For the No. 5 UCLA gymnastics team, it was better than a
blowout.
The Bruins’ (12-3) gritty come-from-behind victory over
No. 3 Nebraska, No. 12 Oregon State and No. 14 Arkansas on Saturday
reflected how UCLA has come full circle in a season marked by
stretches of dominance, injury and at times, substandard play.
“We fought hard,” UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field
said. “I’m glad this was a tough win because it will
sharpen the team up.”
Indeed it was a tough win as UCLA found itself trailing Nebraska
by .175 heading to the vault for their last rotation. Given the way
the vault performance started for the Bruins, it appeared that they
would be on their way to a disappointing finish.
Senior Christie Tedmon suffered a fall on the team’s first
vault performance, an occurrence which earlier in the season would
have likely resulted in a snowball effect for the rotation’s
remaining gymnasts. This time, however, the Bruins rallied behind
three straight scores of at least 9.9 by freshmen Tasha and Jordan
Schwikert and senior Kristen Maloney. UCLA ended with a meet-high
49.45 on vault while Nebraska only garnered a 49.05 on their floor
rotation, allowing the Bruins to claim the lead and victory by a
score of 196.85-196.625.
Trailing for the first three rotations and needing to come back
for the win, the meet is perhaps the best thing that could have
happened to UCLA before postseason competition.
“I think this gives us momentum,” Maloney said.
“We really had to fight for this one, and we know we’re
going to have to fight for every win now.”
Despite a good learning experience, the Bruins know they would
not have been in the precarious situation had they not gotten off
to a lackluster start on Saturday.
“We know we could have done better,” Maloney said.
“We need to start strong instead of easing our way into the
competition.”
UCLA kicked the meet off on bars, where the absence of Kate
Richardson due to injury was obvious in the team’s struggles.
Taking Richardson’s place on the event was sophomore Courtney
Walker, who suffered a fall.
By the end of the first rotation, UCLA found itself trailing
Nebraska by .1.
“We can do better on bars,” Kondos Field said.
“Losing Kate’s a big deal, but now everyone else has to
be on their game.”
Hoping to fare better during the second rotation, the Bruins
took to the beam. Richardson, whose injury did not preclude her
from competing on the beam, scored a 9.925 and helped the team turn
around from the first rotation with a decent 49.2 for the rotation.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, the Cornhuskers were putting up huge
scores on the floor exercise, anchored by senior Richelle
Simpson’s perfect 10. As a result, UCLA’s deficit had
grown to .35 by the halfway mark.
“We were tight at the beginning,” Kondos Field said.
“We were a little too hesitant in the first two
rotations.”
Looking to loosen up and cut the deficit in the third rotation,
UCLA took to the floor. After a string of four UCLA performances
that failed to break 9.875, Tasha Schwikert and Maloney capped the
rotation off with a 9.925 and 9.95, respectively. UCLA’s
49.275 cut the deficit and subsequently set the stage for the
fourth rotation heroics.
Given the determination that she saw from her team by the end of
Saturday, Kondos Field can’t help but feel optimistic about
UCLA’s prospects of competing for a Pac-10 and NCAA
Championship.
“I absolutely think we’re ready,” she
said.