Fullerton Upsets No. 1 UCLA at Santa Barbara Gym Meet

The Cal State Fullerton men’s gymnastics team defeated No. 1-ranked UCLA and four other schools in the UC Santa Barbara Invitational Friday night at Goleta, Calif.

The Titans, ranked No. 3 in the nation, scored 279.35 points. They were followed by UCLA (277.35), Illinois (276.75), defending NCAA champion Arizona State (276.65), Minnesota (270.0) and UCSB (261.15). It was the first time in nine years that Fullerton has defeated UCLA.

Fullerton was led by freshman Bill Barham, who won the all-round competition with 56.15 points. Arizona State’s Paul Lynne was second (56.10), and Illinois’ Dave Romero third (55.85). The Titans’ Eli Rodriquez finished sixth.

Fullerton’s Li Xiao Ting finished first on the parallel bars (9.75) and tied UCLA’s Tony Pineda for first on the pommel horse (9.8). Rodriquez and teammate Russell Lacy tied ASU’s Jerry Burrell for the top vault score (9.4).