NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Meet : Garrison-Steves Takes Top Individual Honors

Kelly Garrison-Steves took her first vault warm-up Saturday night and was making the long walk back to the starting line when a spectator yelled, “Kelly, you’re just a showoff.”

Garrison-Steves looked up at the crowd, smiled and waved. A one-two motion she is used to performing.

A junior at Oklahoma and a gold medalist on the beam in the 1987 Pan American Games, Garrison-Steves qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championships, held at the University of Utah, by winning 20 consecutive all-around titles. Her team did not qualify.

On Friday, she won her second straight national all-around title by setting an NCAA record with a score of 38.90. In the process, she was the only gymnast who qualified to compete for all four events in Saturday night’s individual competition.

So when the other girls were warming up for one event, or maybe two, Garrison-Steves was making the rounds, hitting them all, which is exactly what she almost did.

She took first place on the uneven bars (9.85) and on the beam (9.90), breaking two NCAA records in the process. She placed fourth in the vault and tied for fifth in the floor exercise, in a routine which she might have won had she not fallen out of her triple back-flip.

Had she been scored again for the all-around, she would have set another record, with a total of 39.10.

“I think the crowd likes a good performance, not only when I do well but when anybody does,” Garrison-Steves said. “I think they realize the talent and the potential I have for the Olympic Games.”

What Garrison-Steves didn’t win, UCLA’s top two performers did--with Kim Hamilton winning the floor exercise and Jill Andrews taking the vault. Not a surprise, when you consider Garrison-Steves, Andrews and Hamilton placed 1-2-3 in Friday’s all-around competition.

Hamilton, the defending champion in floor exercise, earned a standing ovation with her routine to the music of “Mission Impossible,” and a score of 9.80, tying her own record set last year. In light of the competition from Garrison-Steve, it was a good choice of music.

“I felt pressure from Kelly on the floor routine,” Hamilton said. “But, I just figured I would give 100% and that’s all I could expect from myself. I had fun. “

Andrews, a sophomore, won the vault with two difficult routines for a score of 9.625, tying an NCAA record set in 1985 by Elaine Alfano of Utah. This season, Andrews had scored 9.9 twice in the vault, her best event.

“I felt a lot more relaxed than last night,” Andrews said. “ Team competition is more pressure than individual. You know your team is counting on you, and you don’t want to let them down. In individual, if you win, it’s just icing on the cake.”

Bruin junior Amy Lucena tied for second with Gina Banales of Georgia with a score of 9.575.

UCLA, which had four team members compete in three events, finished 1-2 in the vault, first and eighth (Renee Kelly) in the floor exercise and sixth on the bars (Hamilton).

Cal State Fullerton freshman Lisa Dolan finished in a three-way tie for second place on the beam with a 9.65, along with Andrea Thomas of Georgia and Yumi Mordre of Washington. Dolan, ranked No. 20 among women college gymnasts before the nationals, placed 23rd (out of 83) in Friday’s all-around competition.

Dolan, along with teammate Stacy Harris, qualified for the NCAA championships as individuals. Cal State Fullerton finished in 13th place. Only the top 12 teams in the country compete in the nationals.