BERKELEY -- A week after losing senior captain and Olympian Toni-Ann Williams to injury, No. 15 California women's gymnastics proved it has the depth and resilience to continue its march toward a second consecutive NCAA Championship berth. The Golden Bears defeated No. 18 Washington, topping the Huskies 196.650-196.350 to keep their perfect record in Haas Pavilion.

Cal trailed Washington after the first rotation but rallied behind three consecutive scores of 49.0+, including season-best totals on both bars (49.250) and floor (49.250). The Bears also picked up three event titles, with Milan Clausi and Rachael Mastrangelo sharing the vault crown and Kyana George winning bars.

"Considering the injury to Toni-Ann last weekend, I was really happy with how the team came together. They all really got stronger through that situation, and I think that showed today," said co-head coach Justin Howell.

Cal went 6-for-6 on vault despite small landing errors. The Bears tallied a 48.925, well shy of what they're capable of, but Clausi and Mastrangelo provided bright spots with 9.825s for the title. Mastrangelo matched her career-high with the 9.825.

"We definitely can vault better," Howell said. "Warmups were amazing, and all of a sudden we got smaller on vault. We didn't land quite as well as we've been working on in the gym."

The Bears found their footing on bars, where they used a season-best 49.250 for another RQS-boosting score. Sofie Seilnacht led off with a 9.825, and George followed by matching her career-best 9.90 for the event title.

"I was happy to see Kyana go 9.90 on bars. She's really been working so hard at improving her handstands and landings," Howell said.

Every Cal gymnast hit with a 9.90 or better, which included a career-high 9.825 from Talitha Jones.

"I was proud of how this team rallied after an average start on vault," Howell said. "Sometimes, that knocks the wind out of your sails a little bit. We came back and had a great bars rotation."

While beam didn't go completely as expected, Cal once again displayed its resilience. George, usually a strong leadoff gymnast for the beam team, started the rotation off with an uncharacteristic fall, forcing her teammates to hit the remaining five routines for a good score.

"Now the pressure was on. Everybody has to hit," Howell explained.

Cal's final five followed with another string of 9.80s or better, highlighted by Chelsea Shu's second consecutive career-high 9.90 on the event, which would ultimately be good for second.

Howell and co-head coach Liz Crandall-Howell also made a last-minute to decision to swap out their original beam anchor for Jones, and Jones made her balance beam debut in fine fashion with a 9.825 in the anchor spot.

"Talitha delivers the same thing every time. We felt like with that fall, we just needed to have someone who could stay on the beam, and I was really pleased with how they responded in that situation. Everybody did the job she was capable of," Howell said. "This is the second week in a row that Chelsea delivered a 9.90. This is who we see all the time, so I'm really glad to see that she's starting to find her place with that performance, and I thought Cassidy Keelen's beam routine was flawless."

Improved landings on floor helped Cal to another season-high 49.250 in the final rotation, where George once again led the lineup. She matched a season-high 9.875 for second on the event, and was one of four Bears with a career or season-best total. Seilnacht set a career-best 9.875 in the leadoff spot, Maya Bordas anchored with a career-high 9.825, and Nina Schank set a new personal best 9.85 in just the third floor performance of her career. 

The Bears continue a four-meet Bay Area homestand with two road meets in the next two weeks, starting at Sacramento State on Friday, March 1 at 7 p.m.

"I'm pretty pleased with everybody and I think this puts us in a good position heading into our next few weeks in the Bay Area," Howell added.