PAC-10 NEWS 1350 Treat Boulevard, Suite 500 Walnut Creek, California 94597-8853 For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 Contact: Nicole Goyette 2009 PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE WOMEN S GYMNASTICS THIS WEEK IN THE PAC-10: Two of the top collegiate gymnastics programs of all-time will battle it out in a dual meet on Sunday, Mar. 8, when sixth-ranked and five-time NCAA champion UCLA (10-2) hosts top-ranked and nine-time NCAA champion Georgia (10-0). The meet will be televised live on Fox Sports Prime Ticket. Sunday's meet will match the only two gymnasts in the nation who have posted multiple perfect 10s this season - UCLA's Vanessa Zamarripa and Georgia's Courtney Kupets. Zamarripa has totaled perfect marks on vault three times this season, including two in consecutive meets on Feb. 15 and Feb. 22. Kupets also has three perfect 10s on the season, but on three different apparatuses: bars, beam and, for the first time in her career, floor. But the NCAA Championships preparation jump starts on Friday, Mar. 6, when No. 3 STANFORD visits fifthranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide jumped six places in the national rankings this week after posting its highest score of the season (197.35 against Auburn on Friday) and its highest road score of the year (196.625 at Penn State) during a three-day span. Alternately, a loss to unranked San Jose State on Friday was the first for Stanford (13-1) after opening the season at 12-0, and first to San Jose State (12-1) in their annual series since 2005. The score (193.95) was a season-low for Stanford after a streak of three consecutive meet scores that exceeded 197. Also on Friday, Mar. 6, No. 22 WASHINGTON will meet No. 9 OREGON STATE for the 111th time in program history at the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational tri-meet with Seattle Pacific. Though the Beavers hold the all-time series advantage at 83-27, the Huskies snapped a six-year, 12-meet losing streak when the two teams last met two weeks ago. The CALIFORNIA Bears face three opponents this week during a trip to Michigan. On Friday they will compete in Kalamazoo against the Western Michigan Broncos, a squad that is 1-16 on the season but coming off of its strongest meet of the year where they posted a season-high team total of 192.875. The Broncos currently have an RQS of 188.665, below Cal's 189.755. The No. 16 ARIZONA Wildcats, currently on a four-meet win streak, return to McKale for their last home meet of the season, hosting Denver. The Pioneers will be facing their 10th ranked opponent this season behind senior Jessica Lopez who leads the team in all individual averages but floor exercise. No. 2 Utah hosts longtime rival ARIZONA STATE (2-5). The Utes, out with a bye last week, meets an ASU team coming off its best win of the season against Washington. On Sunday, Mar. 8, the Golden Bears will compete in a tri-meet against Michigan State and Ball State. Michigan State fell out of the top-25 this week with an RQS of 194.525. Ball State posts a 191.760 average, ranking it No. 49. PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE: Tickets are now on sale for the Pacific-10 Conference Women's Gymnastics Championships, which will be held at Stanford's Maples Pavilion on March 21 at 4 p.m. Prices are $8 for adults, $5 for students, youths, and seniors, and $3 each for groups of 10 or more that have pre-ordered. For additional information, call 800-STANFORD or visit gostanford.com.
Pac-10 Women s Gymnastics Release/March 4, 2009! Page 2 COMPETITION SCHEDULE, MAR. 2-8: *All times are Pacific Friday, March 6 CALIFORNIA at Western Michigan, 4 p.m. STANFORD at Alabama, 5:30 p.m. Denver at ARIZONA, 6 p.m. ARIZONA STATE at Utah, 6 p.m. Seattle Pacific/WASHINGTON at OREGON STATE (Salbasgeon Suites Invitational), 7 p.m. Sunday, March 8 Ball State/CALIFORNIA at Michigan State, 11 a.m. Georgia at UCLA, 2 p.m. PAC-10 GYMNAST AND EVENT SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK (Feb. 24 - Mar. 2): Arizona State s Beaté Jones and Oregon State junior Mandi Rodriguez garnered this week s Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week and Special Performance of the Week honors, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today. Jones had a career night against Washington last weekend that culminates in her first career Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week honor, while Rodriguez merits Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week for flirting with perfection on the floor exercise against Conference heavyweight UCLA. The accolades are for the week of Feb. 24-Mar. 2. Jones, from Neptune, N.J., has been a sparkplug for the Sun Devils this season and a model of consistency. The sophomore garnered first place finishes in three contests and three career high event scores on a night that placed her atop the all-around podium. Jones nailed her landing on vault to win the event with a 9.875. Attacking the bars in the next rotation, she scored her first career high of the evening to the tune of 9.825. On beam Jones nailed a 9.8 and tied her career best for the second time this season. Rounding out the competition on floor, Jones earned the second 9.9 of her career, won the event, and sealed her all-around victory. Her meet total of 39.4 is a personal record for Jones; it is also the highest all-around score of the year for any Sun Devil. With the leadership Jones provided against Washington, the Sun Devils amassed their best score (195.575) and second win of the season. Rodriguez posted a season-high 9.925 on vault and added a near perfect 9.95 on the floor exercise to win both individual titles in Friday night s showdown with then-no. 4 UCLA. The individual wins give the Baldwin Park, Calif., product 18 titles in 2009. She now sits second in the nation on the floor exercise and fourth on vault. The individual rankings make Rodriguez the only gymnast in the Conference to place in the top 5 on two or more events. Rodriguez s 9.9+ dominance helped the Beavers surpass the 196-point mark for the fifth time in six weeks; Oregon State remains ranked among the top 10 for the fifth consecutive week. ALSO NOMINATED: Gymnast of the Week: Bree Workman, ARIZ; Sophia Hocini, CAL; Jami Lanz, OSU; Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA. Special Performance of the Week: Katie Matusik, ARIZ (BB); Nicole Harris, ASU (BB); Bridgette Glass, CAL (UB); Aisha Gerber, UCLA (BB)). 2009 Pac-10 Gymnasts of the Week: Jan. 13 - Carly Janiga, STAN; Jan. 20 - Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA; Jan. 27 - Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, UCLA; Feb. 3 - Mandi Rodriguez, OSU; Feb. 10 - Nicole Ourada, STAN; Feb. 17 - Nicole Ourada, STAN; Feb. 24 - Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, UCLA; Mar. 3 - Beaté Jones, ASU. 2009 Pac-10 Special Performance of the Week: Jan. 13 - Aisha Gerber, UCLA (BB); Jan. 20 - Mandi Rodriguez, OSU (FX); Jan. 27 - Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA (V); Feb. 3 - Leslie Mak, OSU (BB, UB); Feb. 10 - Leslie Mak, OSU (UB); Feb. 17 - Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA (V); Feb. 24 - Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA (V); Mar. 3 - Mandi Rodriguez, OSU (V, FX).
Pac-10 Women s Gymnastics Release/March 4, 2009! Page 3 2009 Preseason Coaches Poll PAC-10 NOTES: Including points and first-place votes ARIZONA - The Wildcats won their fourth straight meet, beating California 1. Georgia 814 (26) 194.625-191.375. On the vault, the team put together it s highest score of the meet, 2. Utah 770 (2) posting a 48.875. Bree Workman who won the event with a 9.875. The senior continued her victory lap on floor courtesy of an event-high 9.8. On beam, freshman 3. Florida 742 4. UCLA 699 (4) Katie Matusik contributed her own 9.8 to the Cats, good enough for the top mark 5. STANFORD 676 on that apparatus. With the win, Arizona captured its second straight over a Pac-10 6. Alabama 640 opponent and fourth meet victory in the last three weeks. 7. LSU 634 8. Michigan 579 (1) ARIZONA STATE - The Gym Devils defeated Washington in their sixth consecutive Pac-10 match-up, 195.575-195.075. Beaté Jones shattered her career-high 9. OREGON STATE 526 10. Oklahoma 525 in the all-around (39.4) and captured the win; Nicole Harris took second (39.275). 11. Nebraska 487 Harris tied her season high (9.875) and Kahoku Palafox tied a career-best 9.75 on 12. Arkansas 467 bars, an event on which the Sun Devils narrowly missed the 49-point mark (48.95). 13. Penn State 382 On beam, ASU compiled a season-high 49.2 after Harris collected first place with a 14. Denver 370 season-high 9.925 and every gymnast in the event lineup hit 9.8 or higher. 15. Auburn 323 16. Illinois 230 CALIFORNIA - The Bears posted their second highest team score of the season, 17. Michigan State 228-191.375 - but fell to Arizona. The contest marked the sixth time this season the 18. ARIZONA 218 Bears have competed against a team ranked in the top 25. Arizona swept the events, 19t. Boise State 216 posting the higher team total on all four apparatuses. But the Bears earned two individual wins: Bridgette Glass shined on her senior day with an event-high 9.8 on 19t. Missouri 216 21. Ohio State 165 bars, and Sophia Hocini posted a career-high 38.950 in the all-around for the second consecutive week. The score gave Hocini her first all-around title of the season. 22. Minnesota 135 23. West Virginia 106 24.! ARIZONA STATE! 95 25.! Kentucky!! 84 Top-25 National Ranking as of Mar. 2 Ranking by Regional Qualifying Average 1. Georgia 197.035 2. Utah 196.885 3. STANFORD 196.590 4. Florida 196.465 5. Alabama 196.455 6. UCLA 196.430 7. Oklahoma 196.340 8 Auburn 196.310 9. OREGON STATE 196.295 10T. Arkansas 196.290 10T. LSU 196.290 12. Nebraska 195.745 13. Missouri 195.535 14. Michigan 195.370 15. Illinois-Champaign 195.215 16. ARIZONA 195.120 17T. Ohio State 195.025 17T. Minnesota 195.025 19. Penn State 194.960 20. West Virginia 194.930 21. Iowa State 194.765 22. WASHINGTON 194.655 23. Iowa 194.645 24. Kentucky 194.590 24T. Kent State 194.590 OREGON STATE After two weeks away, the Beavers returned to Gill Coliseum to perform for a crowd of 4,000+ and surpassed the 49-point barrier on all four events in a 196.575-196.350 loss to UCLA. It is the fifth time this year that the team has scored over 196. Freshman Olivia Vivian tallied a career-best 9.75 on bars, her first performance after weeks of injury. Jami Lanz came through with one of her strongest beam routines of the season (9.875). The dynamic duo of Lanz and Mandi Rodriguez anchored the floor lineup to the tunes of 9.875 and 9.95. STANFORD - Miscues on the opening two rotations put Stanford into a hole it could not climb out of in a loss to unranked San Jose State in a tri-meet at UC Davis. The Cardinal suffered a blow when Carly Janiga withdrew from the meet after the opening event, in which she scored a 9.875 to win the balance beam. In fact, Stanford won all four individual events. Nicole Ourada tied the top mark on floor with 9.9. Alyssa Brown and Shelley Alexander matched the event high of 9.85 on vault. And senior Kelly Fee captured the uneven bars with a 9.9, Stanford's only season-best score after 21 last week at Cal. UCLA Needing to score at least a 9.775 on balance beam for UCLA to clinch the victory, Aisha Gerber came through with a 9.875 to lead the Bruins to a 196.575-196.350 win over Oregon State. With the Bruins suffering a fall just one routine prior to Gerber's, there was little room for error, and Gerber had little error in her routine. Vanessa Zamarripa won the all-around with a 39.375, while Ariana Berlin placed third with a season-high tying 39.3. Berlin and Elyse Hopfner- Hibbs tied for first on bars (9.875), and Niki Tom, Zamarripa and Gerber tied for first on beam. WASHINGTON - The Huskies went forth into the desert to face off with Pac-10 foe Arizona State and posted a season-best road score of 195.075, but fell a half-point short to the Sun Devils. As a team, the Huskies won the vault, 48.625-48.475, but did not register a single individual event title against Arizona State. Washington also managed a season-high road score of 49.000 on the beam. Several Huskies tied their season-high scores: Samantha Walior (9.775) and Kristen Linton (9.85) on bars, and Kelly Gilbert (9.8) and Linton (9.825) on beam.
Pac-10 Women s Gymnastics Release/March 4, 2009! Page 4 PAC-10 CONFERENCE INDIVIDUAL TOP-10 RANKINGS (courtesy of www.troester.com) TEAM TOTALS: RQS Average High Team 196.590 196.206 197.175 STAN 196.430 196.434 197.125 UCLA 196.295 195.911 196.650 OSU 195.120 194.753 195.750 ARIZ 194.655 194.409 196.000 WASH 194.415 194.389 195.575 ASU 189.755 189.557 191.475 CAL TEAM VAULT: 49.345 49.325 49.575 UCLA 49.170 49.131 49.350 STAN 49.105 49.025 49.175 OSU 48.940 48.881 49.275 ARIZ 48.930 48.834 49.150 WASH 48.680 48.664 48.900 ASU 47.645 47.650 48.500 CAL TEAM UNEVEN BARS: 49.255 49.184 49.325 STAN 49.180 49.134 49.500 UCLA 49.035 48.986 49.300 OSU 48.690 48.529 49.000 ASU 48.580 48.366 48.825 WASH 48.565 48.364 49.000 ARIZ 46.780 46.793 47.500 CAL TEAM BALANCE BEAM: 49.225 49.006 49.400 STAN 49.105 48.991 49.275 UCLA 49.025 48.914 49.250 OSU 48.825 48.600 49.075 ARIZ 48.600 48.556 49.225 WASH 48.555 48.604 49.200 ASU 47.695 47.714 48.575 CAL TEAM FLOOR EXERCISE: 49.120 48.986 49.350 OSU 49.115 48.884 49.350 STAN 49.075 48.984 49.350 UCLA 48.925 48.908 49.350 ARIZ 48.865 48.653 49.000 WASH 48.650 48.593 49.025 ASU 47.275 47.400 49.050 CAL VAULT: RQS Average High Name 9.940 9.934 10.00 Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA 9.915 9.894 9.925 Mandi Rodriguez, OSU 9.910 9.894 9.950 Ashley Houghting, WASH 9.875 9.875 9.900 Aisha Gerber, UCLA 9.870 9.856 9.900 Shelley Alexander, STAN 9.850 9.825 9.900 Jami Lanz, OSU 9.850 9.842 9.900 Bree Workman, ARIZ 9.840 9.834 9.925 Alyssa Brown, STAN 9.835 9.836 9.900 Beaté Jones, ASU 9.835 9.789 9.900 Deanna Graham, ARIZ UNEVEN BARS: 9.895 9.900 9.925 Carly Janiga, STAN 9.885 9.867 9.950 Leslie Mak, OSU 9.875 9.858 9.925 Jen Kesler, OSU 9.860 9.800 9.900 Allyse Ishino, STAN 9.855 9.853 9.900 Ariana Berlin, UCLA 9.845 9.691 9.875 Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, UCLA 9.845 9.796 9.900 Anna Li, UCLA 9.840 9.841 9.950 Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA 9.830 9.794 9.875 Kristen Linton, WASH 9.825 9.762 9.900 Kelly Fee, STAN BALANCE BEAM: 9.880 9.882 9.925 Aisha Gerber, UCLA 9.875 9.871 9.950 Carly Janiga, STAN 9.865 9.791 9.925 Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, UCLA 9.860 9.717 9.900 Jami Lanz, OSU 9.860 9.864 9.925 Nicole Harris, ASU 9.840 9.778 9.900 Laura-Ann Chong, OSU 9.830 9.769 9.900 Briana Bergeson, ARIZ 9.815 9.706 9.900 Allyse Ishino, STAN 9.815 9.553 9.850 Shelley Alexander, STAN 9.815 9.794 9.850 Mandi Rodriguez, OSU 9.815 9.807 9.875 Heather Purnell, STAN 9.815 9.781 9.900 Samantha Walior, WASH FLOOR EXERCISE: 9.925 9.900 9.975 Mandi Rodriguez, OSU 9.880 9.858 9.900 Jami Lanz, OSU 9.880 9.794 9.925 Ashley Houghting, WASH 9.865 9.814 9.925 Sarah Tomczyk, ARIZ 9.860 9.831 9.900 Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, UCLA 9.845 9.731 9.900 Mizuki Sato, UCLA 9.830 9.816 9.925 Nicole Pechanec, STAN 9.815 9.746 9.900 Beaté Jones, ASU 9.810 9.793 9.900 Tiana Jean 9.810 9.804 9.875 Danielle Ikoma, STAN 9.810 9.764 9.850 Bree Workman, ARIZ ALL-AROUND: 39.400 39.192 39.500 Mandi Rodriguez, OSU 39.290 39.164 39.375 Jami Lanz, OSU 39.245 39.136 39.300 Nicole Harris, ASU 39.175 39.233 39.525 Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, UCLA 39.100 39.046 39.400 Beaté Jones, ASU 38.940 39.033 39.500 Vanessa Zamarripa, UCLA 38.620 38.696 39.075 Colleen Fisher, ARIZ 38.605 38.518 38.950 Sophia Hocini, CAL 38.580 38.654 39.025 Alexis Greene, ARIZ 38.555 38.372 39.025 Hatsune Akaogi, WASH
Pac-10 Women s Gymnastics Release/March 4, 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Page 5 2009 Pac-10 Conference Composite Schedule Times listed are Pacific and subject to change Friday, January 2 Cancun Classic, 2:30 p.m. STANFORD 195.600; OREGON STATE 194.575; Denver 193.825; BYU 189.125 Friday, January 9 OREGON STATE 194.550; BYU 188.975 Utah 196.175; UCLA 196.075 WASHINGTON 192.550; Alaska-Anchorage 184.650 Saturday, January 10 Minnesota 194.375; ARIZONA 192.575 Sacramento State 191.975; UC Davis 190.250; CALIFORNIA 186.650 Friday, January 16 Missouri 194.725; ARIZONA STATE 194.475 OREGON STATE 195.950; Arkansas 195.925; CALIFORNIA 185.250 STANFORD 196.450; WASHINGTON 194.250; Sacramento State 193.550; Seattle Pacific 188.425 Sunday, January 18 UCLA 196.375; ARIZONA 193.675 Thursday, January 22 STANFORD 196.775; ARIZONA STATE 194.600 Friday, January 23 OREGON STATE 196.450; ARIZONA 195.250 Utah 196.850; WASHINGTON 193.450 UCLA 196.600; Cal State Fullerton 193.875 Sunday, January 25 UCLA 197.125; CALIFORNIA 190.575 Friday, January 30 STANFORD 195.575; ARIZONA 195.175 UCLA 196.225; ARIZONA STATE 193.075 Utah 197.050; OREGON STATE 196.650 Sunday, February 1 WASHINGTON 194.400; Illinois State 191.350; CALIFORNIA 190.950 Friday, February 6 OREGON STATE 196.275; ARIZONA STATE 194.025 Saturday, February 7 WASHINGTON 195.150; ARIZONA 194.600 Sunday, February 8 UCLA at STANFORD, 2 p.m. - CANCELLED STANFORD 197.100; UC Davis 189.350 Friday, February 13 ARIZONA 195.700; Brown 189.575; Wisconsin- Stout 183.825 ARIZONA STATE 193.725; CALIFORNIA 191.475 Sunday, February 15 ARIZONA 195.425; Texas Woman s 193.350 STANFORD 197.025; OREGON STATE 196.600; UC Davis 191.550 UCLA 196.375; Boise State 195.700; WASHINGTON 194.400; Cal State Fullerton 193.150 Friday, February 20 ARIZONA 195.750; ARIZONA STATE 195.250 Saturday, February 21 WASHINGTON 196.000; Illinois 195.900; OREGON STATE 195.800; Eastern Michigan 191.475 Sunday, February 22 Nebraska 196.225; UCLA 196.125 STANFORD 197.175; CALIFORNIA 190.625 Friday, February 27 ARIZONA STATE 195.575; WASHINGTON 195.075 San Jose State 194.7; STANFORD 193.95; UC Davis 192.7 UCLA 196.575; OREGON STATE 196.350 Sunday, March 1 ARIZONA 194.625; CALIFORNIA 191.375 Friday, March 6 CALIFORNIA at Western Michigan, 4 p.m. STANFORD at Alabama, 5:30 p.m.
Pac-10 Women s Gymnastics Release/March 4, 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Page 6 Denver at ARIZONA, 6 p.m. ARIZONA STATE at Utah, 6 p.m. Seattle Pacific/WASHINGTON at OREGON STATE (Salbasgeon Suites Invitational), 7 p.m. Sunday, March 8 Ball State/CALIFORNIA at Michigan State, 11 a.m. Georgia at UCLA, 2 p.m. Friday, March 13 OREGON STATE at Missouri, 5:30 p.m. Ball State/Cal State Fullerton/Nebraska at ARIZONA STATE (UNO s Classic), 6:30 p.m. CALIFORNIA/UC Davis/Seattle Pacific at Sacramento State, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 14 ARIZONA at Maryland, 1 p.m. Sunday, March 15 Nebraska at UCLA, 2 p.m. Denver at WASHINGTON, 2 p.m. Saturday, March 21 Pacific-10 Conference Championships, 4 p.m. Maples Pavilion, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. Televised on FSN on a tape-delay basis April 4 NCAA Regional Championships Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala. (University of Alabama) Barnhill Arena, Fayetteville, Ark. (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville) Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (University of Iowa) Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, N.C., (North Carolina State University) St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University) Bank of America Arena, Seattle, Wash., (University of Washington) April 16-18 NCAA Championships Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Neb. (University of Nebraska, Lincoln)