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Pac-12 Conference

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of Champions

No. 7 Cal gymnastics advances to NCAA Regional Final

Mar 31, 2023

PITTSBURGH, Penn.- The No. 7 California women's gymnastics team took first in its NCAA Regional session Friday morning to advance to Sunday's Regional Final. The Golden Bears will now have a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in program history.
 
Cal led the pack with a score of 197.250 followed by No. 10 Michigan State, which also qualified for Sunday's meet with a 196.825. Western Michigan (196.175) and West Vriginia (195.850) placed third and fourth, respectively, and were eliminated from the postseason.
 
It was an excellent day for Gabby Perea who scored a 9.900 or better on all three events she competed in and made the podium on two events. The junior earned a share of the uneven bars title and tied for second on the balance beam.

The Bears began the day on beam and tallied a fair opening score of 49.275 that gave them the lead after the first rotation. Four of the first six routines went for a 9.825 or better showing Cal's consistency on the event even when it doesn't have its best its best performance. The anchor of the apparatus was Perea who was one of just six gymnasts in the meet to score a 9.900.
 
The second rotation took Cal to the floor where it had their best score of the day with a 49.550 that ranks fifth in program history. Their lowest individual score was a 9.875 with four Bears scoring a 9.900 or better. Freshman eMjae Frazier, a WCGA first-team All-American on the event, took home gold with a 9.95 and sophomore Maddie Williams tied her career-high of 9.925 to take second. Sophomore Mya Lauzon and Perea tied for sixth with a 9.900.
 
After leading the first two rotations, Cal slipped in to second place following a 48.925 on vault. Junior Andi Li (9.850) and senior Nevaeh DeSouza (9.800) were the only Bears to post a 9.800 or better as the team fell behind Michigan State 147.800-147.750.
 
Luckily, the final rotation occurred on the team's the strongest event this season – the uneven bars.
 
Cal did not allow the vault miscue to snowball and instead rose to the occasion with the top bars score of the day of 49.500. Perea and sophomore Ella Cesario tied for first place with a 9.950 and were the only two competitors to achieve that score in the meet. It was a career high for Cesario who anchored the lineup. Williams just missed the podium placing fifth with a 9.900 and DeSouza and Frazier each tallied a 9.850 ending the day on a high note for the Bears.

After the scores were tallied the Bears mobbed the Petersen Center bracket and posted their team's sticker on the next branch. Sunday's contest will feature Michigan State and the top two teams from tonight's quad meet with No. 2 Florida, No. 15 Arizona State, Maryland and Penn State. First rotation is set for 2 p.m. PT with the top two teams heading to Fort Worth, Texas for the NCAA Championships.