After scoring the second-highest point total of the season against Oregon State last Friday, the Bruins look to improve on their stellar performance this Sunday in a quad meet at Pauley Pavilion for the John Wooden Challenge.
The No. 6 UCLA gymnastics team will be competing against No. 11 Denver, California and Cal State Fullerton.
Just two weeks after losing to Denver in a sub-par performance by the Bruins, the team looks to rebound and exact revenge on an old foe.
“We are really excited to have a home meet after being away for a month, and we also are excited for a rematch against Denver,” senior team captain Michelle Selesky said.
The team has been plagued by injuries throughout the season, and recently received news that 2006 first-team All-American Kristina Comforte will remain sidelined for the rest of the season due to recurring ankle injuries.
Despite the injuries, the team remains upbeat and enthusiastic about the upcoming events.
“It is more fun when it’s not so easy, and we can show how dynamic the team really is,” sophomore Ariana Berlin said.
Berlin has been able to showcase her talent by stepping up and competing in the floor exercise the past two competitions.
With all-around competitor Tasha Schwikert limited by an Achilles tendon strain, the team has only been able to send out five competitors instead of the usual six for the floor exercise, leaving no room for error.
Berlin has picked up the slack, fighting through some pain herself. “The rod in my leg has been hurting me pretty bad, but I kind of had to compete. I had to for the team, and it feels good to go out there and compete regardless of the pain,” she said.
Providing another big boost for the Bruins while the team recuperates has been the stand-out performances of senior Ashley Peckett. Peckett competed in the all-around against Oregon State for only the fifth time in her four-year career at UCLA. She finished second, tying with Berlin and giving the Bruins some much-needed points to go along with it.
The event will be the Bruins’ first quad meet this season, and they plan on preparing for the event the same way they have been preparing all season.
“It doesn’t matter who we are competing against,” Selesky said. “If everybody does their job well, we know we are the best team in the country.”