The floor at Pauley Pavilion will be a little bit different this weekend – a bit more crowded than usual.
No. 9 UCLA gymnastics will host its first quad meet of the season Saturday, which means that four teams will be competing at once. Each of UCLA’s three home meets this season has been a dual meet, staging only two teams.
This certainly makes for a different atmosphere, said associate coach Chris Waller.
“All the performances will happen at once, like a four-ring circus,” Waller said.
Not only will the quantity of the Bruins’ opponents be greater than usual, but the quality will also be increased. Of the three colleges UCLA will host Saturday, one of them is No. 7 Nebraska (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten), which boasts a national-best season-high vault score of 49.75 and has only lost to No. 6 Michigan so far.
UCLA will be adding to the quality of the competition as well, as it also holds a top-10 ranking and has touted three straight season-high scoring totals. But akin to the Huskers, the Bruins (5-1, 5-1 Pac-12) have struggled in their lone competition against a fellow top-10 program, falling to No. 4 Utah 196.725-194.725 on Jan. 23.
But since that Utah meet, UCLA has been on a consistent upswing, leaping away from inconsistencies and winning three straight meets. Meanwhile, Nebraska has won two straight since its Michigan loss.
Last Saturday’s meet against Stanford proved that UCLA was capable of winning without its top gymnasts – redshirt senior Samantha Peszek and redshirt sophomore Christine Peng-Peng Lee – at full strength. While Lee sat out due to illness and Peszek didn’t compete in the all-around, UCLA still posted a new season-high for total points, with 197.075. This marked the third-straight meet that UCLA had improved on its previous score.
For the Bruins to maintain that trend in a different competitive environment this weekend, Lee said the team must keep its focus inward.
“You have to focus on the team,” said Lee, who will be back in competition Saturday.
Similarly, Waller said that the team has been focusing on its own improvements and week-to-week goals, instead of the quantity or quality of teams at Saturday’s quad meet. The Bruins’ mid-season goal is gaining a flexible lineup that can maintain strength even if its primary components are missing.
“Our goal is to get as many people as possible, ready to compete,” Waller said. “It gets the team better and gives us depth.”
To achieve depth, the team has frequently utilized competitive practice routines, attempting to create the intensity of a live meet’s atmosphere.
“We have divided the team into blue and gold teams. And for every stuck routine, they will receive 25 points and this keeps everything fun and light,” Waller said. “But the thing is that they are all competitive.”
If the Bruin gymnasts enjoy top competition, then they will certainly be in luck Saturday, as Nebraska sophomore Ashley Lambert is one of the top individual gymnasts in the country.
For other contenders in the quad meet, Nebraska and UCLA will be facing Sacramento State (4-9-1) and Bridgeport (15-2).
The team said that its week of practice has been productive, focusing on little details since one-tenth of a point can cost the Bruins a win. However, as the team gained confidence through consistent and renewed routines in past competitions, it is ready to take first place in its first quad meet of the season.
“We have lot of confidence for each other.” said redshirt junior Sadiqua Bynum.