The ball is finally rolling for the UCLA gymnastics team, and
the Bruins aren’t planning on stopping it anytime soon.
Trying to find its niche for most of the season, UCLA appears to
have found it fresh off the heels of its two most significant wins
of the season. The No. 9 Bruins (8-2) will look to continue their
forward momentum today as they travel to Palo Alto in a dual meet
against No. 26 Stanford (1-3).
Having already gone through an uncharacteristic stretch in which
the team was unhappy with their performances, the Bruins go into
today’s meet optimistic that they have made the necessary
changes to move forward.
“Last weekend was a turning point of our season,”
coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “The team’s playing to
win now and they’re excited to go out and compete.
“Everyone’s holding each other accountable now. I
see a fire in their eyes and it’s exciting to see.”
UCLA is particularly excited to compete against a Cardinal team
that snatched the Pac-10 Championship away from them last
season.
A year ago, attempting their third consecutive conference
championship, the Bruins entered the meet as the clear favorite. As
the meet progressed, however, UCLA found Stanford matching it
stride-for-stride, and eventually pulling off the upset by a narrow
margin of .025.
However, since the conference showdown, the Cardinal has fallen
off the collegiate gymnastics map.
Ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll, Stanford has been ravaged by
injuries to its best gymnasts and has subsequently
underachieved.
The return of reigning Pac-10 all-around champion junior Natalie
Foley and freshman Tabitha Yim should provide a much-needed lift
for Stanford, but the revamped Cardinal lineup doesn’t figure
to faze UCLA.
“They have an extremely talented team,” Kondos Field
said, “and I heard (Stanford) has been holding back some of
its injured gymnasts so they could compete them against us, but
we’re not going to change our game plan for them.”
And if the Bruins can continue to implement their newfound
approach against the Cardinal, they feel very confident about their
chances in today’s competition.
“I think we’ll do really well,” Kondos Field
added.