Meet by meet, the questions have been answered.
Questions about how untested freshmen and how nagging injuries
would affect the team. Questions about how to improve upon low
early-season floor exercise scores.
But slowly, as Tasha Schwikert became a team leader, Jordan
Schwikert established herself as a reliable and nationally ranked
all-around competitor, and Lindsey Vanden Eykel proved to be a
force on bars and beam, the once-battered UCLA gymnastics team
appears now to be stronger than ever.
The Bruins answered any doubts of their bid for a championship
Saturday at the NCAA West Regional held in Seattle, Wash., as UCLA
earned its 16th trip to the NCAA Championship meet by placing first
with a score of 197.025.
“The season started off shaky, but at the Pac-10 meet, it
all came together,” freshman Tasha Schwikert said.
“That was the first meet where I noticed an energy between
the teammates where we had confidence in one another and we just
knew that when a teammate began a routine, she was going to hit it.
That was a fact that was very apparent to not only all of us, but
people outside of the team as well.”
Joining the Bruins in Auburn, Ala. for the NCAA Championship
week will be second-place finisher Penn State, who finished 1.65
points behind UCLA.
The Bruins’ wire-to-wire victory began when UCLA took the
lead on uneven bars in the first rotation. The Bruins received
solid 9.775s from Ashley Peckett and Courtney Walker and were
boosted by Tasha Schwikert’s concluding 9.9 routine, which
made up for senior Kristen Maloney’s uncharacteristic miscue
that led to a relatively low mark of 9.6.
From that point on, the Bruins increased their lead with each of
the following rotations.
UCLA’s lead grew to 0.85 points after the second rotation
in which scores of 9.9 turned in from junior Kate Richardson, 9.925
from Tasha Schwikert, and a 9.975 from Maloney on the beam led the
team. Vanden Eykel, who UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field said was
very likely to skip the beam due to a recent back injury that can
be aggravated with an arching motion, was able to complete her
surprise routine with a 9.775.
Despite two out-of-bounds deductions during the floor exercise,
twin 9.95s turned in by Tasha Schwikert and Maloney increased the
lead by .025, ruining Penn State’s chance to make up ground
and challenge for the lead.
The Bruins closed out the meet with a strong performance on
vault in which their lowest-counting score was Richardson’s
strong 9.825. Tasha Schwikert and Maloney again added 9.95s while
Peckett contributed a 9.875 and Jordan Schwikert turned in a
9.9.
The Bruins success at the regional meet was built upon what can
be labeled as an epiphany by several of the gymnasts during the
previous weekend’s meet.
In a season that initially saw the Bruins’ ranking jump
from tops in the nation to a middle of the pack position due to a
fair amount of inconsistency, the latter part of the season has
proved to be a gradual and continual progression toward the
team’s full potential, a trend that was continued with
Saturday’s impressive performance.
“We are where we want to be,” Tasha Schwikert said.
“We have a few places to make up a half of a tenth or a
quarter of a tenth here and there, so we do still have room for
improvement.”