They weren’t many, but they were rowdy. Some of them came
with food, others left with it. The 1,108 fans who dismissed Super
Bowl Sunday for “Soup”-er Bowl Sunday saw UCLA
gymnastics record a 197.55 to defeat Cal State Fullerton and
Arizona State in a triangular meet.
“Once again, I’m not excited about the number of
people,” coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “But
I’m so excited about their enthusiasm for our team. They are
getting more and more knowledgeable gymnastically.”
Fans who came to Pauley Pavilion with a can of soup in hand were
admitted to the meet free of charge as part of UCLA’s
“Soup”-er Bowl Sunday promotion. All proceeds were
given to charity.
UCLA looked a bit rusty in opening with a 49.1 on vault. Both
Jeanette Antolin and Kate Richardson recorded their lowest scores
of the year, albeit with a 9.925 and a 9.85 respectively. For
Richardson, it was the first time she has scored below 9.9 on any
event this season. It would be the last time she did so in this
meet.
The Bruins turned up the intensity on bars, receiving matching
career highs of 9.95 from Kristen Maloney and Kate Richardson.
Maloney’s routine came after the senior felt pain in her
repaired shin during her vault routine, and it was good enough to
receive a perfect 10 from one of the judges.
“Maloney is mentally the toughest athlete I have ever
coached,” Kondos Field said. “She’s just beyond
tough. She’s got football player mentality.”
Jeanette Antolin capped a solid team performance on bars for a
49.375 team total, and the Bruins never looked back.
Moving to beam, UCLA matched a season-high with 49.55, including
dominant performances from Yvonne Tousek and Kristen Maloney, both
of whom recorded 9.925.
Richardson capped the third rotation with her first perfect 10
of the evening, sending the first 100 fans home with a free
Whopper, courtesy of Burger King.
After the free Whoppers were announced over the PA system,
Richardson smiled, shrugged, and mouthed, “you’re
welcome,” drawing laughs from a handful of spectators.
The Bruins’ strong showing on beam gave them a 148.025 and
put them up by more than a full point over Arizona State, their
next closest opponent at 146.825. After the third rotation,
Fullerton trailed both UCLA and Arizona State with a 144.7.
UCLA would build on their lead during the fourth and final
rotation, getting the crowd pumped up with several strong floor
exercise routines.
“I think we started out low on sharpness and focus,”
Richardson said. “As the meet went on, the crowd got more
revved up, and we got more revved up.”
Yvonne Tousek was one of several UCLA gymnasts to help with the
revving, as the senior tied her career-high 9.95 on floor.
“I didn’t even know that, but that’s
exciting,” Tousek said. “More than anything, though,
I’m excited that my score helped the team win.”
Also performing brilliantly on floor was Jeanette Antolin, who
matched Tousek with a score of 9.95, receiving a perfect 10 from
one of the judges. Kate Richardson followed Antolin with her second
perfect 10 on the evening, capturing the all-around title with a
39.750 and helping UCLA win the triangular meet title with a
197.55.