No. 5 Cal Heads To NCAA Championships
BERKELEY – The fifth-ranked California women's gymnastics team will compete at the NCAA Championships starting on Friday at 10 a.m. PT at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. If the Bears can be one of the top two teams in their semifinal, they will advance to Saturday's National Championship, which will be at 12:30 p.m. PT. Friday's semifinal will be broadcast on ESPN2, while Saturday's presentation of the final four on the floor will be broadcast on ABC, both broadcasts can be streamed digitally on ESPN+
The Bears posted the second- and third-best scores in program history at the NCAA Regional in Morgantown in order to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
The Bears will be making their fourth-ever team appearance at the NCAA Championship, having previously appeared in 1992, 2016 and 2018. The Bears have had a representative at the NCAA Championship every year since 2014, sending individuals on four of those occasions, most recently Milan Clausi who appeared as a freshman in 2019.
The Bears enter the 2021 NCAA Championship coming off the best regular season in school history. This year, Cal has set program records on uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and have recorded four of the top five team scores in program history including the top three.
The Bears are ranked fifth in the country, the best ranking in school history and they recorded the top NCAA Pac-12 Championship and NCAA Regionals scores in school history. Four Bears earned All-American honors and five Cal student-athletes combined for 12 All-Pac-12 honors both of which were program bests. The Bears also swept the WCGA Region 6 Awards.
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Cal will be one of eight teams headed to the NCAA Gymnastics Championship, which will be held on April 16-17 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The Bears will be part of the first semifinal which will be at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on Friday, April 16 and be broadcast on ESPN2. If the Bears can be one of the top two teams in the semifinal they will advance to the final four on the floor on Saturday, which will take place at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
PILING UP PROGRAM RECORDS
Cal has had a record-breaking season on many fronts as the team has posted five of the top nine total team scores in program history this year, including the top mark in the Bears' home meet vs. UCLA and the second and third best marks at NCAA Regionals. Cal has also totaled three of the top 12 marks on vault, six of the top 13 uneven bars scores, three of the top four beam rotations and four of the top six floor scores in program history during the 2021 season.
CAL SWEEPS REGIONAL AWARDS
The Cal women's gymnastics team swept the WCGA Region 6 Awards announced this week as Kyana George is the Gymnast of the Year, Josh Hummel is the Administrator of the Year, Janelle McDonald is the Assistant Coach of the Year and Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall-Howell are the Co-Coaches of the Year.
GEORGE NAMED AAI AWARD FINALIST
Kyana George was named as a finalist for the AAI Award this week. The award is given annually to the top senior women's gymnast in the country and there are six gymnasts who have been named as finalists. George has put together a stellar career at Cal, winning 42 events and recording 96 top-three finishes.
FOUR BEARS NAMED WCGA ALL-AMERICANS
Four Cal student-athletes were named as WCGA Regular Season All-Americans. All four were named to the second team after standout individual seasons, which saw them place in the nation's top 16. Nevaeh DeSouza (All-Around), Kyana George (Floor), Nina Schank (Uneven Bars) and Andi Li (Uneven Bars) earned distinction. That is the most All-Americans that Cal has had in one season.
FIVE BEARS EARN 12 ALL-PAC-12 HONORS
Cal set a school record with 12 All-Pac-12 honors, tied for most in the conference. Kyana George and Nevaeh DeSouza each earned four. While Maya Bordas (2), Nina Schank (1) and Andi Li (1) rounded out Cal's honorees. Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell were also honored as the Pac-12 Co-Coaches of the Year.
COMING UP CLUTCH AT NCAA REGIONALS
The Bears recorded two of the team's top three program scores at the NCAA Regionals, posting a 197.725 in the semifinals and 197.750 at the finals. When the Bears needed a rotation to qualify for the Championships, they posted a season-high vault score of 49.375.
WINNING WAYS
The Bears have seen contributions from all over their lineup as 10 different student-athletes have combined for 46 victories this season. Kyana George leads the way with 16, while Nevaeh DeSouza has eight. Andi Li and Nina Schank have both won six individual events this year. Maya Bordas and Emi Watterson have won three individual titles, while Natalie Sadighi, Alma Kuc, Maya Green and Milan Clausi each have one victory this year.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Join Cal Women's Gymnastics in the social media realm for behind-the-scenes access to the Bears. Follow Cal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for meet scores, practice updates, exclusive photos, videos and more. Find Cal at:
• Twitter: @CalWGym
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