UCLA’s Degteva, Bhardwaj Win Titles

A day after they helped UCLA win the NCAA women’s gymnastics team championship, Lena Degteva and Mohini Bhardwaj won individual titles Saturday night.

Degteva, a senior from Mississauga, Ontario, won the balance beam. Bhardwaj, a junior from Cincinnati, won the uneven bars.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Degteva, who won the beam with a mark of 9.913. “I was tired going into the routine and I didn’t expect much. When I came off the beam, I looked in my teammates’ eyes and I knew it was good.”

Bhardwaj, who finished second in the beam, won the uneven bars with a mark of 9.95. Degteva tied for third at 9.888.

“Early in the competition, it was more mental nervousness,” Bhardwaj said. “But toward the end, you had to be mentally tough because you’re dead. You have no energy left.”

Degteva is the third UCLA athlete to win the beam championship. Jill Andrews won in 1989 and Kiralee Hayashi was co-champion last year.

Bhardwaj is UCLA’s second bars champion. Heidi Moneymaker won the event in 1998 and finished 10th Saturday.

Nebraska’s Heather Brink, who won the all-around title Thursday, won the vault, scoring 9.95s on two vaults. Moneymaker, the defending champion in the event, stepped slightly on both landings and finished fourth with an average of 9.8375.

Suzanne Sears of Georgia won the floor exercise with a 9.95.