Good teams fight through adversity, while great teams thrive on
it. The UCLA gymnastics team proved its worth at the top of the
national standings on Saturday by winning the 2003 Pac-10 team
title with a Pac-10 record of 198.175.
And it did it without its best gymnast.
Junior Jamie Dantzscher did not compete, as a severe sinus
infection sidelined her for the team’s final appearance in
Pauley Pavilion this season. Freshman Kate Richardson more than
made up for Dantzscher’s absence with a personal best 39.825
in the all-around, including a perfect 10 on the floor routine.
“I’m happy with how I competed, but the individual
awards are just a bonus,” Richardson said. “I’m
so happy with how the team competed and so excited to be a part of
it.”
Stanford came in second with a team total of 197.700, and
Arizona State was third with 197.075.
Bruin Jeanette Antolin finished second in the all-around, also
achieving a personal best of 39.700. Antolin, like her teammate
Richardson, recorded a perfect 10 for UCLA, hers coming on vault,
the team’s final event of the meet. At this time last year,
Antolin had been removed from the team for disciplinary reasons.
The 2003 Pac-10 vault champion has made quite a turnaround since
then.
“I really haven’t changed much except the way I
train and how much I enjoy gymnastics,” Antolin said.
“For a while (last year) it wasn’t too exciting, but
now it’s kind of like an exclamation point on my
life.”
UCLA led from the outset, recording four scores of 9.9 or higher
on the uneven bars to kick things off. The meet’s climax came
when Antolin finished things off for UCLA with her perfect 10.
During the post-meet awards ceremony, Pac-10 coaches recognized
the team that head coach Valorie Kondos Field has called the most
talented team in the history of collegiate gymnastics. Richardson
was named Freshman Gymnast of the Year by the Pac-10 coaches, while
senior teammate Onnie Willis was given the Pac-10 Gymnast of the
Year award.
“We all know she’s amazing,” teammate Kristin
Parker said. “She absolutely deserves it. It’s amazing
to see it recognized, not just by us, but by other people
too.”
Willis expressed surprise at her selection as Pac-10 Gymnast of
the Year, but was not at all surprised when Kondos Field was named
Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year by other Pac-10 coaches.
“She should always get coach of the year,” Willis
said.
In putting together a Pac-10 championship team, Kondos Field and
the Bruins achieved another of their season goals. The meet was
special from the start, with a vocal crowd of 3,070 showing support
for their respective teams with banners, posters, and noisemakers.
UCLA even commissioned the support of the UCLA alumni band for the
meet.
“It was so much more exciting and so much more fun than
any other meet I’ve ever been in,” Richardson said.
This is a pretty impressive statement considering Richardson has
traveled the world competing, including as a member of the 2000
Canadian Olympic team.
And it was a pretty impressive meet, as UCLA tallied a 198.175
without one of its top performers.