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Kate Richardson performs on the bars during Saturday's Pac-10 Championship at Pauley Pavilion. Ri

Good teams fight through adversity, while great teams thrive on it. The UCLA gymnastics team proved its worth at the top of the national standings on Saturday by winning the 2003 Pac-10 team title with a Pac-10 record of 198.175.

And it did it without its best gymnast.

Junior Jamie Dantzscher did not compete, as a severe sinus infection sidelined her for the team’s final appearance in Pauley Pavilion this season. Freshman Kate Richardson more than made up for Dantzscher’s absence with a personal best 39.825 in the all-around, including a perfect 10 on the floor routine.

“I’m happy with how I competed, but the individual awards are just a bonus,” Richardson said. “I’m so happy with how the team competed and so excited to be a part of it.”

Stanford came in second with a team total of 197.700, and Arizona State was third with 197.075.

Bruin Jeanette Antolin finished second in the all-around, also achieving a personal best of 39.700. Antolin, like her teammate Richardson, recorded a perfect 10 for UCLA, hers coming on vault, the team’s final event of the meet. At this time last year, Antolin had been removed from the team for disciplinary reasons. The 2003 Pac-10 vault champion has made quite a turnaround since then.

“I really haven’t changed much except the way I train and how much I enjoy gymnastics,” Antolin said. “For a while (last year) it wasn’t too exciting, but now it’s kind of like an exclamation point on my life.”

UCLA led from the outset, recording four scores of 9.9 or higher on the uneven bars to kick things off. The meet’s climax came when Antolin finished things off for UCLA with her perfect 10.

During the post-meet awards ceremony, Pac-10 coaches recognized the team that head coach Valorie Kondos Field has called the most talented team in the history of collegiate gymnastics. Richardson was named Freshman Gymnast of the Year by the Pac-10 coaches, while senior teammate Onnie Willis was given the Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year award.

“We all know she’s amazing,” teammate Kristin Parker said. “She absolutely deserves it. It’s amazing to see it recognized, not just by us, but by other people too.”

Willis expressed surprise at her selection as Pac-10 Gymnast of the Year, but was not at all surprised when Kondos Field was named Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year by other Pac-10 coaches.

“She should always get coach of the year,” Willis said.

In putting together a Pac-10 championship team, Kondos Field and the Bruins achieved another of their season goals. The meet was special from the start, with a vocal crowd of 3,070 showing support for their respective teams with banners, posters, and noisemakers. UCLA even commissioned the support of the UCLA alumni band for the meet.

“It was so much more exciting and so much more fun than any other meet I’ve ever been in,” Richardson said.

This is a pretty impressive statement considering Richardson has traveled the world competing, including as a member of the 2000 Canadian Olympic team.

And it was a pretty impressive meet, as UCLA tallied a 198.175 without one of its top performers.