Standing sideways on the balance beam, freshman Danusia Francis paused, her focus visible on her face. She took a deep inhale before flipping through the air in an inverted aerial, a move never before tried in a college competition - and one she only decided to try the night before. Read more...
Photo: According to UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field, freshman Danusia Francis’ sideways aerial on beam was the first completed at the NCAA level.
I blinked for a second during Vanessa Zamarripa’s vault in Saturday’s team finals. She landed on her knees and I blinked again. Wait, what? Was that practice? Read more...
Photo: Senior gymnast Vanessa Zamarripa holds back tears as she is comforted by coach Valorie Kondos Field after scoring a 9.100 on vault, the final event for the Bruins in Saturday’s NCAA team championships. The team placed fourth behind Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama despite an early lead.
After a roller-coaster two days of team competition, UCLA’s gymnasts had an equally mixed bag of results in today’s individual event championships. Freshman Danusia Francis had one of the day’s more dramatic moments during her performance on balance beam. Read more...
The original version of this article contained an error and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information. For just a moment, before forcing a smile to her face and throwing her hands in the air, senior Vanessa Zamarripa froze. Read more...
“Individual squares of a trampoline” was how coach Valorie Kondos Field described her gymnasts at the beginning of the year. Read more...
Photo: UCLA has dealt with several injuries this season. The Bruins hope to take advantage of competing in Pauley Pavilion, where they won the 2004 NCAA championship.
Before every meet, UCLA gymnastics performs a candlelit ritual. Read more...
Photo: Senior Vanessa Zamarippa, the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, will compete in her final meet as a Bruin at the NCAA championships in Pauley Pavilion.
At age 13, Sophina DeJesus faced a difficult decision. The last year had been a whirlwind of traveling the world in order to act and dance professionally. Read more...
Photo: Freshman gymnast Sophina DeJesus was a successful dancer and actress as a child, encouraged to pursue her talents by dance choreographer and actress Debbie Allen. She was on a children’s television show called “Hip Hop Harry,” and also appeared on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “Maury.”
