Two hundred fifty-nine days ago the UCLA women’s
gymnastics team won the NCAA Championship, a feat all but forgotten
by coach Valorie Kondos Field.
“Every year we wipe the slate clean and move
forward,” Kondos Field said. “It’s up to this
year’s group to achieve the same accolades.”
Fast forward 259 days. UCLA holds the No. 1 ranking and hosts
No. 4 ranked Utah tomorrow night at Pauley Pavilion in both
teams’ season opener.
“It’s great facing a good team right away,”
Kondos Field said. “It gets the team’s focus because
we’re competing against the best in the west. Whoever hits
the most is going to win tomorrow.”
Utah boasts four All-Americans and maintains a healthy 32-11
record in the rivalry. But the Bruins, who have five All-Americans
on the team, have won the last six meetings between the two.
Last season, UCLA’s victory over Utah saw the Bruins snap
the Utes’ home winning streak, which spanned a whopping 23
years and included 170 meets, an NCAA all-time gymnastics
record.
Tomorrow’s meeting finds the Bruins missing the services
of one star, while at the same time regaining the strengths of
another.
Senior Jamie Dantzscher will miss tomorrow’s meet and will
be hampered by an ankle injury for the remainder of the season.
“The injury’s very limiting, and right now it looks
like I’ll just be doing the uneven bars this season,”
Dantzscher said. “But our team looks strong, and I
don’t think one person wins a meet. It takes a team effort
and the team will be good to go.”
One reason for the team’s strength is the return of senior
Kristen Maloney, who will be back with the Bruins after a two-year
absence due to a leg injury.
“It’s exciting to be back, I’m looking forward
to competing again,” Maloney said. “Things have been
going well, and I’m focusing on just getting back out there
and competing tomorrow night.”
Other than Dantzscher and Maloney, there are quite a few other
changes for the team.
“We have a lot more freshmen this year,” Kondos
Field said. “It’s the first time since 2000 that we
don’t have a lot of seasoned veterans. We’re dealing
with a lot of nerves, but I anticipate we’re going to be
there at the end contending for the national title.
“We’ll just have a little more ups and downs getting
there than we did the last few years.”