The NCAA News - News and Features

April 28, 1997

UCLA stuns meet favorites in women's gymnastics

The 1997 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships were supposed to be a battle between the three teams that have combined to win all 15 team titles -- Utah, Georgia and Alabama.

But UCLA proved that winning the title depends on performance, not past accolades.

Runner-up at the 1996 championships, the Bruins scored 197.150 points to win their first team title April 17-19 at Florida.

UCLA scored 49.200 points or more on three of four events to outdistance runner-up Arizona State (196.850). Three-time champion Georgia, Michigan and Florida rounded out the top five, respectively. The Lady Bulldogs scored 196.600 points, while Michigan and Florida accumulated 196.500 and 196.425 points, respectively.

UCLA and Georgia are the only teams to advance to the Super Six (team-final session) every year since the format's inception in 1993.

UCLA, which registered the second-highest score behind Georgia in the team-preliminary session, registered a team-best mark of 49.525 on the uneven bars. Leah Homma led the way on the event with a mark of 9.950, while Stella Umeh and Heidi Moneymaker each contributed marks of 9.925.

Homma and Lena Degteva were the Bruins' top all-around performers, scoring 39.475 and 38.825 points, respectively.

Although UCLA claimed the team title, Georgia continued its dominance in the individual championships, winning three of the five event titles.

Georgia, which has claimed a championships-record 20 individual titles, claimed the all-around, floor exercise and uneven bars crowns.

Kim Arnold posted a four-event total of 39.550 during the afternoon team-preliminary session to edge Alabama's Meridith Willard, who scored a 39.500 in the evening session.

"It seems too good to be true," Arnold said. "It's very exciting. I just can't believe it. It makes up for a terrible warm-up.

"I was hoping to push through and do it. I was trying to stay focused and hit."

Senior Leah Brown captured the floor exercise title, her second individual title in as many years, with a near perfect score of 9.950. Brown won the 1996 vault title.

Jenni Beathard accounted for the Lady Bulldogs' third title, registering a 9.950 to claim the title on the uneven bars.

Summer Reid of Utah joined Brown as the only repeat champions, sharing the balance beam title with Elizabeth Reid of Arizona State.

National Collegiate women's gymnastics

TEAM RESULTS

(Note: Scores for the top six teams are from the team-final session. Scores for all other teams are from the team-preliminary session.)

1. UCLA, 197.150; 2. Arizona St., 196.850; 3. Georgia, 196.600; 4. Michigan, 196.500; 5. Florida, 196.425; 6. Nebraska, 195.250; 7. Utah, 196.025; 8. Washington, 195.975; 9. Alabama, 195.600; 10. Minnesota, 194.775; 11. Penn St., 194.300; 12. LSU, 193.825.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

All-around: 1. Kim Arnold, Georgia, 39.550; 2. Meredith Willard, Alabama, 39.500; 3. Leah Brown, Georgia, 39.475; 4. (tie) Chrissy Van Fleet, Florida, and Leah Homma, UCLA, 39.425; 6. Meagan Wright, Arizona St., 39.400.

Vault: 1. Susan Hines, Florida, 9.8875; 2. Leah Brown, Georgia, 9.8625; 3. Kim Arnold, Georgia, 9.850; 4. Angie Leonard, Utah, 9.825; 5. Lena Degteva, UCLA, 9.8125; 6. Tiffany Simpson, Washington, 9.800.

Uneven bars: 1. Jenni Beathard, Georgia, 9.950; 2. (tie) Sarah Cain, Michigan; Stephanie Woods, Alabama; and Elizabeth Reid, Arizona St., 9.900; 5. Leah Brown, Georgia, 9.850; 6. (tie) Angie Leonard, Utah, and Nikki Peters, Michigan, 9.825.

Balance beam: 1. (tie) Summer Reid, Utah, and Elizabeth Reid, Arizona St., 9.900; 3. (tie) Meredith Willard, Alabama, and Traci Sommer, Utah, 9.850; 5. Leah Homma, UCLA, 9.825; 6. Beth Amelkovich, Michigan, 9.800.

Floor exercise: 1. Leah Brown, Georgia, 9.950; 2. (tie) Elizabeth Reid, Arizona St., and Kim Arnold, Georgia, 9.900; 4. (tie) Heather Kabnick, Michigan, and Meredith Willard, Alabama, 9.850; 6. (tie) Klara Kudlikova, Washington, and Leslie Angeles, Georgia, 9.825.