Two weeks ago, the UCLA gymnastics team began its season ranked
No. 1 in the nation. Two weeks later, they still have a one in
their ranking, but this time it’s followed by a zero.
“Being ranked No. 10 doesn’t really mean anything to
us,” senior Christy Erickson said. “It gives us
incentive to go out and show the other teams we’re the team
to beat, but they (still) know.”
After splitting their back-to-back meets last weekend, the
Bruins once again pack their bags. This time they’re headed
to Minnesota to face the No. 17 Golden Gophers (1-2) this Sunday.
It will be their third road meet in the last nine days.
“Traveling is exhausting,” Erickson said. “We
get dehydrated, tired ““ it’s a strain on the team, but
we’re going to be doing a lot of it, and we’re getting
warmed up.”
Minnesota is led by sophomore Laura Johnson, who captured the
all-around and MVP titles in the team’s season opener,
helping the Golden Gophers win the beam and bars competitions
despite losing the overall meet.
The last meeting between the Bruins and Golden Gophers was at
the 2002 UCLA Invitational, which UCLA won by a score of
198.35-196.2. Overall, UCLA has an 11-1 record against
Minnesota. Â
Interestingly enough, it is Minnesota co-head coach Jim
Stephenson who gave UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field her start
in gymnastics.
“I was 17 and wanted to make some extra money, so I called
Jim up at a gym in Sacramento,” Kondos Field said. “He
found out I played piano, so he had me playing the floor music and
ended up teaching me about gymnastics and what to look for in
events. I couldn’t have had a better teacher.”
Kondos Field insisted that she would not be torn between rooting
for her gymnastics mentor and preparing her team for the meet.
“We’re going to try and score as high as we did
against Georgia, if not higher,” she said. “We’re
definitely going in there to win.”