The Bruins need a break, and their schedule will finally give
them one. After several busy weeks of competition, the sixth-ranked
UCLA gymnastics team will be able to rest this weekend.
Coming off of a dual meet on the road against top-ranked Georgia
last Friday and a quad meet last Sunday, the team will travel to
Tucson to take on the No. 14 Arizona Wildcats in a dual meet
Friday.
The weekend off will be their first such weekend in a while.
“Everyone is still pretty much the same, so this will
definitely be a resting weekend,” freshman Ariana Berlin
said, referring to the conditions of various team members who have
gotten injured over the past few weeks.
The break will give the team much-needed time to heal as they
head into the season’s final stretch.
Senior Kate Richardson, who did not compete in Georgia, is
nursing a tricep injury that has bothered her for the past week.
Freshman Janelle Dantzscher is still nursing a knee she tweaked
during warm-ups Sunday.
With the growing number of injuries, the team has had to work
with short lineups in its past two meets.
In the meantime, the rest of the team members have more than
done their job to fill the void.
Despite competing with only five gymnasts on three of four
events, the Bruins scored a season-high 196.675 and won the quad
meet.
Sophomore Jordan Schwikert, who missed nearly all of the
preseason after going through arthroscopic surgery on her shoulder,
led the list of surprises for the team.
Against Georgia, she won the vault and the beam with career-high
scores in each event. Then, despite an ankle injury that she
suffered earlier on the vault, she hit her beam routine to help her
team win the meet Sunday.
“Jordan was great last year and she’s even better
this year. She brings an air of professionalism to our team. She is
always calm and collected and shows a lot of poise. It’s
great to have her back on the floor,” coach Valerie Kondos
Field said.
Meanwhile, the freshmen on the team have quickly become
veterans, giving consistently strong performances over the past few
weeks. Kristina Comforte, who is the only gymnast to score a
perfect 10.0 this season, finished in the top three in both meets
this past weekend, and has quickly become a leader on the team.