Coming off of an exciting victory, the women’s gymnastics
team has a lot to look forward to as it heads to Utah this
weekend.
But the Bruins know this meet will not be as easy as their
previous one. Utah was ranked second in the preseason poll and is
one of the teams UCLA is likely to see again in the playoffs.
Nonetheless, after last season’s injuries and
disappointing ending, the team got a glimpse of its bright future
this past weekend, defeating Washington easily at Pauley Pavilion
in the Bruins’ first meet of the season.
Most impressive was the performance of freshman Anna Li. In only
her first meet as a Bruin, Li led the Bruins with a first-place
all-around score of 39.0. Li is the daughter of two former Olympic
gymnasts, both of whom competed in Pauley Pavilion during the 1984
Summer Olympics.
With mom and dad in the bleachers, Li put on a performance that
was likely to remind them of their own golden days. Father Yuejiu
Li was part of the Chinese team that won an Olympic silver team
medal, and mother Jiani Wu brought home an Olympic bronze team
medal that same year.
“(Li’s) victory was huge on many levels. Her parents
were back in Pauley for the first time since 1984, and so it held
some special emotional value for her and her parents,”
assistant coach Chris Waller said.
Another exciting story for the team was the performance of
senior Michelle Selesky. After a disappointing season filled with
injury in 2006, Selesky kicked off the new season with career-high
scores on the floor (9.9) and the vault (9.825).
“(Selesky) really is the inspiration to the team. She came
onto the team with no one having any expectations of her, but after
four years of hard work and determination, she has come a long
way,” Waller said.
Also back in full action were the Schwikert twins. Both Tasha
and Jordan were out most of last season with an assortment of
injuries. However, they are both looking healthier and the team is
excited to have them back at 100 percent for this season.
After an astonishing freshman year in which she captured the
NCAA all-around title, Tasha had a disappointing second year. She
had to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery early in the season,
and a variety of setbacks kept her out of action until late in the
season.
She has fully recovered now and is ready to compete. But some of
her toughest competition just may come from one of her own
teammates.
“Tasha is a competitor and she wants to win the all-around
every meet. Now she has to compete with Anna and try to beat her
first, so it’s exciting for our team,” Waller said.
The Bruins began this season determined to return to their
championship form and regain some of the glory that had been lost.
With good health and constant improvement, the girls hope this
season ends far differently than the previous one.
COACH ABSENT: Coach Valorie Kondos
Field’s absence at last week’s meet due to a death in
her family did not stop her team from performing well.
“We all wanted to prove that we had prepared well and did
not want her to worry about us,” said sophomore Ariana
Berlin.
Kondos Field will be with the team this coming weekend as it
heads to Salt Lake City to take on Utah in a dual meet.