MARY HOLSCHER Alyssa Beckerman
concentrates during her beam routine.
By Adam Karon
Daily Bruin Staff
Last year, the national championship game came down to the final
competitor on the final apparatus in the final rotation.
Mohini Bhardwaj took to the balance beam, needing to hit her
routine to preserve UCLA’s second straight NCAA championship.
With ice in her veins and a smile on her face she nailed her
dismount. Just another day in the life of an anchor.
 MARY HOLSCHER Doni Thompson flips over
the uneven bars.
The anchor is the final competitor to perform on each apparatus.
Similar to track, the anchor is usually the strongest competitor,
both mentally and physically. The job can be both relaxing and
strenuous.
If the preceding five gymnasts all hit their routines, the
anchor knows she has nothing to lose. If any fall, the final
competitor is in a do-or-die situation to stick her routine so that
UCLA does not have to count a low score.
“It’s the first year I’ve anchored,”
junior Doni Thompson said of her role on the bars.
“It’s kind of nerve-wracking. I don’t watch the
girls going ahead of me. It’s great to be placed in a
position that carries that much weight, but it is a little more
pressure.”
 TYSON EVANS Jamie Dantzscher prepares for another pass
during her floor routine at the UCLA Gymnastics Invitational.
Though she does not have the team’s highest score overall
on the bars (Jamie Dantzscher scored a 10 at the UCLA
Invitational), Thompson is considered the most solid performer,
both physically and mentally on the apparatus.
Dantzscher fills the same role on the floor. Her routine,
considered by many to be the strongest in the nation, concludes the
event with energy and intrigue. On the year she has seven perfect
10s on the floor in what is believed to be a new NCAA record.
Dantzscher’s approach to her role as anchor differs
slightly from Thompson’s.
“Being last is not as much pressure,” she said. When
five girls hit, it makes my job easier. I don’t mind where I
am in the lineup. Whatever they think is best for the team is what
I’ll do.”
Onnie Willis, who occasionally closes on the vault, agrees with
Dantzscher. Though a lot of anchors try to block out what happens
in front of them, Willis is indifferent.
 TYSON EVANS Onnie Willis powers her way through the vault
with agility.
“For me going last especially on a team like UCLA kind of
takes the pressure off,” she said. “All I hope to do is
improve the score and help the team. I know a lot of people
don’t watch. It doesn’t matter to me.”
An unspoken rule in gymnastics is that the scores get higher as
an event progresses. This is partly because the better competitors
are stacked towards the back, and partly because the judges tend to
refrain from posting high marks earlier to avoid throwing off the
rest of the apparatus.
If the second gymnast nails a routine and scores a 10 early,
then those who perform better have no way of achieving a higher
score.
Alyssa Beckerman has moved into UCLA’s anchor role on the
beam. She is currently ranked seventh nationally. Beckerman has hit
all but one beam routine this year, and on occasion acts as a hired
gun competing only on the balance beam.
Though they compete on other events, UCLA’s anchors are
specialists when the go last on a rotation. All four regular
anchors made the All-Pac-10 team in their specialized field.
UCLA has confidence that if this year’s championship comes
down to the final competitor, it has four talented gymnasts to
bring home the victory.