Gymnastics: Floor routines give gymnasts trouble

Frank Portillo
Published: Thursday, February 3, 2005

The UCLA gymnastics team finishes every home meet on the floor exercise. Though they’d like to save their best for last, their last has been subpar this season. For the past four years, the Bruins (6-1) haven’t finished lower than seventh place in the nation on the floor. At this point in the season, UCLA finds itself in unfamiliar territory, ranked a lowly No. 22 on the floor exercise, trailing the likes of Northern Illinois and Southern Utah. “It’s surprising we’re not ranked higher on floor,” UCLA gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field said. “With our athletes sick and injured, that’s the event that will get you the most.” With the regular season almost at its halfway mark, UCLA has only amassed a 49 floor team-score twice. The latest and greatest disappointing performance on the floor exercise came last weekend against Arizona State. Competing on a floor which they weren’t used to, the Bruins were forced to count two falls and two out-of-bounds deductions en route to a season-low of 47.375. “It was horrific,” Kondos Field said. “We had four falls on the floor; that’s unheard of. We have to adjust though, the type of floor is not an excuse.”

STILL NEAR THE TOP: While the Bruins were supposed to be a young, inexperienced team heading into the season, they’ve shown that preconceived notions don’t always turn out to be true. Nearing the halfway point of the regular season, UCLA finds itself near the top of the women’s collegiate gymnastics scene once again. The Bruins have alternated between the top two national spots for most of the season and currently find themselves at No. 3, despite what Kondos Field refers to as an “ugly” performance last weekend in Tempe, Ariz. Additionally, UCLA holds at least a top-three Division I score on three apparatuses. The Bruins are No. 2 on both the vault and bars and hold down the No. 3 spot on beam. As for individual rankings, UCLA gymnasts comprise four of the top five national all-around averages with senior Kristen Maloney owning the top average in the nation.

INJURED FRONT: Only having participated in limited action in UCLA’s past two meets due to a hyper-extended toe, Jordan Schwikert will return to all-around competition this weekend as the Bruins travel to take on Michigan. However, Schwikert, who has been diagnosed with turf toe, will be held out of UCLA’s next home meet as Kondos Field intends to rest the freshman so she can recover from the injury. Fellow freshman gymnast Lindsey Vanden Eykel was relegated to competing only on the beam last weekend after experiencing pain in her back. Currently ranked No. 13 in the nation on bars, Vanden Eykel’s presence is considered imperative for a team that has already been ravaged by injuries.