UCLA Women Vault Into West Regional
Defending NCAA women’s gymnastics champion UCLA will try to take another step toward a repeat when it hosts the West Regional tonight at Pauley Pavilion.
The Bruins will compete against Brigham Young, Oregon State, Cal State Fullerton, California and Boise State for two spots in the NCAA championships April 21 at Athens, Ga. The meet begins at 6 p.m.
Despite finishing second to Stanford in the Pacific 10 Conference meet last week, UCLA has been ranked No. 1 in the nation all season. Senior Mohini Bhardwaj, sophomore Onnie Willis and freshmen Jamie Dantzscher and Kristin Maloney are expected to compete in the all-around.
The Bruins have won seven of the last eight regional meets. Last season, they defeated Oregon State by nearly a point with Bhardwaj winning the all-around, uneven bars and balance beam events.
Cal State Fullerton, which earned its first regional berth in four years, is led by sophomore Kelly Mathiasen, who won the Big West all-around title last week.
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