Arguably the most consistent and successful team at UCLA
recently, this year’s gymnastics team seems to be a little
more up in the air. A team that has captured four NCAA
Championships in the past five years has undergone a considerable
transformation.
“It is a rebuilding year,” said UCLA coach Valorie
Kondos Field, referring to this season’s revamped team.
And why shouldn’t she say it? Could it really be anything
more after the departure of Jeanette Antolin, Jamie Dantzscher and
Yvonne Tousek, all pivotal parts of last year’s NCAA
women’s gymnastics championship team?
Teams featuring three freshmen and five sophomores are normally
characterized by slow growth and learning lessons the hard way.
The season opening loss at Utah demonstrated that the Bruins are
not invincible. Indeed, Kondos Field would have every right to
write off the current season as one of rebuilding.
But then she gave it a second thought.
“On paper, it looks like we’re rebuilding, but I
feel more like we’ve reloaded.”
It is that confidence that has been bestowed upon the preseason
No.1 ranked UCLA gymnastics team as it begins its quest for a third
consecutive national championship, a feat no Bruin gymnastics squad
has been able to accomplish in the history of the program.
While the departures of Antolin, Dantzscher and Tousek will set
the team back, the returns of standouts Kristen Maloney and Kate
Richardson, among a host of other experienced gymnasts, create a
strong base on which to add.
The arrivals of freshmen Tasha and Jordan Schwikert, and Lindsey
Vanden Eykel, are the cornerstones of that addition.
“Tasha was one of the most recruited, if not, the most
recruited gymnast,” Kondos Field said.
Tasha, the elder of the Schwikert sisters at 20 years old,
arrives at UCLA having won a gold medal at the 2003 World
Championships, six U.S. National titles, a spot on the 2000 U.S.
Olympic team and an alternate spot on the 2004 team.
Jordan, the 18-year-old Schwikert sister, brings experience from
her two stints with the U.S. National Team.
“I recruited her based upon her talent,” Kondos
Field said. “But her demeanor and character spoke volumes to
me as well.”
Jordan, whose development was slowed due to back surgery that
she underwent two years ago, was viewed as a gamble during the
recruiting process.
However, the gamble has paid off according to Kondos Field.
Filling out the freshmen trio is Vanden Eykel, who is still
rehabilitating from surgery two years ago that re-attached her
hamstring to its bone.
Vanden Eykel is a three-year U.S. National Team member and a
two-time National Uneven Bars Champion who will primarily be
competing on the beam and bars this season.
While the incoming freshmen may be lacking in collegiate
experience, it is clear they are seasoned national gymnasts who are
ready to contribute immediately.
This fact was proven over the weekend when UCLA lost to No. 5
Utah 197.675-197.3.
Though the Bruins had to watch their preseason ranking fall from
No.1 to No.2, they were reassured that this team is ready to
compete. Their opening-meet point total was higher than the last
four Bruin championship teams scored in their first meet.
“After this meet, we see that the freshmen know how to
perform,” Maloney said.
“Some of our athletes competed better this past weekend
than they did in the championship meet last year,” Kondos
Field added.
Even with the encouraging showing of the gymnasts who competed
at Utah, Kondos Field said that the lineup will change from meet to
meet.
“I don’t put our guns up every meet,” she
said. “If you depend on only a few athletes, the others
won’t be ready. Everyone needs time to compete. I’ve
gotten some heat for this in the past, but I expect every lineup I
put out there to win.”
With the first meet over and the season just in its infancy, it
is time to see if the winning tradition can continue.
“I expect my athletes to get stronger, faster and more fit
until they peak in April,” Kondos Field said. “The
upperclassmen will have to lead that charge and teach the freshmen
to compete with “˜calm confidence.'”
Maloney, a fifth-year senior, will be one of those individuals
that the young Bruin squad will look up to as a teacher and a
leader.
“I think I know gymnastics well enough that I can
help,” Maloney said. “I’ll be there to answer
questions and offer support.”
And as the fading of the rain signals April’s arrival and
the NCAA Championship meet in Auburn, Ala., it is to be seen
whether the Bruins will be able to set out and accomplish their
primary goal this season ““ a three-peat.