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UCLA Gymnastics Wins Home Opener Over Arizona, 195.975-195.300.

@uclagymnastics

Bumped. BN Eds.

The UCLA Gymnastics team returned home to Pauley and opened their home gym with a 195.975-195.300 victory over Arizona.

Full results here

Official Site Recap

Arizona recap

The Bruins took a few steps forward this week but also took a small step back as their team score dropped .025 points from last week. In my preview, I wanted the Bruins to win each individual event and sweep the events as a team. We swept the individual events (all-around does not count, as no Bruins competed on all four events) and won vault and beam, but we did not win bars or floor.

UCLA opened the meet on vault, and posted a team score of 49.250. The Bruins were not as clean as last week, as no individual Bruins scored in the 9.9, but a smattering of consistent 9.8 and above gave the Bruins a great team score. Samantha Peszek led the way with a 9.850 and LaNiesha-Jopre' Irvin made her college debut with a 9.850. Interestingly Sadiqua Bynum did not compete on vault this week (nor on floor) so I'm not sure if Coach Val was tweaking her lineup to see what scores her other gymnasts could contribute or if Bynum was hurt, but she was dressed. Meanwhile on bars Arizona put up a 49.050, luckily not having to count a fall by Selynna Felix-Terrazas. All the UCLA vaults looked lovely, without major form issues, and I have no problem with the score, although I feel Peszek should have been higher.

In the second rotation, UCLA moved to the bars and their meet was nearly doomed. Danusia Francis led off with her usual steady 9.775, but Sonya Meraz fell off the bars after arching her back too far on a handstand and she just couldn't stay on the bars, scoring only a 9.25. Janay Honest debuted on the bars and picked up the Bruins with a 9.825 and Sophina DeJesus contributed a 9.85. Things were looking up for the Bruins with Christine Peng Peng Lee and Samantha Peszek up next, but PPL fell twice and scored only a 8.975, meaning the 9.25 from Meraz would count. Peszek picked everyone up though with a beautiful bar routine scoring a 9.975 and free pizookie for everyone in the stands. UCLA only scored 48.700 as a team. Meanwhile, Arizona wasn't having problems on vault in that they didn't have major form issues or deductions, their scores just were not great, for a team score of 48.675. Despite having to count a fall, the Bruin lead slightly grew, and the Bruins led 97.950-97.725 at the halfway point.

The Bruins returned to form on the beam, scoring a 49.350 as a team. Francis was back to her usual sideways flipping self, perfectly landing her dismount and scoring a 9.925. Peszek led the Bruins with a 9.950, and all the other Bruin beam performances were perfectly consistent without major errors. If you ever get to watch a Bruin Gymnastics meet, I really think the Bruins shine on beam in addition to great floor choreography. Francis' mount and dismount are unique. PPL rebounded from her fall to score 9.850, and her mount with the Homma flairs (a move typically done by men) is definitely one of a kind, and Peszek threw in a standing full, something we have not seen from her in a while. Some could argue she was a bit overscored on her routine, as I don't think she was supposed to land in an arabesque after the standing full, but hey she covered it up. Over on the floor, Arizona scored a 49.10, led by a 9.875 by Jessica Sisler. After three rotations, the Bruins led 147.300-146.825.

Peszek was held out of the floor, but this let other Bruins have a chance to shine. Jennifer Pinches officially debuted her West Side Story routine, which was a lovely routine to lead off at 9.775, and included a step out of bounds, so it could have scored a 9.875. Meraz made up for her earlier fall with a 9.825 in her floor debut. Angi Cipra unfortunately came up short on one of her passes and only scored a 9.325, but I think she has great closing potential for the Bruins. Unfortunately the Bruins had to count the 9.325, as Pua Hall had problems in her routine and only scored a 9.275 (and of course I cannot remember the problems. I'm pretty sure she came up short on a pass.) UCLA however has a secret agent on the floor, and her name is Danusia Francis. Her highly entertaining Bond Girl routine scored a 9.925 and is fantastic - see how she uses her body to mimic the shooting motion from Bond movies - it's phenomenal. As a team the Bruins scored 48.675 which is NOT GOOD long run on the floor. The Wildcats were on beam, and unfortunately had to count a fall be Felix-Terrazas after Shay Fox, in her only event of the day, came off the beam twice scoring 8.175.

If the Bruins didn't fall twice on floor and bars, I'd imagine the score would have been 196.9, assuming a 0.50 point increase per routine. That would have been a great place to be this early in the season. Coach Val put it best:

"There were a lot of really good things that came out of it, but we’re not a 195 or 196 team. We’re a 197 team, and they need to start doing that."

If we want any shot at the national title, we have to become a consistent 197 team. Based on what I've seen so far, especially compared to last season, the Bruins have the potential for it this year.

The Bruins next take on Utah on Friday in Utah at 4pm. The meet will air live on the Pac-12 Networks. If you're available, tune in as this is the meet of the year in the Pac-12 (unless Stanford finally got their act together.)

Go Bruins!

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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