerton’s highlights were confined to a
third-place overall finish by Kelly Mathiasen, who had a career
best 39.225. Other than that, Titan fans were forced to sit back
and watch the clinic UCLA put on in Titan Gym on Sunday.
“The team did really well,” Thompson said. “I
was impressed with the way we performed.”
The Bruins’ meet provided some Bruins with much-needed
rest, while others were able to get some much-needed experience.
Both will be necessary when UCLA travels north next weekend to take
on the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal. With a full squad and a lot of
momentum, the Bruins look to continue their quest for another
national championship.