On a night when the Bruins left it all on the floor, even a fourth-place finish felt like a championship.
With two of its gymnasts watching from the sidelines and various others competing in pain, the UCLA women’s gymnastics team finished at the NCAA Championships with a final score of 196.925, bringing a remarkable end to yet another injury-filled season.
"Considering who we had competing and who we had in the lineup, we feel like we won the national championship," coach Valorie Kondos Field said. "We went out and you couldn’t tell who was limping and who was hurt. They gave it their best effort."
The Georgia Bulldogs, meanwhile, continued their domination as they easily won the Super Six in Utah with a remarkable score of 197.850. The victory gave Georgia its third straight NCAA Championship. The home team, Utah, finished second with 197.250, while top-ranked Florida finished third with a score of 197.225.
The Bruins once again had a tremendous meet, hitting on 23 of 24 routines and giving it their best effort. However, the competition proved to be too much. The Bulldogs executed to near perfection as they posted 14 scores of 9.9 or higher.
Junior Tasha Schwikert led the Bruins with an all-around score of 39.575. She hit three routines that earned more than a 9.9 and she finished with the fourth highest score in the meet. Senior Ashley Peckett, competing for UCLA for the last time, also was in action on all four events, scoring a 39.325.
"I was pretty solid tonight and it was an amazing way to end it all," Peckett said. "I know we came in fourth but to me it still feels like we won the championship tonight."
Ariana Berlin, who was questionable due to a leg injury, competed through the pain and turned in a solid performance in her first ever national championship. Her 9.9 on vault and her energy as the team’s lead-off gave the Bruins a big boost.
However, perhaps the most amazing performances of the night were turned in by two of the team’s backups, who had to come in late in the season due to an assortment of injuries.
Sophomore Melissa Chan, who has only competed in the postseason, landed her roundoff/two-footed layout on beam and stuck her dismount to score a 9.9. Sophomore Janelle Dantzscher followed this up on floor, displaying a new middle pass of double tuck and finishing strong to earn a 9.875.
"I thought we did the best we could tonight and I had a lot of fun," Dantzscher said. "I hope to keep working hard and be back next year."
UCLA got off to a slow start and fell behind early. Opening up on bars, the Bruins hit all of their routines but small flaws kept their scores low as they posted a team score of 49.100. The beam was much the same story as the team overcame a fall by freshman Anna Li and finished with 49.150.
By the time the teams were done with their first two rounds, the Bruins found themselves behind the leaders by 0.5 points.
"We went out and you couldn’t tell who was limping and who was hurt," Kondos Field said. "They gave it their best effort."
After their bye, however, the team came out fired up and responded well. On their final two events, the Bruins competed with passion and scored 49.275 on floor and 49.400 on vault. But the effort was too late and Georgia’s lead proved to be insurmountable.
Although the team did not bring home the long-awaited 100th national title, the girls were proud of their performance and could not have asked for any more.
"Actually this was the ending we wanted," senior Michelle Selesky said. "We couldn’t have finished the season any better."
Now that the young team has got the experience under its belt, it will look to return next season to the Super Six and bring home the championship along with them.