Valorie Kondos Field said the Bruins are looking to hit a complete meet this weekend.
“Our goal is to put four great events together,” the coach said. “We’ve put two together, three together, but we haven’t put four events together in a meet yet and we need to do that.”
No. 2 UCLA gymnastics (2-0, 1-0 Pac-12) will take on Stanford (0-1, 0-1) in Palo Alto on Sunday. Stanford’s only meet of the season culminated in a loss to No. 12 California (1-1, 1-0), who the Bruins beat at the Collegiate Challenge two weeks ago.
“Everybody needs to get 9.900s or higher on every event,” said sophomore Nia Dennis, who scored a 9.950 on vault against Arizona State. “I’ve really been improving in practice and working on my mindset to be confident in myself (to) be the best I can be for my team, to really show it and bring it out this weekend.”
Kondos Field said this expectation has led to higher stakes for those who want a spot in the lineup.
“The standard of this team is higher than we’ve ever had at UCLA,” Kondos Field said. “We used to think that if you’re consistently scoring a 9.850 you’ll get in the lineup. Well, now 9.850 is just kind of the norm on a good day. We need great on a good day and that’s 9.900s or higher.”
With various athletes coming in and out of the lineup due to injuries, others will have the chance to compete against Stanford.
Junior Felicia Hano will be back on floor this weekend for the first time since the meet against Nebraska on Jan. 4, and sophomore Kendal Poston, a walk-on, will be in the lineup for balance beam in place of senior Brielle Nguyen. Senior Katelyn Ohashi will also return to beam after only competing on floor Monday.
Hano, coming off a minor ankle injury, said even though the desire to hit a high score is present, the team’s main focus is on fixing small mistakes.
“We try not to think about the scores too much,” Hano said. “We try to focus on the little details, and if we hit those then we know that’s what’s going to push us over the edge.”
Though earning a spot in the lineup has gotten more competitive, Kondos Field said it has not affected the Bruins’ team chemistry.
“Team morale, support and connectivity is everything,” Kondos Field said. “I’m really impressed with our team because they’re fighting every week to get in the lineup. They’re asking us coaches, ‘What do I need to do to get in the lineup?’ and it hasn’t affected their camaraderie and how much they support each other, even those people coming in the lineup before them.”