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UCLA on track for another gym title
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- Olympian Elise Ray won a share of the all-around title at the NCAA women's gymnastics meet Thursday, while UCLA remained on course for a second straight team championship. The Bruins, with a lineup that includes three gymnasts from Sydney, were the highest-scoring team of the two qualifying sessions, followed by host Georgia. Ray, a freshman at Michigan, and UCLA sophomore Onnie Willis were co-champs in the all-around with 39.525 points. Ray staggered a bit on the vault but made up for it with scores of 9.925 on beam and floor exercise. Clearly, she enjoyed the college setting more than the pressure-packed atmosphere of the Sydney Olympics, where the American team failed to win a medal. "I had a great time," Ray said. "The big difference is that this is a team atmosphere. In some of the elite competitions, you're out there alone." Willis scored no lower that 9.850 in the four disciplines, winning a title that was supposed to go to senior teammate Mohini Bhardwaj. "It's amazing," Willis said. "My goal was to place in the top five in the all-around." Willis earned All-America honors on bars, beam and vault and was a second-teamer in vault. She earned the first all-around title in UCLA history. Bhardwaj, an eight-time All-American, was runner-up in the all-around a year ago and ranked No. 1 in the country heading to the national meet. But she didn't stick her landing on a difficult vault, scoring 9.800, and wobbled a bit on the beam for a 9.825. Those marks knocked her back into third place. "Yes, I struggled today with some of my events," Bhardwaj said. "I am dealing with it. Individual titles are not the most important thing to me now." The Bruins dominated the afternoon qualifying round with 197.625 points -- an improvement on the 197.300 they scored last year to win the title. Michigan (196.525) and top-seeded Alabama (196.375) also advanced to Friday's "Super Six." In the evening, Georgia rebounded from a sluggish start on the bars and beam with an explosive showing on the floor and vault. The Gym Dogs finished with 197.100 points, followed by nine-time champion Utah (196.575) and Nebraska (196.200). The six finalists will start from scratch Friday night. "Georgia is a vault and tumbling team," coach Suzanne Yoculan said. "We always have been. We like those events." The Gym Dogs got an inspiring performance from freshman Cory Fritzinger, who broke down in tears after halting her routine on the bars because of a slippery grip. Yoculan threatened to yank Fritzinger out of the next event if she didn't stop crying. The youngster responded with scores of 9.900 on the beam, 9.900 on the floor and 9.925 on the vault. "I got in a little corner by myself," Fritzinger said. "I kept telling myself, 'You've got to stay on. You've got to stay on. You've got to make it right.'" Georgia will have the home-crowd advantage in the final, but UCLA is clearly the team to beat. The Bruins bolstered their championship team with Jamie Dantzscher and Kristen Maloney, both members of the U.S. Olympic team, and Yvonne Tousek, who competed for the Canadians at Sydney and Atlanta. "All of our focus is on hitting 24 of 24 routines," said Dantzscher, who posted the top score on the bars and tied Bhardwaj and Georgia's Suzanne Sears for the top floor performance. "If we do hit 24 of 24, we should win. We're definitely the best team out there." UCLA had no major blunders, scoring at least 9.700 on all of its routines. "This is the first time all year that we went 24 of 24, and that was nice to see," coach Valorie Kondos Field said. "Hopefully, we are peaking at the right time." Alabama came in with the best score from the regionals but plenty of emotional baggage. In practice leading up to the national meet, two-time Southeastern Conference gymnast of the year Andree Pickens suffered a torn Achilles' tendon. Pickens, who had surgery Monday, watched from the front row of the stands -- her left leg propped on the railing -- as her teammates struggled to hold off Florida for the final qualifying spot. Pickens' replacement, freshman Tiffany Byrd, stumbled off the beam in the Crimson Tide's final rotation and scored just 9.150. With no more room for error, Kristen Sterner (9.875), Jeana Rice (9.850) and senior All-American Lissy Smith (9.875) put together strong performances to seal a spot in the final. "Lissy has been our anchor on the balance beam for four years," coach Sarah Patterson said. "I knew she would do a great routine, and she did."
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