Monday, 4/21/97 Perfect landing Bruins put it all together with
impressive performance, win NCAA title
By Lisa Quon Daily Bruin Contributor After entering the season
ranked No. 1 and showing the promise of a national championship
team all season, the UCLA women’s gymnastics team has finally done
it. At last weekend’s NCAA championships in Gainesville, Fla., the
Bruins competed in two straight days of intense competition against
the best teams in the nation to emerge as the 1997 NCAA women’s
gymnastics champions. The win marked the first-ever national title
for a UCLA gymnastics team. Last year, after a shaky regular
season, the Bruins surprised everyone and finished an impressive
second at nationals. With almost all of last year’s team returning,
plus three highly touted freshmen, expectations were high for this
season. In this year’s regular season, the Bruins maintained
consistent performances throughout, though a few key losses to
Georgia and ASU created a degree of skepticism about UCLA’s ability
to hit routines when it counted. The Bruin gymnasts, however, never
had any doubts. "Last year at nationals we were not expecting
anything, but came away with second place," sophomore Luisa
Portocarrero said. "This year, despite the added pressure, we knew
we’d come through because we’re the type of team that competes the
way we train." UCLA Coach Valorie Kondos was understandably
concerned about capturing the same intensity that the Bruins had
last year at nationals when they hit every routine on beam in the
final rotation and scored the best team beam score in UCLA history
with a 49.5. All fears were put to rest, however, when the Bruins
had a repeat performance, this time on the uneven bars in the final
rotation. Scoring a 49.525, UCLA ended up with a final score of
197.150 to take the crown. "I think it was the mental and physical
preparation that enabled the team to capture the same mood of the
evening last year," Kondos said. "It’s great to know calm is
something we can control and our steady performances are not a
fluke." The remaining five teams in the Super Six finals finished
in a surprising order: Arizona St. came in second with a 196.850,
early favorite Georgia came in third (196.600), followed by
Michigan (196.500), Florida (196.425) and Nebraska (195.250).
Fellow Pac-10 team ASU was a surprise to even make it past the
preliminaries. The Sun Devils had not finished higher than fifth
since 1986, and at the Pac-10 championships they finished a
disappointing sixth. At nationals, however, the Sun Devils showed
their true capabilities by winning the night session in the
preliminaries and contending for the title with UCLA and Michigan
until the final rotation. "It was a great competition from start to
finish, and my team competed with heart," ASU Coach John Spini
said. "We didn’t lose first, we won second." The gymnasts of
Georgia had a rough evening. Although they went into nationals
seeded third behind Michigan and UCLA, with their intensity and
depth they were favored to win. The Bulldogs also impressed fans
all year by posting the two highest team scores in NCAA history
earlier in the season. From the first rotation, however, Georgia
virtually knocked itself out of title contention with shaky beam
performances. It was simply a matter of too many mistakes in a
competition where there is no room for error, and the Bulldogs
could not recover. "We dug ourselves into a great big hole, but
fought back," Georgia gymnast Leah Brown said. "I’m still proud to
be a Georgia Bulldog and always will be." Perhaps the greatest
surprise of the championships was that last year’s national
champions, Alabama, did not even make it past the preliminaries
into Friday’s Super Six competition. Also eliminated on Thursday
was nine-time champion Utah. In the end, it was the combined effort
of the UCLA gymnasts that made the difference, as they tallied only
one fall throughout the whole meet. The team remained steady and
focused from the first through the final performance. "All year we
have been confident in ourselves and our abilities," UCLA gymnast
Amy Smith said. "We’re not a big, flashy team. We just went out
there and did our job." "I attribute our victory to having the
right focus at the right time," Leah Homma added. Every member of
the Bruin team contributed to the team’s success. Homma received
scores of 9.825 on floor, 9.9 on vault and finished second on bars
with a 9.95. Sophomore Susie Erickson scored a 9.85 on beam, the
only event she competed in. Freshman Heidi Moneymaker came through
with a 9.925 to take fifth on the bars. Amy Smith scored a 9.825 on
her best event, the floor exercises. And Stella Umeh successfully
competed in three events, despite her injured ankle. She came in
first on floor with a 9.9, fifth on bars with a 9.925 and first on
beam with a 9.925. Although the Bruins were confident in their
abilities, many UCLA team members still can’t believe the NCAA
national championship is finally theirs. "It still has not fully
sunken in," Kondos said. "I didn’t believe it until I heard my team
called up to the podium." Perhaps the optimism of freshman Lena
Degteva best summed it all up: "The whole season, I’ve felt we were
the best team in the nation. At nationals we finally got to prove
it."