(Photo Courtesy: UCLA Athletics)
The No. 7 UCLA Bruins are gearing up for the the Pac-12 Championships in Salt Lake City this weekend coming off of a sixth consecutive score of at least 197.000 in their win over No. 18 Arkansas.
The Bruins are currently 11-1 with their only loss to the No. 4 Red Rocks of the University of Utah, the defending Pac-12 champions. UCLA has been gradually improving throughout the season. Last week, the team posted its third-best score of the season with a 197.175 against Arkansas. Senior Samantha Peszek earned Special Performance of the Week honors from the Pac-12 Networks after coming in first for both vault and beam with a 9.925 and 9.950, respectively.
UCLA carries a deep and talented roster. Some of the stand outs include senior Samantha Peszek, a 2008 Olympics silver medalist and 10 time All-American. She has averaged a 9.917 on the vault this season and also competed in the all-around for the Bruins.
Sophomore Christine Peng-Peng Lee was on the 2012 Canadian Olympic team and was also a 2011 World Championship competitor. Lee has scored consistently high throughout the season on vault, bars and beam.
Junior Danusia Francis was on the 2008 Great Britain Olympic team and made history in 2014 when she became the first gymnast to do a sideways ariel to a layout full dismount off the side of the beam.
UCLA is also a very specialized team with only two athletes – Peszek and freshman Sonya Meraz – occasionally competing in the all-around. On average, most of the Bruins compete in two events, showing just how many different options head coach Valorie Kondos Field has to work with.
Biggest Strength
Well-Rounded
This UCLA gymnastics team has at least one gymnast in every event that has an average of 9.8 or higher. Most of the gymnasts have two events they compete in consistently. This season the vault has been their strongest event receiving an average of 49.382. However in every single other even their average has been a 49.045 or higher leaving the team with a 196.710 total average.
Biggest Weakness
N/A
It may seem bizarre that I cannot identify a single significant weakness for a team. That must speak to something. UCLA is a very solid team. The roster is deep, the team is well-rounded and the athletes rarely lose points with small mistakes. At the Pac-12 Championships last season, the Bruins fell short with several key mistakes leading to their demise. With sophomore Hallie Mossett falling on her back during her dismount and Danusia Francis getting points off for a controversial out of bounds call on her floor routine, the Bruins fell short in Berkeley. Even with key mistakes, the Bruins still finished in the top half with 196.525. Mistakes like those have been very uncharacteristic for them this season so one can naturally expect them to do better this time around.
Prediction
In the 2014 Pac-12 Championships, UCLA placed 4th after some big mistakes towards the beginning which led to them playing catch-up for the remainder of the meet. This year, the Bruins have had a very strong season with minimal mistakes and solid routines. I expect them to come in 2nd behind Utah because they have something to prove after their less than satisfying performance last season, and they are frankly the second-best team in this conference.
Agree? Disagree? We want to hear your input. Tweet at @CronkiteSports using #Pac12GymSpotlight.
