Redshirt junior Samantha Peszek will return to compete for UCLA gymnastics next season, UCLA announced Wednesday. Peszek had previously been unsure whether she would elect to stay for her final year of NCAA eligibility. Read more...
Photo: Redshirt junior Samantha Peszek won the Pac-12 title for balance beam this season. (Katie Meyers/Daily Bruin senior staff)
UCLA gymnastics has never lost a member quite like the one it will lose next season. Each year, the team loses a class of high-scoring seniors and must find a way to replace their production. Read more...
UCLA gymnastics went into the NCAA championships knowing the odds of leaving with a title were against them. And after a season pockmarked with obstacles, namely injuries and illness, the team finished with the only thing its impairments would let them – a personal victory. Read more...
Photo: Senior Olivia Courtney, shown here in the NCAA individual event finals, and the Bruins’ season ended with a 5th place finish in Friday’s NCAA semifinal. (Courtesy of Christy Linder)
UCLA Gymnastics: Three Keys to NCAA Championship No. 111 1. Going 24 for 24 routines: The Bruins can’t afford a single mistake – even if the mistake doesn’t contribute to their team score, their play-not-to-lose mentality will sink them in the competition. Read more...
Photo: UCLA will need strong individual performances from gymnasts like redshirt junior Samantha Peszek as the Bruins head to Alabama for the NCAA championships. (Tim Bradbury/Daily Bruin senior staff)
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)
