WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS : Andrews, UCLA Women Dominate Invitational

Given the competition, Saturday night’s UCLA-Los Angeles Times Women’s Gymnastics Invitational went pretty much as expected.

The Bruins, ranked seventh in the nation, won with a meet-record score of 191.45.

And their star gymnast, Jill Andrews, with one of the strongest performances of her career before 4,358 at Pauley Pavilion, added another individual all-around title to her resume.

The only legitimate competitor in the four-team meet, No. 12 Cal State Fullerton, finished second at 187.95. No. 20 Penn State and New Mexico posted respective scores of 187.00 and 184.20.

The 5-foot-2 Andrews, an All-American with four individual titles in six meets this season, stole the show. She was nearly perfect, winning all events except the bars competition, which went to Fullerton’s Heather Thomas with a meet-record score of 9.80.

“It’s my last year and I want to go out in good form,” explained Andrews, a senior whose intense concentration is one of the reasons she was recruited by Coach Jerry Tomlinson four years ago.

Said Tomlinson: “When I saw the look in her eye, I said I want that kid.”

And now that kid from Cupertino, Calif., could end up leading the Bruins to a national championship.

Her scores Saturday night: a meet-record 9.95 on the vault, a 9.60 on the bars, 9.70 on the beam and 9.80 on the floor.

Her chances of winning the floor competition improved when the Bruins’ Kim Hamilton, a three-time NCAA individual floor champion, sprained her toe and arch warming up for the final event.

Hamilton is expected to miss the Bruins’ next meet March 2 against Washington.

But Andrews danced and flipped and twisted as the crowd stood and rocked along with Andrews and her heavy-metal music.

The Bruins opened an early lead during the meet’s first rotation when Hamilton scored a 9.85 on the combined scores of her two vaults.