Suddenly, the powerhouse isn’t so powerful.
Having mowed down its competition early in the year, the No. 3
UCLA gymnastics team continued its recent struggles on Friday as it
dropped a highly anticipated meet against No. 2 Michigan
196.25-195.25 in front of a record crowd of 5,039 at Cliff Keen
Arena.
A week removed from a victory against Arizona State where they
committed numerous falls, the Bruins (6-2) traveled to Michigan
(6-1) determined to perform flawlessly.
And despite climbing back into the meet after stumbling out of
the blocks early, UCLA was unable to complete the comeback.
Led by a 9.9 score from Kristin Maloney and a 9.875 from Kate
Richardson, UCLA finished the third rotation with a 49.175 and
found themselves in a tie with the Wolverines as the fourth and
final rotation commenced.
The meet would be decided with UCLA on the beam and Michigan on
the floor. With the Bruins ranked No. 3 on the beam and the
Wolverines No. 15 on the floor, UCLA looked primed to steal the
win. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they chose the wrong time to
flub their beam routines.
While Michigan recorded a season-high 49.275 during its floor
performance, sophomore Ashley Peckett scored a low leadoff 9.675
for the Bruins on the beam. UCLA quickly found itself with no
further room for error. Facing those prospects, Richardson and
freshman Jordan Schwikert both suffered falls that effectively
sealed a Wolverine victory.
“We had great floor routines and were doing really
well,” Richardson said. “It was disappointing because
we thought we really had the win.”
Had UCLA gotten off to a better start in its opening rotation on
bars, it may not have found itself in such a difficult predicament
at the end. In her first meet since returning from suspension,
sophomore Lori Winn showed signs of rust as she fell and scored a
lowly 9.1. Normally a stalwart on bars, freshman Lindsey Vanden
Eykel followed suit and also took a plunge during her routine,
which garnered a score of 9.225.
The pair of falls coupled with a string of subpar bar routines
left UCLA with a season-low 48.5 bar score and nearly a full point
deficit after the first rotation.
However, the Bruins responded with solid vault routines during
the second rotation. Freshman Tasha Schwikert landed a 9.925 while
senior Kristen Maloney and junior Kate Richardson added a pair of
9.875s. By the end of the second rotation, UCLA had closed the gap
to a .6 deficit, but floundered yet again down the stretch.
“Compared to earlier in the season, we’re doubting
ourselves right now,” Richardson said. “We have the
talent, but we’re having trouble being comfortable right now
““ we need to be more relaxed.”
The loss marked the second consecutive meet in which UCLA has
been plagued with falls and deductions. With their national
standing likely to drop yet again, the Bruins are left looking for
a way to regain their dominant form.
“After this meet, we’re just trying to pull
everything back together,” Richardson said.