Needing at least a second-place finish to continue their season, the Bruins got just that Saturday at the NCAA Regionals in Iowa City, Iowa, by scoring a 196.625, second to the No. 6 Florida Gators.
As a result, the No. 7 Bruins will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to compete in the NCAA Championships for the 25th time in school history.
“We’re glad that we qualified for championships,” coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “That was our plan. You can’t win a championship unless you qualify.”
Kondos Field said her squad had 22 very good routines out of 24 total. But, as seen in several of their meets this season, the Bruins had a rough start during the balance beam event. After senior Ariana Berlin fell off the beam to start the event, the Bruins were under heavy pressure the rest of the day.
However, Kondos Field said her squad assessed the situation accordingly and did not let it get to their heads.
“We did well, and we stayed on,” Kondos Field said. “I wouldn’t say we played tight.”
Junior Anna Li said the team members were able to stay composed because they knew they had each other’s backs, even after a rough start.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen too often, so I’m not worried about it happening again during nationals,” Li said.
Saturday’s meet was the third time in the last four years that Florida and UCLA have faced off at regionals, and it was the second straight year that the Bruins finished on the Gators’ heels. Kondos Field was happy to compete against a team coached by a former Bruin.
“Rhonda Faehn was here in the late ’80s,” Kondos Field said. “She’s an amazing head coach, and she was a tremendous athlete.”
The only Bruin in the top three all-around was freshman Vanessa Zamarripa, who placed third with a 39.400. Li had the best performance on the uneven bars, scoring a near-perfect 9.9.
With a solid week and a half of training before entering the preliminaries to the NCAA Championships in Nebraska, the squad is planning to perfect the small details that could lead them to another national title.
“The mistakes the (gymnasts) make, they make because they want to win so badly,” Kondos Field said. “They’re very coachable. In the next week and a half, we have to work on their ability to play hard and play to win.”
“We’re all prepared, but we need to get our mental game on and hit four for four,” Li said. “Our team is really excited for nationals. We still haven’t pulled it together, but we’re getting really close, so I feel like we’re on track.”