UCLA, Stanford Advance to Finals

Pushed by a quartet of high-flying, high-energy performances on the uneven bars and capped by a rousing tumbling routine by Jeanette Antolin on the floor exercise mat, UCLA’s women’s gymnastics team advanced to tonight’s Super Six finals of the NCAA Championships at Pauley Pavilion.

With the top three in each of two six-team qualifying sessions advancing to the finals, UCLA scored 197.675 in the evening session, which was the highest total of the day. Alabama finished second Thursday night with 197.325, and Utah was third at 196.925.

Joining defending national champion UCLA, Alabama and Utah, which has won a record nine NCAA titles, in the finals will be Pac-10 champion Stanford, Florida and Georgia. Stanford and Florida, which have never won an NCAA championship, tied for first in the afternoon session, scoring 196.850. Georgia finished third at 196.775.

In something of an upset, though, UCLA senior Antolin, who had been favored to win the all-around title and who had scored seven straight 10s on the vault, finished tied for second in the all-around scoring Thursday and failed to qualify for the vault finals Saturday. She did, however, tie Utah’s Melissa Vituj for the highest score of the night on floor exercise with a 9.950, even though the UCLA fans uttered some boos after they were shouting “Ten, ten, ten.” There were no 10s Thursday night.

Instead it was Alabama senior Jeana Rice, who had won 14 of her final 17 all-around competitions, who won the 2004 title with a score of 39.650 to the 39.600 of Antolin and LSU’s April Burkholder.

UCLA qualified Kate Richardson to the vault final; Jamie Dantzscher, Antolin, Kristen Maloney and Kate Richardson to the uneven bars final; and Antolin to the floor exercise finals.

Valorie Kondos Field, UCLA’s coach, said her team found its rhythm on the second rotation, the uneven bars. “We talk about getting into that rhythm,” Kondos Field said, “but sometimes each individual wants to rush her skills. I felt we found a calm confidence at that point.”

Kondos Field said Antolin, who took a step out of her vault landing, was disappointed at missing out on the all-around title because, Kondos Field said, “she knew exactly what she did. She tried too hard to stick the landing.”

Stanford gymnasts sparkled on the floor exercise with three scoring at least 9.9.

Florida was led by junior All-American Erinn) Dooley had scores of 9.9 on the vault and floor exercise.