GAINESVILLE, Fla., April 23, 2010 – The University of California-Los Angeles won its sixth NCAA women’s team title at the 2010 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Individual event finals are on Saturday, April 24, at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the individual event finals live online at www.ncaa.com, and CBS will broadcast tape-delayed coverage of the women’s national championships team finals on Saturday, May 8, at 2 p.m. ET.
"I strongly believe that the foundation of this team and of this championship was built on the strong foundation and efforts of our senior, Anna Li, and our two fifth-years," said Bruins coach Valorie Kondos-Field. "They build that foundation and this team believed and trusted. Sacrifice wasn’t a negative word, it was a positive word. We knew, regardless of where we finished, if we did it right and did it with integrity, we would have no regrets."
UCLA, who earned the highest team semifinal score, posted 197.725 to win the national team title. The University of Oklahoma wrapped up its first appearance in the Super Six by finishing in second place, edging out the University of Alabama, 197.250 to 197.225. Stanford University was fourth (197.100), meet-host University of Florida finished fifth (197.000), and nine-time national champion University of Utah finished sixth at 196.225.
"Looking back on the whole thing, it’s so exciting," said Li, who posted three 9.9 scores. " We talked as a team today and we decided we were just going to have fun today and that’s how we’ve been the whole season. We were in our own Bruin bubble and we brought that Bruin bubble to Florida. It’s what we trained and what we prepared for. We just had fun out there. It’s still not real yet."
UCLA scored the top marks on vault (49.475), balance beam (49.375) and floor exercise (49.550). Alabama recorded the highest uneven bars total, without anchor Ashley Priess, at 49.425.
In the final rotation, five squads eclipsed the 197.000 mark for the first time in NCAA team finals history.
The NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships began with a 12-team field and 19 individual athletes that advanced from six NCAA Regional Championships. The top three teams from each semifinal advanced to the Super Six team finals. The top four individual gymnasts from both semifinal sessions in each event (plus ties) advanced to the individual-event competition Saturday, April 24, at 6 p.m.
2010 Women’s NCAA National Gymnastics Championships
Stephen C. O’Connell Center
Gainesville, Fla.
April 23, 2010
Team Finals Results
Team results
1. University of California-Los Angeles, 197.725
2. University of Oklahoma, 197.250
3. University of Alabama, 197.225
4. Stanford University, 197.100
5. University of Florida, 197.000
6. University of Utah, 196.225