A three-meet home stand in Pauley Pavilion will feature new faces for the UCLA gymnastics team.
When the No. 6 Bruins (5-2, 4-1 Pac-12) face a shorthanded Arizona State Sun Devils squad (1-8, 0-5 Pac-12) Saturday afternoon, they’ll take advantage of an injured conference foe and rest their own gymnasts.
The coaches said they see this weekend’s meet as a chance to give younger gymnasts experience in preparation for the postseason and as an opportunity to boost the team’s chemistry.
“People who are out there all the time can see their teammates step up and know that this is a team that gels and that’s got their back,”said coach Valorie Kondos Field. “And the athletes coming in to compete will see that they’re valued and needed, and that their hard work is going to pay off.”
Senior Danusia Francis, who has competed in 22 of 28 events this season, and junior Angi Cipra, who has vaulted and performed for UCLA in every meet, will sit against Arizona State.
Without two of their most experienced gymnasts, UCLA will rely on younger athletes to fill the gap.
The Bruins plan on utilizing freshman Stella Savvidou and sophomore Rechelle Dennis on bars and hope to have freshman Katelyn Ohashi, who missed four meets because of a sternum fracture, return and compete on balance beam.
But Kondos Field stressed to her freshmen and sophomores that they need to compete as themselves and not let the expectations of living up to the upperclassmen overwhelm them.
“This is fueling our team and we want them to go out and do the gymnastics that they’re capable of doing,” Kondos Field said. “But we need to make sure someone like Stella knows that we don’t want her to be Danusia on bars. We want her to be Stella.”
Other injured athletes – junior Hallie Mossett is recovering from a sternum fracture and redshirt junior Peng-Peng Lee is sporting a heavily wrapped left knee – leave the lineup open to last-minute changes.
Whichever events they’re called on to compete, the UCLA gymnasts say they are ready to not only perform, but also to improve on previous scores.
Freshman Nicki Shapiro, who scored a 9.900 on beam in her first collegiate competition against Oregon State, said one of her goals this weekend is to hit a full beam routine by focusing on the mental aspect of gymnastics – visualizing herself nailing each skill without wobbles or balance checks.
But the main focus for Shapiro is to use this opportunity to support her team wherever they need her.
“This is a good time for me to contribute as much as I can so we can get the ‘W,’” Shapiro said. “But I’m ready to be open-minded and to come in for anyone.”
Despite resting seasoned performers and rehabbing injuries, all gymnasts worked an extra hour on bars, one of the team’s weaker events, during a Wednesday morning practice. The Bruins worked on cleaning up details that could make the difference in any of their remaining competitions.
“Clean landings, straight handstands and tightly squeezed knees – those are the things that are going to make our team better and get us to where we want to be,” said sophomore Sonya Meraz.