UCLA
Stanford
Kocian, Lee Hit Perfection in Win over Stanford
February 11, 2017 | Gymnastics
Los Angeles - Madison Kocian and Christine Peng-Peng Lee scored perfect 10s on the uneven bars to lead No. 5 UCLA to a 198.125-194.175 victory over Stanford. The perfect 10s were the first of their careers and the second and third for UCLA this season. Kocian, a 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist, won the all-around for the fourth time in five meets, scoring 39.575.
The Bruins' team score is the highest in the nation this season and ranks as the ninth-highest score in UCLA history, matching the winning total achieved by the Bruins at the 2004 NCAA Championships.
"It's awesome to have the highest score in the country, but it's more awesome that we did this well and still have room to grow," said UCLA head coach Valorie Kondos Field.
UCLA (4-1, 3-0 in the Pac-12) also had a perfect vault scored by sophomore Madison Preston, who earned a career-high 9.95 on a Yurchenko layout full that has a start value of 9.95. Two other gymnasts saw perfect scores flashed by one judge. Freshman and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross nearly scored her second 10 of the season on uneven bars but had to settle for a 9.975. Sophomore Katelyn Ohashi also earned a 10 from one judge on balance beam but a 9.95 from the second judge, scoring 9.975.
The Bruins got off to an amazing start with a season-high 49.5 on vault. Preston's perfect 9.95 led the team, who also had stuck vaults from Ross (9.9) and Angi Cipra (9.875). Freshman Gracie Kramer performed the first 10.0-start value vault for the Bruins this year and recorded a career-high 9.925 on her Yurchenko 1.5.
Uneven bars was even better, as the Bruins earned the third-highest bars score in UCLA history, 49.725. Career-highs of 9.875 from Sonya Meraz and Stella Savvidou set up the bottom half of the lineup, all of whom now have scored perfect 10s this season. Kocian earned hers in the fourth spot, and Ross nearly got her second of the season, scoring 9.975. Lee ended the rotation with a bang, scoring the first 10 of her career.
"It means a lot because you're always working in the gym to get that perfect 10, and to finally put it on my resume, it's just amazing," said Lee.
"To get a 10, it was the first one of my collegiate gymnastics career, and I'm just super excited," said Kocian. "It was just so much fun being out there. I felt so confident going into this meet, and I was just so ready and so excited to be out there with my team. I was just really focused on all the little details and the handstands, and it worked out in the end."
On balance beam, UCLA scored 49.425 thanks to Ohashi's career-high mark. She hit her daring flight series of a backhandspring/backhandspring/layout full cleanly for the first time this season and was rewarded with a 9.975. Lee also put up a big number with a 9.925, and Ross (9.875), Mikaela Gerber (9.85) and Hallie Mossett (9.8) contributed 9.8+ scores.
UCLA earned another season-high with a 49.475 on floor exercise. Napualani Hall led off with a career-high 9.875, and Savvidou capped off her birthday with a career-best 9.925. Ohashi recorded a 9.875, and Kocian matched her career-best with a first-place mark of 9.95. Cipra made her floor debut and scored 9.825 to clinch the 198 team score for the Bruins, and Mossett closed the meet with a 9.85 to improve UCLA's final score to 198.125.
Stanford (5-6, 2-2), who was competing without reigning Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Elizabeth Price, finished with a score of 194.175.
The fifth-ranked Bruins will battle fourth-ranked Utah next in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8pm MT. The meet will be televised live on ESPNU. Two days following that meet, on Feb. 20, UCLA will host a tri-meet with Bridgeport and Utah State. That meet will begin at 1pm. Tickets are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets.
Players Mentioned
