Complete Notes (PDF):https://uclabruins.com/documents/2019/4/15//PostSeasonNotes.pdf
Semifinal 1 - Friday, Apr. 19, 2019 – 12 p.m. CT
Finals – Saturday, Apr. 20, 2019 – 6 p.m. CT
Fort Worth, Texas
MEET INFORMATION
Venue: Fort Worth Convention Center Arena
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson-Clarke, Holly Rowe
Live Stats:ncaa.com
TITLE DEFENSE BEGINS APRIL 19
The No. 2 UCLA Gymnastics team will defend its NCAA title Apr. 19-20 at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. The Bruins (19-1) will compete in the first semifinal of the NCAA semifinals on Friday, Apr. 19 at 12 p.m. CT, along with No. 3 LSU, No. 6 Utah, and No. 7 Michigan. Competing in the second semifinal at 6 p.m. CT will be No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 Denver, No. 8 Georgia, and No. 13 Oregon State. The top two teams from each session will advance to Saturday’s final at 6 p.m. CT. The all-around and individual event champions will be determined during Friday’s semifinals.
FOLLOW LIVE
All three sessions at the NCAA Championships will be televised live on the ESPN Networks. The first semifinal will be on ESPN2, while the second semifinal will air on ESPNU and switch to ESPN2. The final will air live on ESPNU. Live stats will be available atncaa.com, and live updates can be found on Twitter by following @UCLAGymnastics.
ROTATION ORDER
The rotation order for the national semifinals was determined by blind draw prior to the selections. The Bruins will begin the semifinals on vault in rotation one and will end on floor exercise. Michigan will start on bars, LSU will begin on beam, and Utah starts on floor.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Bruins have won seven NCAA championships, including last season’s improbable comeback win in St. Louis when UCLA edged Oklahoma by 0.0375 after an NCAA Championships record 49.750 on balance beam in the final rotation. UCLA’s NCAA titles came in 1997 at Florida, 2000 at Boise State, 2001 at Georgia, 2003 at Nebraska, 2004 at UCLA, 2010 at Florida and 2018 in St. Louis. This is UCLA’s 35th overall appearance in the 38 NCAA Championships.
UCLA’s INDIVIDUAL NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
A total of 20 Bruins have won 38 NCAA titles to rank second behind only Georgia (42) in individual NCAA titles. UCLA has won four titles in the past two seasons and seven individual titles in the last four seasons, with Katelyn Ohashi winning floor and Christine Peng-Peng Lee winning beam in 2018, Kyla Ross winning bars and beam in 2017, Danusia Francis winning the beam title in 2016, and Samantha Peszek winning the all-around and beam in 2015. Since 2000, the Bruins have captured 27 individual titles, the most of any school during that time period. UCLA has won the beam title in each of the last four years.
NEW FORMAT
After 26 years of the Super Six Team Final format, 2019 marks the first year of the new championship format featuring eight teams in the semifinals and four teams advancing to the finals. The championship qualifiers were the top two teams and top all-arounder at each of the four Regionals, along with the top event specialist in each event (not on an advancing team or an all-arounder). The top two teams in each semifinal will advance to Saturday’s championship final. Individual all-around and event winners will be determined after the second semifinal on Friday.
A LOOK BACK AT 2018
UCLA turned in a performance for the ages at the 2018 NCAA Super Six Team Final, using an NCAA Championship and school record balance beam score of 49.750 in the final rotation to come from behind to win its seventh NCAA team title. The Bruins trailed two-time defending champion Oklahoma by .325 at the halfway mark but rallied with huge marks on uneven bars (49.6375, the second-highest bars total in NCAA Championship history) to cut the deficit to .175 going into the final rotation. While Oklahoma was totaling 49.5375 on uneven bars to pad its lead, the Bruins had an uphill battle to climb after a fall in the two spot following Grace Glenn’s 9.9375 leadoff balance beam mark. But rather than sinking under the pressure, UCLA thrived. Brielle Nguyen, in her only routine of the night, followed the fall with a 9.875. Katelyn Ohashi answered with a 9.95, and Kyla Ross contributed a 9.9875, earning four of six perfect scores. It all came down to Christine Peng-Peng Lee in the final routine of the night. Although she and most of her teammates did not know at the time, Lee needed to score 9.975 on her final collegiate routine to clinch the victory. She did one better, scoring her second perfect 10 in as many routines that night to claim the title for the Bruins.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
*Only six teams have ever won the NCAA title in the 37 years of the Championships - Georgia (10), Utah (9), UCLA (7), Alabama (6), Florida (3) and Oklahoma (3). For the first 15 years of the Championship, only Utah, Georgia and Alabama had ever won the team title. UCLA broke the stranglehold in 1997. It took 16 years for another new team - Florida in 2013 - to win a title, and Oklahoma joined the party in 2014, tying with Florida for the championship before winning outright in 2016 and again in 2017.
*Five schools (42%) return from the 12-team 2018 NCAA Championships field - UCLA (1st place), Oklahoma (2nd), LSU (4th), Utah (5th), and Georgia (7th). Back in the championship field after a one-year absence are Michigan and Oregon State. Denver is making its first appearance since 2017 and just its fifth overall.
*There are eight reigning or former individual champions in the field, including at least one on each event. The reigning champions are 2018 all-around champion Maggie Nichols (Oklahoma), vault co-champions Brenna Dowell (Oklahoma) and MyKayla Skinner (Utah), bars co-champion Nichols, and floor co-champions Katelyn Ohashi (UCLA) and Nichols. These 2017 champions are also returning - vault champion Kennedi Edney (LSU); bars champions Kyla Ross (UCLA), Sarah Finnegan (LSU), Nicole Lehrmann (Oklahoma) and Nichols on bars; Ross on beam and Skinner on floor.
*Seven of the Top 8 teams in the final regular-season rankings qualified for the NCAA Championships. Fourth-ranked Florida was the only one not to advance. Advancing out of the Top 8 was No. 13 Oregon State.
*UCLA ranks second among all schools with 38 individual titles. Georgia leads all teams with 42. Utah has 27, and Alabama has 26.
*UCLA has won either a team or an individual NCAA title in each of the last four years and 14 times since the 2000 season.
UCLA vs. NCAA FIELD
The Bruins have matched up against four of the seven other teams in the NCAA field this season. The Bruins are 2-0 vs. Utah, 2-0 vs. Oregon State, 1-0 vs. Michigan, and 0-1 vs. Oklahoma.
WIN STREAKS
After an unbeaten 10-0 start was derailed by a 197.775-197.575 loss at Oklahoma on Mar. 3, the Bruins have embarked upon another winning streak, outscoring 15-straight opponents over five meets heading into the NCAA Championships.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA finished the regular season ranked No. 2 overall behind Oklahoma with an NQS of 198.010. The Bruins rank No. 1 in the nation on bars and floor, No. 2 on beam and No. 3 on vault. Kyla Ross ranks No. 1 in the all-around, vault and bars, No. 3 on beam and No. 4 on floor. Her No. 1 ranking on bars marks the third-straight year she has finished No. 1 on the event. Katelyn Ohashi finished No. 1 on floor for the second-straight year and No. 2 on beam. The Bruins have four gymnasts ranked in the Top 20 on floor (No. 1 Ohashi, No. 4 Ross, No. 13 Gracie Kramer and No. 16 Felicia Hano) and on bars (No. 1 Ross, No. 6 Madison Kocian, No. 14 Norah Flatley and No. 19 Margzetta Frazier), three in the Top 25 on beam (No. 2 Ohashi, No. 3 Ross, and No. 18 Grace Glenn) and on vault (No. 1 Ross, No. 6 Hano and No. 23 Nia Dennis).
TEXAS CONNECTIONS
The Bruins have two Texas natives on the roster - junior Madison Kocian (Dallas/WOGA) and senior Macy Toronjo (Huntsville/Texas Dreams). Kocian, a 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist and three-time World Champion, was born and raised in Dallas and spent her entire club career at WOGA. Toronjo, who was born in Conroe, Texas, trained away from home at Texas Dreams in the DFW area and graduated from Coppell High School. Additionally, senior Katelyn Ohashi trained at WOGA from 2010-15 and graduated from Plano Senior High School.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
UCLA won both the semifinal and final at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional, scoring 197.675 in the semifinal and a school record Regional mark of 198.075 in the final. The Bruins used their depth in the semifinals to be able to put up their best lineup on the second day, and the strategy proved prudent, as UCLA won the Regional Final with a score of 198.075. The Regional win was UCLA’s third consecutive and 24th overall, and their winning total was a school record at a Regional Championship. Kyla Ross won the vault and uneven bars titles and tied with Katelyn Ohashi for the beam title. Ross has won bars and beam at Regionals in each of the last two seasons.
GYM SLAM ACHIEVED
Junior Kyla Ross became the second Bruin, joining Kristen Maloney, and the 11th gymnast in NCAA history to achieve the Gym Slam, a perfect 10 on all four events. Ross achieved this feat in a three-week span, earning 10s on vault and bars at Oklahoma on Mar. 3, a 10 on beam on Mar. 10 against Stanford, and her first career 10 on floor on Mar. 16 against Utah State. Ross became just the seventh gymnast ever to record the Gym Slam all in one season and the first to earn a Double Gym Slam in one season with at least two 10s on every event. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist has recorded an NCAA single-season record 14 perfect 10s this season. Ross also has an NCAA record 10 consecutive meets with a perfect 10.
10.0 HOARDERS
Of the 37 perfect 10 routines around the nation this season, UCLA has earned 21 of them (57%). Kyla Ross leads the nation with 14 (six on bars, four on vault, two each on beam and floor) and earned the Gym Slam in a three-week span with 10s on vault and bars on Mar. 3, on beam Mar. 10 and on floor Mar. 16. She also became the first gymnast in history to earn a Double Gym Slam in a single season on Apr. 6 when she recorded her second beam 10 of the year at the NCAA Regional Final. Ross has scored a perfect 10 in a school record 10 consecutive meets and in all but three meets this season. Katelyn Ohashi is the only other gymnast who has multiple 10s on one event, recording six on floor exercise. Madison Kocian has one perfect 10 this year, on uneven bars. The only other schools with multiple perfect 10s are LSU (seven) and Oklahoma (five). Georgia, Denver, Utah, and Michigan have one each. UCLA gymnasts have totaled 147 perfect 10s all-time, second only to Georgia’s 159. Ross ranks fifth in NCAA history and second on UCLA’s all-time chart with 19 (an NCAA-record-tying nine on bars, plus four on vault and beam and two on floor). Ohashi ranks fourth with 11 (nine on floor and two on beam). Kocian has two on bars, and Felicia Hano has one on floor.
BRUIN STREAKS
UCLA has scored 49+ in 115 straight rotations, the team’s last sub-49 score coming in the first rotation of the 2018 season opener … The Bruins scored 49.5 or better on 43 of those 115 rotations … UCLA’s streak of 28 straight meets scoring 49+ on all four apparatus is the longest active streak in the nation and the third-longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma (34 from 2016-18) and LSU (30 from 2016-18) … UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in its last 42 meets, breaking the NCAA record of 37 set by Oklahoma from 2016-18… The Bruins have gone 49+ on floor in their last 36 meets … Kyla Ross has scored a perfect 10 in 10 consecutive meets, breaking the school record of seven set by Jamie Dantzscher in 2002 … Katelyn Ohashi has scored 9.925 or better on floor in 23 straight meets and has 56 straight routines without a fall.
PROGRAM-RECORD 12 EARN REGULAR SEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
A total of six Bruins combined for a program-record 12 regular season All-America honors in 2019, led by junior Kyla Ross, the only gymnast in the nation to earn first-team honors on all four events and the all-around. Ross now has 15 All-America honors in her career, fourth-most in UCLA history. Also receiving multiple first-team honors was Katelyn Ohashi on beam and floor, bringing her career All-America total to eight. Felicia Hano received All-America honors on two events, earning first-team acclaim on vault and second-team honors on floor. Madison Kocian was UCLA’s fourth first-team All-American, receiving honors on uneven bars. Earning second-team honors for their first-ever All-America distinctions were Norah Flatley on uneven bars and Gracie Kramer on floor exercise.
ROSS SELECTED WEST REGION AND PAC-12 GYMNAST OF THE YEAR
After a dominating season during which she scored 14 perfect 10s, became the first gymnast ever to record two Gym Slams in one year, and posted the nation’s top all-around score of 39.850 three times, junior Kyla Ross was voted the West Region and Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year. The No. 1-ranked gymnast in the nation in the all-around, vault and uneven bars, Ross has posted 10 all-around victories this season, including her second-straight Pac-12 all-around crown. She also won the uneven bars and floor exercise titles with perfect 10s and has six career Pac-12 individual titles, fourth-most in conference history. Ross also dominated the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week awards, winning a Pac-12 single-season record-tying seven, including a new conference record six in a row. At the NCAA Regionals, Ross placed first on every event in which she competed over two days of competition.
OHASHI REPEATS AS PAC-12 SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR
For the second-straight year, Katelyn Ohashi was selected the Pac-12 Specialist of the Year, becoming the first-ever repeat winner of the award. The Pac-12 record-holder with 10 career Specialist of the Week awards, Ohashi captured six weekly awards this season, another record. Ohashi has scored six perfect 10s on floor in 2019, including one at the Pac-12 Championship to successfully defend her title. She also tied for the Pac-12 title on beam. Ohashi finishes the season ranked No. 1 nationally on floor with a National Qualifying Score of 10.0, becoming just the fourth gymnast in NCAA history to achieve a perfect NQS and No. 2 on beam. She is a finalist for the AAI Award, which is presented to the most outstanding female senior gymnast in the nation.
KONDOS FIELD NAMED PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR
For the fifth and final time in her illustrious career, Valorie Kondos Field has been voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Kondos Field has led UCLA to a 19-1 regular season record and No. 2 national ranking in her 29th and final season as head coach. The Pac-12 Gymnastics Coach of the Century announced her retirement following the season. Kondos Field’s 2019 Bruins went undefeated in Pac-12 play and enter the NCAA Championships with a season average of 197.795 with a school record-tying five scores of 198+, including a national season-best 198.4 to win the Pac-12 title. She has led UCLA to all seven of its NCAA Championships, along with 15 conference and 20 NCAA Regional championships. In 29 seasons as head coach, she holds a career record of 535-121-3. This is her fifth conference Coach of the Year award in her career and first since 2012.
PUTTING THE STUDENT IN STUDENT-ATHLETE
A total of six gymnasts from UCLA’s Pac-12 Championship squad earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors in 2019. Leading the charge were first-team member Madison Kocian and second-team honoree Pauline Tratz. Receiving honorable mention acclaim were Anna Glenn, Gracie Kramer, Brielle Nguyen, and Kyla Ross. Kocian, a junior psychology major who hopes to go into the medical field, holds an overall GPA of 3.81 and has been on the Director’s Honor Roll every quarter at UCLA. An undeclared sophomore, Tratz earned second-team honors with a 3.80 GPA and has also been on the Director’s Honor Roll every quarter.
ROSS IS BOSS
Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross showed who was boss this year, finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 in the national all-around rankings. She is also the only gymnast in the nation to rank in the Top 5 on all four events - No. 1 on vault and bars, No. 3 on beam and No. 4 on floor - and was the only gymnast in the nation this year to earn first-team All-America honors on all four events and the all-around. Ross posted a national season-high all-around score of 39.850 three times, a score that ranks No. 4 all-time at UCLA. She has 10 all-around victories this season and nine scores of 39.65 or higher. The West Region and Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, Ross won Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors a record-tying seven times this season, including an unprecedented six in a row from Feb. 5-Mar. 12. She leads UCLA with 38 event titles, 42 scores of 9.9 or higher and 28 scores of 9.95 or higher.
Records broken or tied by Ross this season:
Consecutive meets with a perfect 10 – 10 (NCAA record)
Most perfect 10s in a season – 14 (NCAA record)
Most Gym Slams in one season - 2 (NCAA record)
Most career perfect 10s on uneven bars – 9 (tied NCAA record set by Karin Lichey, Georgia)
Most perfect 10s on uneven bars in a season - 6 (NCAA record)
Most Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week awards in a single season – 7 (tied Pac-12 record set by MyKayla Skinner, Utah)
Consecutive weeks winning the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award – 6 (Pac-12 record)
Highest-ever final National Qualifying Score on uneven bars - 9.995 (NCAA record)
KATE THE GREAT
After going viral the second week of the season, Katelyn Ohashi has continued to prove she wasn’t a one-hit wonder. She has since picked up five more perfect 10s, including two in back-to-back weeks, on Feb. 10 in front of a hometown crowd in Seattle, and on Feb. 16 in front of her home crowd in Pauley Pavilion. She received her fourth 10 at Oklahoma on Mar. 3 and made her final time performing in Pauley count with a perfect 10 on senior day Mar. 16. She made it back-to-back 10s with another perfect routine to successfully defend her Pac-12 Championship. Ohashi, who is unbeaten on floor this year with 12 victories, ranks No. 1 in the nation on that event with a 10.0 NQS and holds an astonishing season average of 9.975. She ranks second on beam and averages 9.929 on the year.
Ohashi’s Jan. 12 perfect 10 floor exercise routine is the most-watched sports video on social media so far this year, with over 117 million views across Twitter (43M), Facebook (39M) and YouTube (35M). The reach of Ohashi’s routine extended worldwide and her video was shared by celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Sara Bareilles, and Sophia Bush; politicians like Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jesse Jackson; and athletes like Troy Aikman and Laurie Hernandez. Her routine was also imitated by comedienne Ali Wong and talk show host Stephen Colbert. Ohashi was featured everywhere from Good Morning America to CBS This Morning, Access Hollywood, the Ryan Seacrest Show, Rolling Stone Magazine, and she was a featured guest speaker at the Makers Conference. Ohashi’s new floor routine, featuring all female artists, also has millions of views on YouTube and social media.
SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN
UCLA freshmen Norah Flatley, Margzetta Frazier, and Sekai Wright have been on point for the Bruins this season with a nearly perfect combined hit rate of 99% (70-for-71). Flatley has hit 30 of 31 routines, with 23 going 9.85 or higher. Frazier is 29-for-29 this year, with only one score under 9.8 (a 9.775 on vault). Wright is 11-for-11 on vault with seven scores of 9.825 or higher. Flatley has highs of 9.975 on bars and 9.925 on beam. She earned second-team regular season All-America honors on bars and second-team All-Pac-12 honors on bars and beam. Frazier won three Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards this season and averages 9.889 on bars and 9.877 on floor. She earned second-team All-Pac-12 acclaim on bars. Wright made her collegiate debut on Jan. 21 after sitting out the first two meets with an ankle injury and has scored 9.875 on her Yurchenko 1.5 vault three times, capturing her first event victory on Jan. 27 at Stanford. She debuted her floor routine on Feb. 2 in an exhibition performance, scoring 9.775.
FOLLOW THE LEAD-OFF
Leading off a rotation is never easy, but the Bruins’ leadoff performers have turned it into an art form, consistently starting the team off with high scores to set the table for their teammates. Nia Dennis has had leadoff 9.9s on vault (Mar. 10, Apr. 5, Apr. 6) and bars (Feb. 16) and tied for first on vault as the leadoff in the Regional Final. Margzetta Frazier is the Bruins’ regular leadoff on bars and has 11 scores of 9.875 or higher in that first spot, including a 9.95 at the Pac-12 Championships. Since returning to the leadoff role on beam Feb. 16, Grace Glenn has scored two 9.875s, two 9.9s, and two 9.95s. She earned a share of the Pac-12 beam title with her 9.95. On floor, Frazier has scored 9.9 or higher in the leadoff position twice, including a 9.95 on Mar. 10, and Gracie Kramer has a high of 9.925 in her four leadoff attempts.
ALL 197S TO START
The Bruins have set a new standard by recording 197+ scores in the first 14 meets of the year for the first time ever. UCLA’s previous best start came in 2003 when the team scored 197+ in its first two meets. UCLA has broken 198 five times this season, scoring a national season-high 198.4 at the Pac-12 Championships, 198.325 on Mar. 10 against Stanford, 198.075 in the Regional Final and 198.025s on Feb. 16 against Arizona and on Feb. 23 at Utah. The only other Bruin team to score five 198s in one season was the 2003 NCAA Championship squad.
TOP FINAL MARKS
The Bruins posted a final National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 198.010, marking just the second time a UCLA team has posted a final qualifying score of 198. Only two schools have ever done it - UCLA in 2004 (198.055) and Oklahoma in 2019 (198.115), 2018 (198.120) and 2017 (198.010). UCLA’s floor exercise NQS of 49.720 is an all-time best on any event, and the Bruins’ uneven bars mark of 49.590 is the highest qualifying score on bars since the 2001 Bruins finished with a 49.615. Katelyn Ohashi’s 10.0 NQS on floor is just the fourth perfect qualifying score in history, joining Jamie Dantzscher (2002, floor), Jeanette Antolin (2004, vault) and Courtney Bumpers (2004, floor). Kyla Ross just missed out on a 10.0 NQS on bars but did finish with an NCAA record 9.995 on the event.
FLOORED BY FLOOR
UCLA’s floor exercise squad has been exceptional so far this season, averaging a national-best 49.604, with a high of 49.825 set Mar. 16 against Utah State on the newly-christened Valorie Kondos Field Floor. Five Bruins scored 9.925 or better in that meet, including Kyla Ross and Katelyn Ohashi, who each earned perfect 10s. Felicia Hano and Pauline Tratz contributed 9.95s. The Bruins also have a 49.775 (Mar. 23) and 49.750 (Feb. 16) under their belts this year, which stand as the fourth and fifth-highest floor marks in school history. The Bruins have scored 49.5 or better in 11 of 14 meets and have scored 49+ in 36 consecutive meets. Four Bruins earned regular season All-America honors on floor - Ohashi, Ross, Gracie Kramer, and Hano.
RAISING THE BAR
The Bruin bar squad finished the regular season ranked No. 1 with an NQS of 49.590, the second-highest bars qualifying score in NCAA history. UCLA has posted big numbers, including a season-high score of 49.700 against Arizona State on Jan. 2; 49.650s at the NCAA Regional Final Apr. 6, the Pac-12 Championships Mar. 23 and at Oregon State on Feb. 2; and a 49.625 against Arizona on Feb. 16. The 49.700 was the fourth-highest bars score in school history, and it was highlighted by a perfect 10 from Madison Kocian. The 49.650 ranks fifth, and the 49.625 ranks seventh all-time. Seven of UCLA’s 21 perfect 10s this season have come on uneven bars - five from Kyla Ross and one from Kocian. The Bruins have 19 9.95+ uneven bars routines so far this season - nine from Ross, five from Kocian, two each from Norah Flatley and Margzetta Frazier, and one from Nia Dennis. Four Bruins are ranked in the Top 20 nationally - Ross is No. 1, Kocian is No. 6, Flatley is No. 14 and Frazier is No. 19.
BEAMING ON BEAM
The Bruins unleashed a national season-best score of 49.700 on beam Mar. 10 against Stanford, marking the third-best score in school history. Kyla Ross led the way with a perfect 10, her first of the season on beam and her third in her career. Katelyn Ohashi nearly scored a 10 but had to settle for a 9.975, her fourth this season. The Bruins were aided by a pair of 9.9s from Grace Glenn and Brielle Nguyen to start the rotation and a career-high 9.925 from Norah Flatley. UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in an NCAA record 42 consecutive meets and has six scores of 49.5 or higher.
VAULTING UP
UCLA moved up to No. 3 in the final national rankings on vault and scored a season-best 49.450 on vault Mar. 10 against Stanford. The Bruins have three ranked in the Top 25 on vault - top-ranked Kyla Ross, sixth-ranked Felicia Hano, and 23rd-ranked Nia Dennis. Ross has four perfect 10s on vault this season, and Dennis also has a perfect mark under her belt this year, scoring a 9.95 on her 9.95-start valued Yurchenko full on Jan. 21. Hano, who vaults a Yurchenko 1.5, has scored a season-best of 9.95 four times. UCLA has scored 49.4 or higher in four of its last five meets.
HOTTEST TICKET
UCLA set a new attendance record in Pauley Pavilion, averaging 10,242 fans for the 2019 season, which ranks No. 4 in the nation. The final two meets in Pauley attracted over 12,000 fans, including a school record 12,907 on Mar. 10. UCLA also draws huge crowds on the road. The Bruins competed in front of at least 5,000 fans in every regular season meet this year and helped set new attendance records at three schools - Oklahoma on Mar. 3 (10,177, nearly double the previous record), Washington on Feb. 10 (7,228 in a snowstorm), and Stanford on Jan. 27 (6,000, nearly double the previous record). Additionally, UCLA performed in front of a sell-out crowd of 15,558 at Utah on Feb. 23 and helped draw 6,505 fans to Oregon State on Feb. 2.
MISS VAL’S FINAL BOW
Head coach Valorie Kondos Field is nearing the end of a legendary career, as she has announced her retirement from coaching at the conclusion of the season. Kondos Field has led UCLA to all seven of its NCAA Championships, along with 14 conference and 20 NCAA Regional championships. In 29 seasons as head coach, she holds a career record of 535-121-3. In 2010, Kondos Field became just the second active coach ever inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame, and she was also named the Pac-12 Gymnastics Coach of the Century. She was selected by her peers as the National Coach of the Year four times in her career. Kondos Field recently wrote her first book, Life is Short, Don’t Wait to Dance, in which she shares insights and advice on how to use uniqueness and authenticity to achieve success, and she has also become a highly sought-after public speaker.
KONDOS FIELD HONORED WITH NAMING OF FLOOR
In her final home meet at Pauley Pavilion Mar. 16, retiring head coach Valorie Kondos Field was surprised with a pre-meet ceremony during which UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero revealed the Valorie Kondos Field Floor. The Bruins proceeded to christen the floor with the highest floor exercise score in the nation this season, 39.825, a mark that ranks third in UCLA history. Kyla Ross scored the first perfect 10 on the new floor, the first of her career, and Katelyn Ohashi closed the meet with another perfect 10.
NO. 1 IN SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS
UCLA Gymnastics has the largest social media followings in all of women’s collegiate sports, ranking No. 1 across all women’s sports in combined followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, a total over 681,000. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on Instagram (317k), Facebook (300k) and Twitter (64k). Among all UCLA teams, gymnastics ranks first on Instagram and Facebook, and UCLA Gymnastics is the most followed collegiate women’s team Instagram account in the nation. Follow the Bruins at @UCLAGymnastics on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat and on Facebook atfacebook.com/uclagymnastics.
Semifinal 1 - Friday, Apr. 19, 2019 – 12 p.m. CT
Finals – Saturday, Apr. 20, 2019 – 6 p.m. CT
Fort Worth, Texas
MEET INFORMATION
Venue: Fort Worth Convention Center Arena
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson-Clarke, Holly Rowe
Live Stats:ncaa.com
TITLE DEFENSE BEGINS APRIL 19
The No. 2 UCLA Gymnastics team will defend its NCAA title Apr. 19-20 at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships at the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. The Bruins (19-1) will compete in the first semifinal of the NCAA semifinals on Friday, Apr. 19 at 12 p.m. CT, along with No. 3 LSU, No. 6 Utah, and No. 7 Michigan. Competing in the second semifinal at 6 p.m. CT will be No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 Denver, No. 8 Georgia, and No. 13 Oregon State. The top two teams from each session will advance to Saturday’s final at 6 p.m. CT. The all-around and individual event champions will be determined during Friday’s semifinals.
FOLLOW LIVE
All three sessions at the NCAA Championships will be televised live on the ESPN Networks. The first semifinal will be on ESPN2, while the second semifinal will air on ESPNU and switch to ESPN2. The final will air live on ESPNU. Live stats will be available atncaa.com, and live updates can be found on Twitter by following @UCLAGymnastics.
ROTATION ORDER
The rotation order for the national semifinals was determined by blind draw prior to the selections. The Bruins will begin the semifinals on vault in rotation one and will end on floor exercise. Michigan will start on bars, LSU will begin on beam, and Utah starts on floor.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Bruins have won seven NCAA championships, including last season’s improbable comeback win in St. Louis when UCLA edged Oklahoma by 0.0375 after an NCAA Championships record 49.750 on balance beam in the final rotation. UCLA’s NCAA titles came in 1997 at Florida, 2000 at Boise State, 2001 at Georgia, 2003 at Nebraska, 2004 at UCLA, 2010 at Florida and 2018 in St. Louis. This is UCLA’s 35th overall appearance in the 38 NCAA Championships.
UCLA’s INDIVIDUAL NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
A total of 20 Bruins have won 38 NCAA titles to rank second behind only Georgia (42) in individual NCAA titles. UCLA has won four titles in the past two seasons and seven individual titles in the last four seasons, with Katelyn Ohashi winning floor and Christine Peng-Peng Lee winning beam in 2018, Kyla Ross winning bars and beam in 2017, Danusia Francis winning the beam title in 2016, and Samantha Peszek winning the all-around and beam in 2015. Since 2000, the Bruins have captured 27 individual titles, the most of any school during that time period. UCLA has won the beam title in each of the last four years.
NEW FORMAT
After 26 years of the Super Six Team Final format, 2019 marks the first year of the new championship format featuring eight teams in the semifinals and four teams advancing to the finals. The championship qualifiers were the top two teams and top all-arounder at each of the four Regionals, along with the top event specialist in each event (not on an advancing team or an all-arounder). The top two teams in each semifinal will advance to Saturday’s championship final. Individual all-around and event winners will be determined after the second semifinal on Friday.
A LOOK BACK AT 2018
UCLA turned in a performance for the ages at the 2018 NCAA Super Six Team Final, using an NCAA Championship and school record balance beam score of 49.750 in the final rotation to come from behind to win its seventh NCAA team title. The Bruins trailed two-time defending champion Oklahoma by .325 at the halfway mark but rallied with huge marks on uneven bars (49.6375, the second-highest bars total in NCAA Championship history) to cut the deficit to .175 going into the final rotation. While Oklahoma was totaling 49.5375 on uneven bars to pad its lead, the Bruins had an uphill battle to climb after a fall in the two spot following Grace Glenn’s 9.9375 leadoff balance beam mark. But rather than sinking under the pressure, UCLA thrived. Brielle Nguyen, in her only routine of the night, followed the fall with a 9.875. Katelyn Ohashi answered with a 9.95, and Kyla Ross contributed a 9.9875, earning four of six perfect scores. It all came down to Christine Peng-Peng Lee in the final routine of the night. Although she and most of her teammates did not know at the time, Lee needed to score 9.975 on her final collegiate routine to clinch the victory. She did one better, scoring her second perfect 10 in as many routines that night to claim the title for the Bruins.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
*Only six teams have ever won the NCAA title in the 37 years of the Championships - Georgia (10), Utah (9), UCLA (7), Alabama (6), Florida (3) and Oklahoma (3). For the first 15 years of the Championship, only Utah, Georgia and Alabama had ever won the team title. UCLA broke the stranglehold in 1997. It took 16 years for another new team - Florida in 2013 - to win a title, and Oklahoma joined the party in 2014, tying with Florida for the championship before winning outright in 2016 and again in 2017.
*Five schools (42%) return from the 12-team 2018 NCAA Championships field - UCLA (1st place), Oklahoma (2nd), LSU (4th), Utah (5th), and Georgia (7th). Back in the championship field after a one-year absence are Michigan and Oregon State. Denver is making its first appearance since 2017 and just its fifth overall.
*There are eight reigning or former individual champions in the field, including at least one on each event. The reigning champions are 2018 all-around champion Maggie Nichols (Oklahoma), vault co-champions Brenna Dowell (Oklahoma) and MyKayla Skinner (Utah), bars co-champion Nichols, and floor co-champions Katelyn Ohashi (UCLA) and Nichols. These 2017 champions are also returning - vault champion Kennedi Edney (LSU); bars champions Kyla Ross (UCLA), Sarah Finnegan (LSU), Nicole Lehrmann (Oklahoma) and Nichols on bars; Ross on beam and Skinner on floor.
*Seven of the Top 8 teams in the final regular-season rankings qualified for the NCAA Championships. Fourth-ranked Florida was the only one not to advance. Advancing out of the Top 8 was No. 13 Oregon State.
*UCLA ranks second among all schools with 38 individual titles. Georgia leads all teams with 42. Utah has 27, and Alabama has 26.
*UCLA has won either a team or an individual NCAA title in each of the last four years and 14 times since the 2000 season.
UCLA vs. NCAA FIELD
The Bruins have matched up against four of the seven other teams in the NCAA field this season. The Bruins are 2-0 vs. Utah, 2-0 vs. Oregon State, 1-0 vs. Michigan, and 0-1 vs. Oklahoma.
WIN STREAKS
After an unbeaten 10-0 start was derailed by a 197.775-197.575 loss at Oklahoma on Mar. 3, the Bruins have embarked upon another winning streak, outscoring 15-straight opponents over five meets heading into the NCAA Championships.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA finished the regular season ranked No. 2 overall behind Oklahoma with an NQS of 198.010. The Bruins rank No. 1 in the nation on bars and floor, No. 2 on beam and No. 3 on vault. Kyla Ross ranks No. 1 in the all-around, vault and bars, No. 3 on beam and No. 4 on floor. Her No. 1 ranking on bars marks the third-straight year she has finished No. 1 on the event. Katelyn Ohashi finished No. 1 on floor for the second-straight year and No. 2 on beam. The Bruins have four gymnasts ranked in the Top 20 on floor (No. 1 Ohashi, No. 4 Ross, No. 13 Gracie Kramer and No. 16 Felicia Hano) and on bars (No. 1 Ross, No. 6 Madison Kocian, No. 14 Norah Flatley and No. 19 Margzetta Frazier), three in the Top 25 on beam (No. 2 Ohashi, No. 3 Ross, and No. 18 Grace Glenn) and on vault (No. 1 Ross, No. 6 Hano and No. 23 Nia Dennis).
TEXAS CONNECTIONS
The Bruins have two Texas natives on the roster - junior Madison Kocian (Dallas/WOGA) and senior Macy Toronjo (Huntsville/Texas Dreams). Kocian, a 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist and three-time World Champion, was born and raised in Dallas and spent her entire club career at WOGA. Toronjo, who was born in Conroe, Texas, trained away from home at Texas Dreams in the DFW area and graduated from Coppell High School. Additionally, senior Katelyn Ohashi trained at WOGA from 2010-15 and graduated from Plano Senior High School.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
UCLA won both the semifinal and final at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional, scoring 197.675 in the semifinal and a school record Regional mark of 198.075 in the final. The Bruins used their depth in the semifinals to be able to put up their best lineup on the second day, and the strategy proved prudent, as UCLA won the Regional Final with a score of 198.075. The Regional win was UCLA’s third consecutive and 24th overall, and their winning total was a school record at a Regional Championship. Kyla Ross won the vault and uneven bars titles and tied with Katelyn Ohashi for the beam title. Ross has won bars and beam at Regionals in each of the last two seasons.
GYM SLAM ACHIEVED
Junior Kyla Ross became the second Bruin, joining Kristen Maloney, and the 11th gymnast in NCAA history to achieve the Gym Slam, a perfect 10 on all four events. Ross achieved this feat in a three-week span, earning 10s on vault and bars at Oklahoma on Mar. 3, a 10 on beam on Mar. 10 against Stanford, and her first career 10 on floor on Mar. 16 against Utah State. Ross became just the seventh gymnast ever to record the Gym Slam all in one season and the first to earn a Double Gym Slam in one season with at least two 10s on every event. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist has recorded an NCAA single-season record 14 perfect 10s this season. Ross also has an NCAA record 10 consecutive meets with a perfect 10.
10.0 HOARDERS
Of the 37 perfect 10 routines around the nation this season, UCLA has earned 21 of them (57%). Kyla Ross leads the nation with 14 (six on bars, four on vault, two each on beam and floor) and earned the Gym Slam in a three-week span with 10s on vault and bars on Mar. 3, on beam Mar. 10 and on floor Mar. 16. She also became the first gymnast in history to earn a Double Gym Slam in a single season on Apr. 6 when she recorded her second beam 10 of the year at the NCAA Regional Final. Ross has scored a perfect 10 in a school record 10 consecutive meets and in all but three meets this season. Katelyn Ohashi is the only other gymnast who has multiple 10s on one event, recording six on floor exercise. Madison Kocian has one perfect 10 this year, on uneven bars. The only other schools with multiple perfect 10s are LSU (seven) and Oklahoma (five). Georgia, Denver, Utah, and Michigan have one each. UCLA gymnasts have totaled 147 perfect 10s all-time, second only to Georgia’s 159. Ross ranks fifth in NCAA history and second on UCLA’s all-time chart with 19 (an NCAA-record-tying nine on bars, plus four on vault and beam and two on floor). Ohashi ranks fourth with 11 (nine on floor and two on beam). Kocian has two on bars, and Felicia Hano has one on floor.
BRUIN STREAKS
UCLA has scored 49+ in 115 straight rotations, the team’s last sub-49 score coming in the first rotation of the 2018 season opener … The Bruins scored 49.5 or better on 43 of those 115 rotations … UCLA’s streak of 28 straight meets scoring 49+ on all four apparatus is the longest active streak in the nation and the third-longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma (34 from 2016-18) and LSU (30 from 2016-18) … UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in its last 42 meets, breaking the NCAA record of 37 set by Oklahoma from 2016-18… The Bruins have gone 49+ on floor in their last 36 meets … Kyla Ross has scored a perfect 10 in 10 consecutive meets, breaking the school record of seven set by Jamie Dantzscher in 2002 … Katelyn Ohashi has scored 9.925 or better on floor in 23 straight meets and has 56 straight routines without a fall.
PROGRAM-RECORD 12 EARN REGULAR SEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
A total of six Bruins combined for a program-record 12 regular season All-America honors in 2019, led by junior Kyla Ross, the only gymnast in the nation to earn first-team honors on all four events and the all-around. Ross now has 15 All-America honors in her career, fourth-most in UCLA history. Also receiving multiple first-team honors was Katelyn Ohashi on beam and floor, bringing her career All-America total to eight. Felicia Hano received All-America honors on two events, earning first-team acclaim on vault and second-team honors on floor. Madison Kocian was UCLA’s fourth first-team All-American, receiving honors on uneven bars. Earning second-team honors for their first-ever All-America distinctions were Norah Flatley on uneven bars and Gracie Kramer on floor exercise.
ROSS SELECTED WEST REGION AND PAC-12 GYMNAST OF THE YEAR
After a dominating season during which she scored 14 perfect 10s, became the first gymnast ever to record two Gym Slams in one year, and posted the nation’s top all-around score of 39.850 three times, junior Kyla Ross was voted the West Region and Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year. The No. 1-ranked gymnast in the nation in the all-around, vault and uneven bars, Ross has posted 10 all-around victories this season, including her second-straight Pac-12 all-around crown. She also won the uneven bars and floor exercise titles with perfect 10s and has six career Pac-12 individual titles, fourth-most in conference history. Ross also dominated the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week awards, winning a Pac-12 single-season record-tying seven, including a new conference record six in a row. At the NCAA Regionals, Ross placed first on every event in which she competed over two days of competition.
OHASHI REPEATS AS PAC-12 SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR
For the second-straight year, Katelyn Ohashi was selected the Pac-12 Specialist of the Year, becoming the first-ever repeat winner of the award. The Pac-12 record-holder with 10 career Specialist of the Week awards, Ohashi captured six weekly awards this season, another record. Ohashi has scored six perfect 10s on floor in 2019, including one at the Pac-12 Championship to successfully defend her title. She also tied for the Pac-12 title on beam. Ohashi finishes the season ranked No. 1 nationally on floor with a National Qualifying Score of 10.0, becoming just the fourth gymnast in NCAA history to achieve a perfect NQS and No. 2 on beam. She is a finalist for the AAI Award, which is presented to the most outstanding female senior gymnast in the nation.
KONDOS FIELD NAMED PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR
For the fifth and final time in her illustrious career, Valorie Kondos Field has been voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Kondos Field has led UCLA to a 19-1 regular season record and No. 2 national ranking in her 29th and final season as head coach. The Pac-12 Gymnastics Coach of the Century announced her retirement following the season. Kondos Field’s 2019 Bruins went undefeated in Pac-12 play and enter the NCAA Championships with a season average of 197.795 with a school record-tying five scores of 198+, including a national season-best 198.4 to win the Pac-12 title. She has led UCLA to all seven of its NCAA Championships, along with 15 conference and 20 NCAA Regional championships. In 29 seasons as head coach, she holds a career record of 535-121-3. This is her fifth conference Coach of the Year award in her career and first since 2012.
PUTTING THE STUDENT IN STUDENT-ATHLETE
A total of six gymnasts from UCLA’s Pac-12 Championship squad earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors in 2019. Leading the charge were first-team member Madison Kocian and second-team honoree Pauline Tratz. Receiving honorable mention acclaim were Anna Glenn, Gracie Kramer, Brielle Nguyen, and Kyla Ross. Kocian, a junior psychology major who hopes to go into the medical field, holds an overall GPA of 3.81 and has been on the Director’s Honor Roll every quarter at UCLA. An undeclared sophomore, Tratz earned second-team honors with a 3.80 GPA and has also been on the Director’s Honor Roll every quarter.
ROSS IS BOSS
Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross showed who was boss this year, finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 in the national all-around rankings. She is also the only gymnast in the nation to rank in the Top 5 on all four events - No. 1 on vault and bars, No. 3 on beam and No. 4 on floor - and was the only gymnast in the nation this year to earn first-team All-America honors on all four events and the all-around. Ross posted a national season-high all-around score of 39.850 three times, a score that ranks No. 4 all-time at UCLA. She has 10 all-around victories this season and nine scores of 39.65 or higher. The West Region and Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, Ross won Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors a record-tying seven times this season, including an unprecedented six in a row from Feb. 5-Mar. 12. She leads UCLA with 38 event titles, 42 scores of 9.9 or higher and 28 scores of 9.95 or higher.
Records broken or tied by Ross this season:
Consecutive meets with a perfect 10 – 10 (NCAA record)
Most perfect 10s in a season – 14 (NCAA record)
Most Gym Slams in one season - 2 (NCAA record)
Most career perfect 10s on uneven bars – 9 (tied NCAA record set by Karin Lichey, Georgia)
Most perfect 10s on uneven bars in a season - 6 (NCAA record)
Most Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week awards in a single season – 7 (tied Pac-12 record set by MyKayla Skinner, Utah)
Consecutive weeks winning the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award – 6 (Pac-12 record)
Highest-ever final National Qualifying Score on uneven bars - 9.995 (NCAA record)
KATE THE GREAT
After going viral the second week of the season, Katelyn Ohashi has continued to prove she wasn’t a one-hit wonder. She has since picked up five more perfect 10s, including two in back-to-back weeks, on Feb. 10 in front of a hometown crowd in Seattle, and on Feb. 16 in front of her home crowd in Pauley Pavilion. She received her fourth 10 at Oklahoma on Mar. 3 and made her final time performing in Pauley count with a perfect 10 on senior day Mar. 16. She made it back-to-back 10s with another perfect routine to successfully defend her Pac-12 Championship. Ohashi, who is unbeaten on floor this year with 12 victories, ranks No. 1 in the nation on that event with a 10.0 NQS and holds an astonishing season average of 9.975. She ranks second on beam and averages 9.929 on the year.
Ohashi’s Jan. 12 perfect 10 floor exercise routine is the most-watched sports video on social media so far this year, with over 117 million views across Twitter (43M), Facebook (39M) and YouTube (35M). The reach of Ohashi’s routine extended worldwide and her video was shared by celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Sara Bareilles, and Sophia Bush; politicians like Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jesse Jackson; and athletes like Troy Aikman and Laurie Hernandez. Her routine was also imitated by comedienne Ali Wong and talk show host Stephen Colbert. Ohashi was featured everywhere from Good Morning America to CBS This Morning, Access Hollywood, the Ryan Seacrest Show, Rolling Stone Magazine, and she was a featured guest speaker at the Makers Conference. Ohashi’s new floor routine, featuring all female artists, also has millions of views on YouTube and social media.
SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN
UCLA freshmen Norah Flatley, Margzetta Frazier, and Sekai Wright have been on point for the Bruins this season with a nearly perfect combined hit rate of 99% (70-for-71). Flatley has hit 30 of 31 routines, with 23 going 9.85 or higher. Frazier is 29-for-29 this year, with only one score under 9.8 (a 9.775 on vault). Wright is 11-for-11 on vault with seven scores of 9.825 or higher. Flatley has highs of 9.975 on bars and 9.925 on beam. She earned second-team regular season All-America honors on bars and second-team All-Pac-12 honors on bars and beam. Frazier won three Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards this season and averages 9.889 on bars and 9.877 on floor. She earned second-team All-Pac-12 acclaim on bars. Wright made her collegiate debut on Jan. 21 after sitting out the first two meets with an ankle injury and has scored 9.875 on her Yurchenko 1.5 vault three times, capturing her first event victory on Jan. 27 at Stanford. She debuted her floor routine on Feb. 2 in an exhibition performance, scoring 9.775.
FOLLOW THE LEAD-OFF
Leading off a rotation is never easy, but the Bruins’ leadoff performers have turned it into an art form, consistently starting the team off with high scores to set the table for their teammates. Nia Dennis has had leadoff 9.9s on vault (Mar. 10, Apr. 5, Apr. 6) and bars (Feb. 16) and tied for first on vault as the leadoff in the Regional Final. Margzetta Frazier is the Bruins’ regular leadoff on bars and has 11 scores of 9.875 or higher in that first spot, including a 9.95 at the Pac-12 Championships. Since returning to the leadoff role on beam Feb. 16, Grace Glenn has scored two 9.875s, two 9.9s, and two 9.95s. She earned a share of the Pac-12 beam title with her 9.95. On floor, Frazier has scored 9.9 or higher in the leadoff position twice, including a 9.95 on Mar. 10, and Gracie Kramer has a high of 9.925 in her four leadoff attempts.
ALL 197S TO START
The Bruins have set a new standard by recording 197+ scores in the first 14 meets of the year for the first time ever. UCLA’s previous best start came in 2003 when the team scored 197+ in its first two meets. UCLA has broken 198 five times this season, scoring a national season-high 198.4 at the Pac-12 Championships, 198.325 on Mar. 10 against Stanford, 198.075 in the Regional Final and 198.025s on Feb. 16 against Arizona and on Feb. 23 at Utah. The only other Bruin team to score five 198s in one season was the 2003 NCAA Championship squad.
TOP FINAL MARKS
The Bruins posted a final National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 198.010, marking just the second time a UCLA team has posted a final qualifying score of 198. Only two schools have ever done it - UCLA in 2004 (198.055) and Oklahoma in 2019 (198.115), 2018 (198.120) and 2017 (198.010). UCLA’s floor exercise NQS of 49.720 is an all-time best on any event, and the Bruins’ uneven bars mark of 49.590 is the highest qualifying score on bars since the 2001 Bruins finished with a 49.615. Katelyn Ohashi’s 10.0 NQS on floor is just the fourth perfect qualifying score in history, joining Jamie Dantzscher (2002, floor), Jeanette Antolin (2004, vault) and Courtney Bumpers (2004, floor). Kyla Ross just missed out on a 10.0 NQS on bars but did finish with an NCAA record 9.995 on the event.
FLOORED BY FLOOR
UCLA’s floor exercise squad has been exceptional so far this season, averaging a national-best 49.604, with a high of 49.825 set Mar. 16 against Utah State on the newly-christened Valorie Kondos Field Floor. Five Bruins scored 9.925 or better in that meet, including Kyla Ross and Katelyn Ohashi, who each earned perfect 10s. Felicia Hano and Pauline Tratz contributed 9.95s. The Bruins also have a 49.775 (Mar. 23) and 49.750 (Feb. 16) under their belts this year, which stand as the fourth and fifth-highest floor marks in school history. The Bruins have scored 49.5 or better in 11 of 14 meets and have scored 49+ in 36 consecutive meets. Four Bruins earned regular season All-America honors on floor - Ohashi, Ross, Gracie Kramer, and Hano.
RAISING THE BAR
The Bruin bar squad finished the regular season ranked No. 1 with an NQS of 49.590, the second-highest bars qualifying score in NCAA history. UCLA has posted big numbers, including a season-high score of 49.700 against Arizona State on Jan. 2; 49.650s at the NCAA Regional Final Apr. 6, the Pac-12 Championships Mar. 23 and at Oregon State on Feb. 2; and a 49.625 against Arizona on Feb. 16. The 49.700 was the fourth-highest bars score in school history, and it was highlighted by a perfect 10 from Madison Kocian. The 49.650 ranks fifth, and the 49.625 ranks seventh all-time. Seven of UCLA’s 21 perfect 10s this season have come on uneven bars - five from Kyla Ross and one from Kocian. The Bruins have 19 9.95+ uneven bars routines so far this season - nine from Ross, five from Kocian, two each from Norah Flatley and Margzetta Frazier, and one from Nia Dennis. Four Bruins are ranked in the Top 20 nationally - Ross is No. 1, Kocian is No. 6, Flatley is No. 14 and Frazier is No. 19.
BEAMING ON BEAM
The Bruins unleashed a national season-best score of 49.700 on beam Mar. 10 against Stanford, marking the third-best score in school history. Kyla Ross led the way with a perfect 10, her first of the season on beam and her third in her career. Katelyn Ohashi nearly scored a 10 but had to settle for a 9.975, her fourth this season. The Bruins were aided by a pair of 9.9s from Grace Glenn and Brielle Nguyen to start the rotation and a career-high 9.925 from Norah Flatley. UCLA has scored 49+ on beam in an NCAA record 42 consecutive meets and has six scores of 49.5 or higher.
VAULTING UP
UCLA moved up to No. 3 in the final national rankings on vault and scored a season-best 49.450 on vault Mar. 10 against Stanford. The Bruins have three ranked in the Top 25 on vault - top-ranked Kyla Ross, sixth-ranked Felicia Hano, and 23rd-ranked Nia Dennis. Ross has four perfect 10s on vault this season, and Dennis also has a perfect mark under her belt this year, scoring a 9.95 on her 9.95-start valued Yurchenko full on Jan. 21. Hano, who vaults a Yurchenko 1.5, has scored a season-best of 9.95 four times. UCLA has scored 49.4 or higher in four of its last five meets.
HOTTEST TICKET
UCLA set a new attendance record in Pauley Pavilion, averaging 10,242 fans for the 2019 season, which ranks No. 4 in the nation. The final two meets in Pauley attracted over 12,000 fans, including a school record 12,907 on Mar. 10. UCLA also draws huge crowds on the road. The Bruins competed in front of at least 5,000 fans in every regular season meet this year and helped set new attendance records at three schools - Oklahoma on Mar. 3 (10,177, nearly double the previous record), Washington on Feb. 10 (7,228 in a snowstorm), and Stanford on Jan. 27 (6,000, nearly double the previous record). Additionally, UCLA performed in front of a sell-out crowd of 15,558 at Utah on Feb. 23 and helped draw 6,505 fans to Oregon State on Feb. 2.
MISS VAL’S FINAL BOW
Head coach Valorie Kondos Field is nearing the end of a legendary career, as she has announced her retirement from coaching at the conclusion of the season. Kondos Field has led UCLA to all seven of its NCAA Championships, along with 14 conference and 20 NCAA Regional championships. In 29 seasons as head coach, she holds a career record of 535-121-3. In 2010, Kondos Field became just the second active coach ever inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame, and she was also named the Pac-12 Gymnastics Coach of the Century. She was selected by her peers as the National Coach of the Year four times in her career. Kondos Field recently wrote her first book, Life is Short, Don’t Wait to Dance, in which she shares insights and advice on how to use uniqueness and authenticity to achieve success, and she has also become a highly sought-after public speaker.
KONDOS FIELD HONORED WITH NAMING OF FLOOR
In her final home meet at Pauley Pavilion Mar. 16, retiring head coach Valorie Kondos Field was surprised with a pre-meet ceremony during which UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero revealed the Valorie Kondos Field Floor. The Bruins proceeded to christen the floor with the highest floor exercise score in the nation this season, 39.825, a mark that ranks third in UCLA history. Kyla Ross scored the first perfect 10 on the new floor, the first of her career, and Katelyn Ohashi closed the meet with another perfect 10.
NO. 1 IN SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS
UCLA Gymnastics has the largest social media followings in all of women’s collegiate sports, ranking No. 1 across all women’s sports in combined followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, a total over 681,000. The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on Instagram (317k), Facebook (300k) and Twitter (64k). Among all UCLA teams, gymnastics ranks first on Instagram and Facebook, and UCLA Gymnastics is the most followed collegiate women’s team Instagram account in the nation. Follow the Bruins at @UCLAGymnastics on Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat and on Facebook atfacebook.com/uclagymnastics.
