Gymnastics

by islandbruin on Mar 3, 2008 5:44 PM PST Comment 15 comments

Anybody with info on the gymnastics team?

Our gymnastics team, which was the dominant program in the country in the early 90's, seems to be down somewhat this year. Still ranked #9 in the country, but that is a slip from prior years. I was hoping that somebody with some knowledge could advise whether this is a one-time blip, or whether there has been some fundamental change either at UCLA or at other schools which would mean this dip is likely to continue. Thanks.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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gymnastics...

i've grown up in a UCLA family and have been following UCLA sports since I was a little kid. UCLA has been a dominant program for at least the last 10-15 years. UCLA used to have a very successful mens team before title IX, producing multiple Olympians. the asst coaches of the women's gymnastics team are both former UCLA male gymnasts with competitive experience at national and international level. the head coach is an alumnus of UCLA and been involved with the team for over 20 years. she is very knowledgeable and accomplished coach and choreographer which is vital in events like beam and floor. the team has won 4 national titles this decade and consistently brings in elite athletes many with international experience.

watching them compete this year, i think its just a blip. UCLA has a very young roster and two of their top competitors are returning this year from injuries. i think the level of competition in gymnastics has also increased especially their main rivals stanford and georgia, with utah and florida also rising to national prominence.

by redsand514 on Mar 3, 2008 6:02 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

The gymnastics team is in fine shape

They are currently ranked 9th in the nation and just defeated #10 Oregon St. They have only one loss this season, losing to #2 Utah.

Last season they qualified for the NCAA Championships and finished 4th, a very respectable finish. They had a bit of a down year in 2006, qualifying for the NCA Regionals, but finishing 3rd there when only the top 2 advance to the Championships. In 2005, the Bruins finished 4th in the country after qualifying for the NCAA Championships and in 2004 they won the national championship for the 2nd consecutive season. The Bruins also won national title in 2001, 200 and 1997.

As you can see, we are not dominated the way we did when we won 4 national title in 5 seasons, but to expect such amazing accomplishments is ridiculous. We are still among the nation's elite and although we've slowed down a bit, we have a chance at the national title each and every season.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 3, 2008 6:10 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Excuse my typos

It's been a long day

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Mar 3, 2008 6:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Way WAY back

I coached in the South Pasadena Little League. We had a kid named Peter Vidmar in the league, not on my team, alas. I think it may be the same Peter Vidmar who did fairly well at UCLA. And that, brothers and sisters, is my claim to fame. (Plus I played hearts once with Big Lew at Dykstra.)

by Fox 71 on Mar 3, 2008 8:18 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Was little PV knee-high?

by charnaw on Mar 3, 2008 8:26 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I really don't remember him

He must have been good, though, or I wouldn't have even known his name. (This was 9, 10 and 11 year olds, so everyone was knee-high.)

by Fox 71 on Mar 3, 2008 8:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Fox71

I would be willing to bet that Fox71 would have a hard time remembering what he had for breakfast this morning before heading to the golf course, but somehow he remembers that he coached in the same league as Peter Vidmar all those years ago..... Amazing!!! :)
Bill

BillSouthBay

by Mensgym on Mar 4, 2008 4:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Check out Rich Perelman's at Latimes.com

He gives weekly updates on all the UCLA sports. From what he's said they've been having problems with injuries.

by BruinTechie on Mar 3, 2008 10:25 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

PV / Scholarships / General Title IX

Peter Vidmar came to UCLA because one of UCLA's assistants at the time was Mako Sakamoto. Mako's brother (Sam) coached Peter while he was in high school in Culver City. Mako later became the head coach at BYU. Amazing what you can find with google.

One can see a direct correlation to the success of the women's gymnastics team to the additional funding it received from the Athletic Dept when the team fought from being cut back in '93 or '94. Men's gymnastics team with Olympians galore gets cut while the women's team (who are past the peak at this point because of their age) get 12 full scholarships for 6 girls to compete on 4 events. It was also a travesty that UCLA lost their Men's swimming team.

If Dan Guerrero wants to continue piling on the titles then he should reinstate the mens gymnastics and swimming teams - because the facilities are already present and would only create incremetal costs. He won't because he has to remaing politicaly correct and fund the 52 member roster of women's rowing (which started from scratch...they were recruiting by standing on Bruinwalk for its members) and by the way most appear unathletic and out of shape. Think I'm joking about 52 members? - check out the website.

http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/w-rowing/mtt/ucla-w-rowing-mtt.html

Football should be taken out of the equation and then monies should be spent 50-50. I'm not arguing the football makes the money so it should be spent on men's sports. That is narrow minded and wrong. I do believe women should have the same opportunities men have...but cutting two olympic caliber men's teams to make way for a women's rowing team to pad the financial statistics is just plain wrong. I wish Dan Guerrero would stand up and say so.

I'm not sure about the swimming program but I can't imagine that one of Valorie Kondo's assistants (Chris Waller or Jim Foody - who are both former UCLA gymnasts) wouldn't want to restart a men's team. It just makes sense.

by Bailey on Mar 4, 2008 11:02 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Get your facts straight

First of all, the women's rowing team did not start from scratch. It already existed until it got cut along with the men's team in 1991. It was reinstated in order to increase the number of women on scholarship. We already had the boathouse and the boats.

Swimming, gymnastics AND rowing were cut in the early 90's by Pete Nutstink Dalis. In their place were brought women's soccer, women's lacrosse and women's water polo. Men's and women's rowing were ALSO olympic caliber teams. On the men's team, we finished third in the country the year we got cut.

The women look unathletic and out of shape? You'd better watch what you say around here. First of all, these women could run circles around your ass. They train more than any other women's team on campus. I dare you to do just one workout with them. Second of all, not all 52 women are on scholarship. As far as I know, there are only two boats on scholarship which is at most 18 athletes. Sorry, you are wrong on this too.

If you want to learn more about rowing, go to this diary. I am mostly with you when it comes to reinstating some of the men's sports, but it will always be tough when football gets 82 (?) scholarships. There is no women's team equivalent. Unfortunately UCLA decided to be a pioneer in Title IX and a lot of us got screwed.

by tasser10 on Mar 6, 2008 9:01 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs