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The University of Utah Athletics
No. 5 Utah Gymnasts Open Season at No. 1 UCLA
1/3/2012 12:00 AM | Gymnastics
Jan. 3, 2012
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SALT LAKE CITY
THIS WEEK IN UTAH GYMNASTICS
The preseason No. 5-ranked Utah gymnastics team opens its 2012 season on Sunday, Jan. 8 against No. 1 UCLA in Los Angeles. The meet starts at 2 p.m. Pacific Time in the John Wooden Center where the Bruins are competing this season while Pauley Pavilion undergoes renovations. Free live video streaming and stats will be hosted on UCLABruins.com. Live commentary and scores will be provided on UtahUtes.com.FIRST AGAIN
This Sunday's meet, the 2012 opener for both teams, marks the 10th time Utah has opened its season against the Bruins and the ninth time in the last 10 years (Utah opened against Georgia in 2008). Utah is 7-2 in season openers against the Bruins, winning in 1985, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011. UCLA won the season opener in 2003 and 2010.PRESEASON RANKINGS
Utah enters the 2012 season ranked No. 5 in the coaches' poll. UCLA, the NCAA runner-up a year ago, was No. 1, followed by defending champ Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Utah and Nebraska. Rounding out the preseason top 12 are Oregon State, Stanford, Georgia, Michigan, Arkansas and LSU. The Utes will compete against seven preseason top 20 team in dual meets and another two at the Pac-12 Championships in Salt Lake City on Mar. 24. See page 3 for the complete preseason poll.QUICK STICKS
Utah's Nansy Damianova and UCLA's Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs were Canadian teammates in the 2008 Olympic Games, while UCLA's Samantha Preszek competed for the USA and Ute Corrie Lothrop was an alternate on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team ... Utah has 11 underclassmen on its 15-member roster, with six sophomores and five freshmen ... Returning to competition for the first time since injuring her knee two meets into the 2011 season is senior Kyndal Robarts. Robarts is expected to compete on vault, beam and floor against UCLA, serving as the anchor on vault and beam ... The Utes return four All-Americans: Stephanie McAllister, Robarts, Mary Beth Lofgren and Lothrop from last year's fifth-place NCAA team ... Projected to go all-around for the Utes against UCLA are McAllister and Lothrop. Both were second-team All-America all-arounders a year ago ... Freshmen could perform as many as nine of Utah's 24 routines this Sunday, with Kassandra Lopez and Georgia Dabritz penciled in to compete on three events (see page 3 for the projected lineup).SERIES SHORTS
Utah leads the series with UCLA 43-17-1, winning the first 24 matchups before losing to the Bruins in the 1989 NCAA Championship. The two teams split last season with Utah winning the regular season competition and UCLA beating the Utes in the NCAA Super Six. The Utes lead 11-5 in Los Angeles, where they last won in 2008. See page two for complete series scores.SCOUTING UCLA
Coach: Valorie Kondos Field Coach's Record/Year: 405-94-1 (22nd year) 2011 NCAA Finish: 2nd 2012 Record: 0-0 Preseason National Rank: 1 Team Notes: The Bruins return eight All-Americans from last year's squad that finished second at the NCAA Championship, including 2011 NCAA beam champion Samantha Peszek, 2010 NCAA vault champion Vanessa Zamarripa and 10-time All-American Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, ... Other returning Bruin All-Americans are Aisha Gerber, Tauny Frattone, Monique De La Torre, Olivia Courtney and Sydney Sawa ... UCLA has won six NCAA titles, most recently in 2010.
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