A UCLA women’s gymnastics team that has showcased its
resiliency throughout the season once again overcame obstacles last
weekend.
UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field had originally indicated that
freshman Lindsey Vanden Eykel would see only limited competition,
yet she finished the meet as an integral contributor.
Vanden Eykel, a bars and beam specialist who jarred her back on
an uneven bars dismount a week prior to the regional meet, was to
compete solely on the bars this past Saturday. Kondos Field had
said her freshman would sit out a beam routine that requires an
extreme arching of the back, which was causing Vanden Eykel high
levels of discomfort.
“The day before the meet, we had a practice, and I just
did bars,” Vanden Eykel said. “My back really tightened
up, so I just did a dance-through and visualization of my other
routines.”
But with replacement Ashley Peckett not feeling well and Vanden
Eykel having a solid first rotation on bars, Kondos Field told her
to keep open the possibility of doing beam.
“We waited to see how my warm-ups went, and they went
well, so I took Peckett’s place to save her for the
floor,” Vanden Eykel said. “It was the best thing for
the team.”
Though having to remove a back-arching skill from her routine,
she seemed otherwise unaffected by the pain, adding a solid 9.775
to her team’s total score. It was just the latest move in a
season that has seen the Bruins battle adversity time and time
again.
Early in the season, Jordan Schwikert, a regular all-around
competitor, was diagnosed with turf toe and at one point was
limited to just three events in two meets. She scored third in the
all-around at the regional meet.
Sister Tasha Schwikert suffered an injury in practice when a
piece of equipment was dropped on her foot. Christie Tedmon and
Peckett have had the flu. Kate Richardson suffered a functional
rupture of her ulnar collateral ligament. Several others suffered
injuries that went unnoticed.
Yet, the team today seems virtually unaffected by any of the
unfortunate events that have befallen it throughout the season,
claiming a No. 2 ranking going into the NCAA Championships at
Auburn, Ala. next week.
“Every girl has had to battle through something,”
Vanden Eykel said. “Every girl has established herself as a
fighter. We proved it again last meet, and we came away even
stronger and more confident. I can’t imagine what we might do
in Auburn if we don’t have any problems. We would be
perfect.”