While the Bruins’ performance at the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships was remarkable given the circumstances, two of UCLA’s finest gymnasts had a rough weekend.
Junior Tasha Schwikert and freshman Anna Li led the team all season long and, entering the championships, both knew it would take their best efforts if the team was going to have a chance to win. Schwikert got off to a rough start on Thursday at the preliminaries, finishing with an all-around score of 39.375, below her season-high of 39.750. It also brought an end to her hopes of repeating as the NCAA all-around champion, a feat she accomplished her freshman year.
“It was a little up and down,” Schwikert said. “My performance wasn’t typical of me, but that is the beauty of sports. Not everyone is going to be perfect, and I’m not going to win everything.”
For Li, it was simply a tale of two days. After nearing a career-high at the preliminaries with a score of 39.500, Li got off to a rough start on Friday, falling off the beam and earning her second lowest score in the all-around, 38.775.
“We gave it our all and we put our hearts fully into it,” Li said. “Being on a team where everyone is so supportive made it so much fun. It was completely a team atmosphere and we left it all out there.”
On Saturday, both Li and Schwikert had an opportunity to represent UCLA in the individual event finals, hoping to end the season on a positive note.
Schwikert, who qualified on bars, got the difficult draw and was the first competitor of the night. However, she responded like a champion, completing a dynamic routine with high flying release moves and a double layout dismount. Her perfect performance earned her a score of 9.9125, tying for second place with Georgia’s Ashley Kupets. Alabama’s Terin Humphrey took her second straight NCAA uneven bars title with her 9.9500 routine.
“I felt really good about my bar routine,” Schwikert said. “I went out there and I was committed to hitting my handstands, keeping impeccable form, and hitting my dismount.”
Nearly two hours later, Li got her chance as she got on to the beam. Her difficult routine included a full-flop layout and a front aerial to a twist jump capped off with a round-off double full dismount. Li had one slight mishap though, and it ended up costing her greatly, as she finished in ninth-place with a score of 9.7875.
“I had a pretty good beam overall but my hand slipped in the middle as I was coming down,” Li said. “I was kind of able to cover it up though and finish everything else well.”
With only two event qualifiers, it marked UCLA’s fewest entries in the individual championships since Karen Nelson was the Bruins’ sole event finalist on vault in 1994.
It was also the first time since 1996 that the UCLA gymnastics team finished the season without any NCAA championships at all, whether team or individual. Last season, despite not qualifying for the Super Six, UCLA’s Kate Richardson won the individual title on the floor.