The No. 7 UCLA gymnastics team lost their balance last weekend and hopes for a better finish in their final meet of the regular season against No. 12 Nebraska.
This will be their second time competing against the Cornhuskers in the 2009 season. In their first encounter, UCLA finished second to Nebraska in a quad-meet hosted in Lincoln. The rematch will take place this Sunday at 2 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.
Last week, the Bruins were defeated by No. 1 Georgia, which maintains a perfect record this season. It was a fulfilling meet for senior Ariana Berlin, however, who reached a career-high all-around score of 39.5. The Bruins were strongest during their vault event as freshmen Vanessa Zamarripa, the nation’s No. 1 vaulter, earned a 9.925 and freshmen Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs added a 9.9 to the scoreboard. When it came to the balance beam, the Bruins hit a rough patch and had to count two falls on that event alone. The final point totals for the meet was 197.725-196.125. After four Bruins fell in their routines, it was evident what the squad needed to work on for this week’s practice.
“We’re working on landings and we’re working on beam,” coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “We’re going to go through beam and keep going through as a team until they hit the score that we need to score in order to win a national championship. The main concern is that it’s time now that they are able to compete how they train. Seventy-five percent of our athletes are able to do that. We still have that 25 percent of our athletes that go into the competition and they play tight. We can’t win if we’re going to play tight.”
Nebraska is currently coming off a home victory against No. 21 Iowa State. Before the Huskers travel to Westwood, they are scheduled for another quad-meet against Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State and Ball State on Friday.
Despite the result of their previous competition, the Bruins believe it will be a different event on their home mats. For senior Berlin, it will be a bittersweet gymnastics event, as she will perform for the last time in her collegiate career as a Bruin in front of a crowd at Pauley Pavilion.
“I think it’s going to be a great meet and everyone is going show their emphasis on their detail,” Berlin said. “I’m trying to be happy about it because I have gone through four great years here. It’s going to be really sad because there’s nothing like competing in front of thousands of people. I’m going to miss my crowd, and I’m going to miss my team and lighting up Pauley with them. It’s going to be very emotional.”
Kondos Field also had a few words about this coming Sunday.
“Our crowds in Pauley have been absolutely fantastic,” Kondos Field said. “They give us so much energy, and it’s really exciting to compete there. We feel that they’re very appreciative of the job we do. We’re going to go in and have a ball. I guarantee you, we’re going to hit for great events and we’re finishing out our home season with a bang.”