Gymnastics is a sport grounded in dazzling aerial displays and sharp, precise turns and leaps – physical feats that would impress even the most athletic of people. Read more...
Photo: Freshman Mikaela Gerber said that gymnastics is 90 percent mental. To hone the mental side, the Bruins set aside time in some practices for mental-specific training. (Tim Bradbury/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Redshirt sophomore Ellette Craddock has had a wobbly career on balance beam. Two years ago, she competed in just one meet for UCLA gymnastics. Last year, she tore a tendon in her finger and had to sit out the season. Read more...
Photo: Coach Valorie Kondos Field said that getting Ellette Craddock back onto the competitive lineup involved a mental exercise to reinforce her convictions. (Tim Bradbury/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Barring an uncharacteristic meltdown in the last rotation of Saturday’s NCAA regional, No. 5 Utah had already all but locked up both first place and the first of two available bids for NCAA championships in two weeks. Read more...
Photo: Redshirt junior Samantha Peszek placed first in the individual all-around competition in the Bruins’ second-place finish in the NCAA Regionals. (Katie Meyers/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Two weeks ago, UCLA gymnastics prepared for Pac-12 Championships riding a wave of momentum. The Bruins were coming off three consecutive meets in which they posted a team score of 197 or higher. Read more...
Photo: UCLA gymnastics coach Valerie Kondos Field said the No. 8 Bruins will be wary of a potential upset by the No. 17 Arkansas Razorbacks at home, as UCLA heads to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA regionals on Saturday. (Jose Ubeda/Daily Bruin staff)
Kassidy Kozai needed surgery to reconstruct a torn medial collateral ligament and posterior cruciate ligament in her right knee three years prior to enrolling in college. Read more...
Photo: Kassidy Kozai suffered a number of injuries in her time as a gymnast and bounced back after each one. However, she now finds a different way to impact the sport she loves, serving as an undergraduate assistant coach for UCLA gymnastics. (Joseph Chan/Daily Bruin)
UCLA gymnastics’ performance in the Pac-12 Championships brought back a certain memory for coach Valorie Kondos Field. It was not one from her 24 years of experience coaching the team. Read more...
Photo: Senior Sydney Sawa said the Bruins were overeager and too tight in the Pac-12 Championships, which led to their struggles. (Jose Ubeda/Daily Bruin staff)
Danusia Francis had some big shoes to fill. The sophomore was up next on beam. Just prior, the chants of “10” from the crowd after redshirt junior Samantha Peszek’s beam routine turned into jeers at the judges after they unveiled a 9.925. Read more...
Photo: Senior Olivia Courtney celebrates after completing an apparatus. Courtney, along with fellow Sydney Sawa, competed in her final routines at Pauley Pavilion as UCLA defeated Utah State and Bowling Green State in the Bruins’ final home meet of the season.
