UCLA gymnastics tops national and conference preseason poll

SAN FRANCISCO - In a poll taken by the Conference’s eight women’s gymnastics head coaches, defending NCAA Champion UCLA was selected as the preseason favorite to capture the 2019 Pac-12 title for the second-consecutive year.

UCLA was selected to defend its Conference title as it received seven first-place votes. UTAH finished second as it collected the remaining first-place vote. Both teams have battled for the Conference crown the last few years, the Bruins winning in 2016 and 2018, the Utes in 2014, 2015 and 2017. The Bruins and the Utes have also reached the national spotlight by finishing in the top five at both the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Championships.

CALIFORNIA finished third in the poll with 36 points.  In a close battle for fourth were OREGON STATE with 30 points and WASHINGTON with 27 points.  In sixth and seventh were STANFORD with 17 points and ARIZONA STATE with 16 points.  Rounding out the poll was ARIZONA with 7 points.

The Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) also released its national preseason poll and seven of the Pac-12 teams appear in the top 25. Three Pac-12 programs finished in the top 10 with the Bruins in first with 1,961 points, the Utes in fifth with 1,783 points, and the Golden Bears capturing their highest preseason rank in program history at No. 8 with 1,526 points.

Washington and Oregon State were 15th and 17th in the poll, respectively, the Huskies picking up 1,253 points and the Beavers with 1,005 points. Arizona State was 20th in the poll with 862 points and Stanford was 21st with 831 points.

The 2019 season is set to begin on Friday, Jan. 4. Pac-12 gymnastics will be featured on Pac-12 Networks and ESPN throughout the season, including the 2019 Pac-12 Championship to take place on March 23, 2019 at Pac-12 Gymnastics’ first ever neutral site championship at the Maverick Center in West Valley City, Utah. Visit www.pac-12.com for a full schedule of Pac-12 gymnastics meets.

2019 PAC-12 GYMNASTICS PRESEASON COACHES POLL