Kinks are worked out during the regular season. A team reaches
its peak come postseason time ““ that’s just how it
is.
But the UCLA gymnastics team doesn’t seem to realize
that’s how it goes.
The fact of the matter is, the Bruins have displayed more mental
lapses in their two postseason meets this year than during the
entire course of the regular season.Â
These mental lapses cost them the Pac-10 Championship and nearly
cost them an NCAA Championship berth.
“By this time of the year, I’d expect us to be more
mentally prepared,” coach Valorie Kondos Field said.
UCLA’s recent struggles can be traced back to the
team’s third rotation of the Pac-10 Championships. Senior
Jamie Dantzscher ““ normally solid in all facets of
competition ““ suffered a fall on bars, which set the table
for the collapse that would ensue in the final rotation.
With UCLA and rival Stanford in a neck-and-neck race for the
title, freshman Lori Winn touched down on the floor during her bar
routine, garnering a low score, which put even greater pressure on
the Bruins.Â
Needing a 9.6 to seal its third consecutive conference title,
UCLA sent its most trustworthy gymnast, sophomore Kate Richardson,
to the beam. Richardson subsequently suffered a fall of her own,
and Stanford now flosses a Pac-10 Championship banner.
Two weeks later, the Bruins found themselves in North Carolina
at the NCAA Regionals with a chance to vindicate themselves and
gain a bid to the NCAA National Championship.Â
Well, at least they gained an NCAA berth.
In the first rotation, Richardson once again came face-to-face
with the dreaded beam. For the second consecutive meet, she fell.
In 12 regular-season meets, Richardson never recorded a fall on
beam.
In the second routine of the night, Richardson once again
faltered, this time on the floor exercise ““ an event she
excelled in during the regular season and for which she was
recently named to the all-conference team.
“I’ve been sucking lately, to put it bluntly,”
Richardson said.Â
“I don’t know why, but I’ve let the nerves get
to me. I’ve put too much pressure on myself.”
By the time the final rotation came around, UCLA needed a mere
47.925 on bars to secure an NCAA bid. But mental lapses once again
reigned supreme.
Senior Yvonne Tousek suffered a rare fall on her bar routine.
The last time Tousek suffered a fall on bars was during the first
meet of the season.
Winn followed Tousek with yet another fall on bars ““ her
second consecutive meet with a fall.
“I just want to have good practices so I don’t have
to worry about my confidence,” Winn said.
“I leave what I do in the past in the past, and every time
I mess up, I learn something from it.”
So why have all the problems come to the surface now as opposed
to earlier in the season?
“We’re not mentally tough,” Kondos Field said.
“We’re missing that sense of fun and end up trying too
hard.
“I’m going to do all I can to make us mentally
tougher.”
Despite the ongoing struggles of some of her gymnasts, Kondos
Field is still confident in her team.
“I absolutely believe every girl in that lineup is still
deserving of that spot,” Kondos Field said.
“We’ve solidified our lineup.”
While the UCLA’s recent hardships have been tough to go
through, the Bruins feel as though they may benefit from them in
the long run.
“I’m more fired up now,” Richardson said.
“I feel like I have something to prove now and I have to make
up for the last two meets. It’ll make me stronger for
Nationals.”
Beneficial or not, one thing can be said about UCLA’s
mental lapses ““ they must cease if the Bruins want to win a
national championship next week.
“If we compete at Nationals like we have in the past two
meets, no, we won’t win the national championship,”
Kondos Field said.