UCLA GYMNASTICS @Uclagymnastics (Twitter/Instagram) | Facebook.Com/Uclagymnastics Contact: LIZA DAVID / [email protected] / 310-206-8140
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UCLA GYMNASTICS www.uclabruins.com @uclagymnastics (Twitter/Instagram) | facebook.com/uclagymnastics Contact: LIZA DAVID / [email protected] / 310-206-8140 Pac-12 students are known for their athletic success, but they are also impressive, complete people with outside interests, diverse backgrounds, extracurricular activities, interesting families, busy schedules, and full lives. The release for this week’s competition is focused on who UCLA students are in the classroom and community. ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHT TOP PERFORMERS Danusia Francis worked in the Athletics Peer Learning Lab as a Peer Learning 10 team members earned a spot on the Director’s Honor Roll for the Facilitator during the 2014-15 school year. At the lab, undergraduate Peer Fall Quarter: Learning Facilitators (“tutors”) provide academic guidance for UCLA student- athletes in group and individual peer learning sessions. The mission in each peer 3.5 and above: learning session is to cultivate student-athletes’ learning independence by helping Sadiqua Bynum Mikaela Gerber them gain self -awareness of their learning habits, communicate their educational Christine Peng-Peng Lee needs, set attainable goals, and develop the skills necessary to meet their personal Jennifer Pinches expectations. 3.0 and above: *** Matteah Brow Angi Cipra With the Bruins being underclassman heavy, only seven team members have JaNay Honest Sonya Meraz declared a major. Sociology is the most popular major among the UCLA team Melissa Metcalf members, with four in the major: Sadiqua Bynum, Sophina DeJesus, Christine Hallie Mossett Peng-Peng Lee and Hallie Mossett. Mikaela Gerber is a psychology major, Angi Cipra is majoring in economics, and Danusia Francis is an English major. HOBBY HUDDLE Christine Peng-Peng Lee, Hallie COMMUNITY CORNER Mossett and team manager Alex Waller have teamed up to become UCLA gymnastics team members are regular volunteers for Dribble for the Cure, an in-demand singing group who has performed the national anthem which raises money and awareness in the fight against children’s cancer. They also at a UCLA gymnastics and a UCLA participate annually as mentors, coaches and ambassadors in the Prime Time Swimming & Diving meet. They will Games “Championship Saturday”. Prime Time Games is a full-inclusion peer- also be singing at the Mar. 2 UCLA mentor sports program in which economically disadvantaged and underserved Men’s Basketball game. middle school students from the Team Prime Time after-school program coach and play alongside children with developmental disabilities. NUTRITIONAL CORNER Pre-competition meal: FAMILY TIES *Entrée with a lean source of protein Three Bruins had older sisters who competed in the Pac-12. Junior Mikaela Gerber *Salad (with dressing on the side), is the younger sister of UCLA All-American Aisha Gerber, who was a member of fruit or vegetables for sides *Red sauces for pastas and whole the Bruins’ 2010 NCAA Championship team. Freshman Nicki Shapiro is the sister grains over white grains of Stanford All-American gymnast and 2015 graduate Samantha Shapiro. And whenever possible redshirt freshman Melissa Metcalf is the younger sister of former Washington *Drink water with every meal gymnast Sheridan Metcalf, who competed in 2014 and is now a student coach. University of California – Los Angeles | #complete12 UCLA GYMNASTICS 2016 Contact: Liza David / Phone: (310) 206-8140 / Fax: (310) 825-8664 / E-Mail: [email protected] For Immediate Release: Feb. 17, 2016 UCLA vs. Washington - The Matchup THIS WEEK UCLA leads the all-time regular season series with 2016 SCHEDULE/RESULTS #7 UCLA vs. Washington Washington, 60-3. The two teams faced each other Overall: 4-2 / Pac-12: 3-1 Sunday, Feb. 21 - 1:00 pm twice last season, with UCLA winning the dual meet in Los Angeles, 197.000-194.500, and fi nishing ahead of National Ranking: 7th TV: Pac-12 Networks (Jim Watson, Samantha Peszek) Washington at the Pac-12 Championships. The Huskies Live Stats: gohuskies.com are coming off their best performance of the season JANUARY in a loss at Utah, scoring a season-high 196.250 and 10 #3 ALABAMA (TV: P12) W 196.550-196.300 posting season-best team scores on vault (49.075) and 15 at #3 Florida L 196.925-197.675 UCLA Travels to Seattle for Sunday Meet fl oor (49.3). Allison Northey set a new career-high in the all-around with a 39.550. 23 at Arizona (TV: P12) W 196.800-196.475 No. 7 UCLA (4-2, 3-1 in the Pac-12) travels to Washington (3-6, 2-2) for a Sunday, Feb. 21 meet at 1pm at Alaska Airlines Arena. The meet will be televised live on Pac-12 Last Time Out FEBRUARY Networks, with Jim Watson and Samantha Peszek calling UCLA scored season-highs on vault (49.35)and beam 1 at #21 California (TV:P12) L 195.175-196.375 the action. This will be the fi rst of two trips to Seattle in (49.5) en route to a season-high score of 197.475 in a 6 #7 UTAH (TV: P12) W 197.100-197.075 less than a month. The Bruins will return on Mar. 19 for late-night dual meet win over Oregon State, who scored the Pac-12 Championships. 196.225, on Saturday. Three Bruins fl irted with perfec- 13 #16 OREGON ST. (TV: P12) W 197.475-196.225 tion, as Sophina DeJesus and Sadiqua Bynum earned 21 at Washington (TV: P12) 1 pm Follow Live scores of 9.975 on beam and fl oor, respectively, while Danusia Francis earned a 10 from one judge en route 27 ARIZONA STATE (TV: P12) 1 pm Live stats will be available at gohuskies.com. Live up- to a 9.95 on beam. Francis competed all-around for dates can also be found on Twitter: @UCLAGymnastics. the fi rst time in her four-year career and won the meet MARCH with a score of 39.45. Sonya Meraz was second with a 6 GEORGIA/STANFORD (TV: P12) 12 pm Pac-12 Snapchat Takeover career-high 39.4. Freshman Madison Preston picked up UCLA Gymnastics is taking over the Pac-12 Conference’s her fi rst event win, tying with teammate JaNay Honest 13 OKLAHOMA (TV: P12) 2 pm Snapchat on Feb. 20 and 21 during the Pac-12’s #Com- for fi rst on vault with a 9.9. 19 at Pac-12s (TV: P12) TBD plete12 campaign. Follow the Pac-12 at pac12confer- ence all week as diff erent schools and teams are taking DeJesus Named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week over the account to showcase the complete lives of APRIL Senior Sophina DeJesus was named the Pac-12 Gymnas- Pac-12 student-athletes. tics Specialist of the Week after scoring a near-perfect 2 at NCAA Regionals TBD 9.975 on the balance beam against Oregon State on 15 at NCAA Semifi nals (TV: ESPNU) TBD Sophina on Ellen Saturday. Coming off a week in which she became a 16 at NCAA Finals (TV: ESPNU) 7 pm CT After a week in which she became a worldwide viral star, viral internet sensation, DeJesus gave another standout senior Sophina DeJesus made her biggest appearance performance, this time on the beam. She came close All home meets are BOLD and held at Pauley Pavilion. yet with a guest turn on The Ellen Show on Wednesday. to scoring a perfect 10 on the apparatus, receiving a All times listed are local to site. While at the Ellen Show, DeJesus did a modifi ed version 10 from one judge and a 9.95 from the other to shatter of her fl oor routine and reminisced with Ellen about her career-high with a 9.975. It was her fi rst career win her fi rst appearance on the show 10 years ago when on the beam, and it helped the Bruins set a new team NATIONAL RANKINGS she performed with her dance crew Diamonds in the season-high on the event with a 49.5. She followed up Rough. DeJesus and her teammates also danced on with a 9.9 on fl oor exercise to fi nish third. Her scores Gymnast V UB BB FX AA Bynum – – – 13t – stage during a commercial break with dancer/actor/ helped the Bruins defeat Oregon State with a season- Cipra – – – 8t – Ellen DJ Stephen “tWitch” Boss. best score of 197.475. DeJesus – – 23t 8t – DeJesus gained overnight fame when a video of her Francis – – 2 – 8t fl oor exercise routine went viral on Super Bowl weekend. High Marks Meraz – – – – 12 The video has topped 28 million views on Facebook at After six meets, UCLA has posted 11 9.95 scores this Mossett – – – 8t – 11 million on YouTube. DeJesus was the top trending season - Danusia Francis three times on beam, Christine Preston – – – 25t – topic on Facebook for two days and has been featured Peng-Peng Lee and Sophina DeJesus once on beam, Shapiro – – 4t – – on countless news programs and websites around the Sadiqua Bynum three times on fl oor, Angi Cipra twice Team 10 15 7 1 7 world, including People Magazine, Time, New York on fl oor and Hallie Mossett once on fl oor. Francis leads Times, BuzzFeed, Upworthy, Good Morning America, The the crew with 12 9.95+ scores in her career (11 on beam CAREER-HIGH MARKS Today Show, NPR and Cosmo. Celebrities such as Reese and 1 on fl oor). Lee has eight (3 on bars, 5 on beam), Witherspoon, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris and Ashton Kutcher Bynum has four, all on fl oor. Cipra has three on fl oor, and Gymnast V UB BB FX AA posted about her routine on social media. Mossett has one on fl oor.