UCLA Falls to Cal, 198.050-196.925
Berkeley, Calif. - UCLA recorded season-highs on vault and floor exercise but ran into a red-hot California team that recorded a school record team total in a 198.050-196.925 victory.
UCLA began the meet with a big score of 49.450 on uneven bars. Chae Campbell set the tone early with a new career-best mark of 9.875 to lead off the event. Savannah Kooyman followed with a 9.825, and Sara Ulias added a 9.875, her third consecutive meet scoring 9.875 or better. After Frida Esparza's 9.850, Nia Dennis and Margzetta Frazier closed with 9.9+ marks, as Dennis scored 9.900 and Frazier earned her second consecutive 9.950.
Marz loves bars, and we love her anchoring on the event! @IAmMargzetta's 9.95 gives us a team total of 49.450!
💻 https://t.co/w2H0VeTve7 #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/9gm75irV01
— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) March 6, 2021
The Bruins went into rotation two with a 49.450-49.225 lead and scored a season-high 49.375 on vault, led by a perfect score of 9.95 from Campbell on her Yurchenko layout full. Dennis also received one perfect mark from a judge and a final score of 9.925, and Kendal Poston contributed a season-high 9.875. However, the Bruins fell behind, 99.050-98.825 after a juggernaut performance on uneven bars by Cal. The Golden Bears scored a NCAA record-tying 49.825, with all six routines going 9.9 or better, including a perfect 10 from Emi Watterson.
It's PERFECT! @chae_2001 scores 9.95 on her vault, the maximum possible score for her Yurchenko full!
💻 https://t.co/w2H0VeTve7#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/q3wmVxzy1r
— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) March 6, 2021
UCLA recorded another season-high on floor exercise, scoring 49.450, but Cal continued to up the game with another school record of 49.500 on balance beam. Pauline Tratz led the floor squad with a career-high-tying 9.95 that gave her a share of the floor title. Campbell and Frazier added 9.925s, and Sekai Wright tied her career-high with a 9.875.
While Cal was churning out another 49.500 on floor in the final rotation, UCLA fell short on beam, counting a fall and totaling 48.650. Samantha Sakti was the Bruins' top scorer with a 9.925, her fourth 9.9+ score of the season. Campbell added a 9.875 to give her an all-around total of 39.625, a new career-high.
The Bruins will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Mar. 13 against San Jose State in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The meet is UCLA's Pride Meet, as well as Senior Day. A live stream will be available at www.pac-12.com/live/ucla.