UCLA Hits Season-High 198.325 in Win Over Stanford

Recap, photo courtesy of UCLA

LOS ANGELES - In front of a UCLA Gymnastics record home crowd of 12,907 in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom, the No. 2 Bruins set a new season-high in a 198.325-196.275 win over No. 24 Stanford.

UCLA junior Kyla Ross earned a perfect 10 for the sixth-consecutive meet, capturing her first 10 of the season on the balance beam. It was her eighth 10 overall this season and the 13th of her career.

The Bruins (11-1) earned season-high scores on vault (49.45) and balance beam (49.7) and added a 49.7 on floor exercise and 49.475 on uneven bars, which totaled the fifth-highest team score in school history and highest since also scoring 198.325 on Mar. 7, 2004 against Michigan.

UCLA got off to a great start on vault in the first rotation when leadoff vaulter Nia Dennis stuck her Yurchenko full for a 9.9. Pauline Tratz also scored a 9.9 on her Yurchenko full, and Kyla Ross won the event with a 9.95 on a Yurchenko 1.5.

Rotation two saw the Bruins increase their 0.425 lead to nearly a full point after scoring 49.475 on uneven bars to Stanford's 48.925 on vault. Dennis led the Bruins with a season-high 9.925, Madison Kocian and Ross contributed 9.9s, and Margzetta Frazier and Felicia Hano each scored 9.875, with Hano's score tying her career best.

The Bruins went lights-out in their final two rotations, with no score counting below 9.9 on beam, and 9.9 being the drop score on floor. On beam, Grace Glenn and Brielle Nguyen led off with 9.9s. Norah Flatley was serenaded with a Happy Birthday from the student section before her routine and then hit a career-best 9.925. Ross followed with her third career 10 on beam, and Katelyn Ohashi nearly recorded a 10 of her own, settling for her fourth 9.975 of the season.

Floor exercise was a pure show from start to finish. Frazier led off with a career-high 9.95. Gracie Kramer scored 9.925, followed by a 9.9 from Tratz and a season-high 9.925 from Dennis. Hano and Ohashi closed the show with 9.95s to get UCLA to 198.325, tied for the highest team score in the nation this year.

UCLA closes out the regular season on Saturday, Mar. 16 against Utah State at 4:30 pm. It will be the last home meet for UCLA seniors Katelyn Ohashi, Brielle Nguyen and Macy Toronjo, as well as for Valorie Kondos Field, who is retiring at the end of the season after 29 years as head coach.