Canadian Bruin Is Pacific-10’s Best Gymnast

UCLA gymnast Leah Homma, a junior, has been competing against the best gymnasts in the world since she represented Canada in an international meet in Stuttgart, Germany, when she was 12.

“I got started in gymnastics when I was 4 and began competing when I was 9,” said Homma, now 21, a two-time All-American and last year’s Pacific 10 Conference gymnast of the year. “There’s been many times when I’ve wanted to quit. One time I told my dad that I had too much homework to train, but that did not last long, and that’s the closest I’ve ever come to quitting.”

On Saturday, Homma will lead the Bruin women in the UCLA/Gilda Marx Invitational at Pauley Pavilion, a meet featuring teams from Brigham Young, Cal State Fullerton and Arizona. The UCLA men will also compete, against New Mexico, Arizona State and a Bruin alumni team.

“I am very excited about this meet,” said Homma, who finished second in the Canadian national championships in both 1991 and 1992 but was unable to compete in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics because of a knee injury. “We have so much talent on this team, it’s scary. We haven’t proven ourselves yet, but we have a good shot of winning it all.”

Homma, from Toronto, already has moves named after her in the international code of points, the Homma flip on the beam and the Homma flares in floor exercise. That happened when she was 15 and finished 28th among 150 gymnasts at the World Championships in 1989, helping Canada to sixth place.

After missing the 1992 Olympic Games, Homma decided that she wanted to go to college in the United States, so she asked her personal coach, Carol Orchard, to compile a list of choices. Homma then chose UCLA, even though she had never been to California.

“The first time I came to Los Angeles, I had already decided on UCLA,” Homma said. “Then, once I got here, everything was perfect. I couldn’t imagine myself being anywhere else.”

Homma has been steady this season, going undefeated in all-around competition and placing no lower than second on bars. On Jan. 27, in a triangular meet against Arizona and Stanford, she won the all-around and the beam, was second on bars and in floor exercise, and third in the vault.

Homma’s best event is the bars, where she consistently scores among the world’s best.

“I think the reason . . . is because I’m the least nervous in that event,” she said. “So, in turn, I usually score my highest there.”

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Long Beach State’s Tom Hoff got off to a strong start in his run for national volleyball player of the year with 35 kills and a .509 hitting percentage in leading the 49ers to two wins last week. Hoff also had 13 digs and nine blocks. Long Beach State’s defense was also impressive in limiting opponents to a hitting percentage of .151 in two matches.

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USC’s Brian Hull was the only amateur qualifier for the Nissan Open, Feb. 22-25. Hull shot a 69, two under par, at the Yorba Linda Country Club to lead a field of 75.

Hull, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara, won the first tournament he played for the Trojans, the USA-Japan Topy Cup matches at Tanagura, Japan, in September.

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University Beat Notes

UCLA, defending NCAA men’s volleyball champion, is ranked second this season. The Bruins are led by Paul Nihipali, who spiked a season-high 25 kills in their loss to No. 1 Hawaii in last week’s final of the Outrigger Hotels Invitational at Hawaii. The Rainbows ended UCLA’s 22-match winning streak with a 15-14, 12-15, 15-8, 16-4 victory. . . . UCLA will have its annual softball Alumnae Day on Sunday, with current and former Bruins working with players of all levels. The player-coach clinic starts at 9 a.m., with the alumnae game at 1 p.m. Fee for the clinic is $25. . . . USC will hold the Southern California Invitational swim meet, featuring 12 teams from around the Southland, at the McDonald’s Swim Stadium beginning Friday.