As she carried the NCAA Championship trophy into the press
conference following a record-breaking team performance, a thought
crossed Jeanette Antolin’s mind.
“We are building a dynasty here,” she said.
“And there will be many more to come.”
Friday’s championship marked UCLA’s fourth in five
years, and fifth overall, arguably cementing the development of
another UCLA dynasty, this time in gymnastics.
“People have used that D word with me a lot lately,”
coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “If I was at another school,
maybe I would say we have a dynasty here, but … what constitutes
a dynasty at UCLA means we’re just toddlers.
“Maybe when we win another five.”
Maybe five championships (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004)
don’t carry the same luster as, for example, the 18 national
titles the men’s volleyball team calls its own. However, UCLA
is making an indelible mark on the world of collegiate gymnastics
that cannot go ignored.
Placed in the context of the four teams who have won NCAA
championships in 23 years, UCLA’s total of five isn’t
overwhelming. Utah has won nine, Georgia five and Alabama four.
But with the string of recent championships behind them and a
subsequent swell in recruiting, the future bodes well for
UCLA’s gymnastics program.
“To compare ourselves to Georgia or Utah is
difficult,” Kondos Field said. “Utah is the only team
to win consecutively as many as we have, and they were able to
produce that championship character.”
“With our win that’s what stands out to me. … I
think that what makes a dynasty is the ability to produce
championship teams over numerous years with different athletes in
the mix.”
The powerhouse status of the Bruins has attracted ex-Olympians
and members from the U.S. National Team ““ consequently,
according to Antolin, Kondos Field has “the pick of the
litter” for next year’s recruits.
“This is one of the best teams UCLA has had,”
Antolin said. “I didn’t think we could be better than
last year … but looking at the stats, we are.”
And while Antolin is graduating this spring, the new recruits
will be led by Kristen Maloney and Kate Richardson, both of whom
had stellar performances in the championship.
“We definitely have set a standard here,” Maloney
said. “We have to go strong and keep training hard, but
I’ll definitely bring this experience back to the freshmen
next year.”
The swell is certainly rising, and while the number of titles
has yet to crest into double digits, it is not unimaginable.
“In two years, we will be absolutely on top,”
Antolin said.
Kondos Field is confident after being able to reinvent a team
which lost a very strong senior class but, despite struggles,
emerged victorious with a national-record score.
“The championship definitely solidified us as not just the
premier program but reminds us that (UCLA) has the most illustrious
athletic history in the world,” she said. “It
solidifies us in that place in history.”