California Golden Bears Athletics
Sunday, January 15
Iowa City, Iowa
12:00 PM
California
at
Iowa
(Photo by Cal.ISIPhotos.com)
Photo by: cal.isiphotos.com
No. 13 Cal Tests Mettle In Midwest
1/13/2017 1:29 PM | Women's Gymnastics
No. 13 Cal at No. 24 Iowa
Sunday, Jan. 15 | 12 PM PT | Carver-Hawkeye Arena | Iowa City, Iowa
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After sweeping all four of their Northern California opponents for the third season opener in a row, the No. 13 Golden Bears head to the Midwest to test their mettle in Big Ten country when women's gymnastics faces No. 24 Iowa on Sunday. Meet action is set for noon from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.A live stream for the meet will be available on Hawkeye All-Access, and live stats can be found on HawkeyeSports.com. Follow @CalWGym on Twitter and Instagram for scoring updates, behind-the-scenes photos and videos and the latest information, and like Facebook.com/CalWGym for more on the Bears.
BY THE NUMBERS
49.250
Cal's 49.250 on vault in the NorCal Classic was higher than any of the Bears' vault scores from 2016. The Golden Bears rank fourth in the country on vault this week.
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The Golden Bears have won the season-opening NorCal Classic, which also features Stanford, Sacramento State, UC Davis and San Jose State, three years in a row.
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Cal gymnasts turned in eight top-three finishes at the NorCal Classic, including three event titles. Desiree Palomares and Sofie Seilnacht shared the beam title (9.875) and Toni-Ann Williams won floor (9.925).
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears went 195.325 to defeat Sacramento State (194.475), UC Davis (193.875), No. 11 Stanford (193.250) and San Jose State (192.600) to win their third consecutive NorCal Classic title in the season opener at Haas Pavilion. Highlights:• Cal gymnasts claimed three event titles - Sofie Seilnacht (T1 on beam, 9.875), Desiree Palomares (T1 on beam, 9.875) and Toni-Ann Williams (Floor, 9.925).
• Freshmen Cassidy Keelen and Alexandra Dudschus made their Golden Bear debuts, as did sophomore Chelsea Shu.
• Dana Ho returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a preseason injury in 2016.
• Amber Takara matched a career-high 9.90 on bars for second on the event.
• Cal's 49.250 team total on vault was higher than any Golden Bear vault total from 2016, and the Bears used just three vaults with 10.0 start values.
• Cal swept beam with Palomares, Seilnacht and Keelen taking the top three spots.
STRONG DEBUTS
Freshman Cassidy Keelen and sophomore Chelsea Shu, who each made their Golden Bear debuts in Monday's NorCal Classic, made their presence in the lineup known with top-three finishes on an event. Keelen went 9.825 on beam to help Cal sweep the event, and Shu earned a 9.875 on bars to take third.PAC-12 PREDICTIONS
Coaches around the conference have predicted that the Bears will finish fourth in the Pac-12 this season, just one point behind third-place Stanford. UCLA was selected to repeat as the conference champion. The exact breakdown of points is as follows:1. UCLA (5 first-place votes) – 47 points
2. Utah (3 first-place votes) – 45 points
3. Stanford -- 33 points
4. California -- 32 points
5. Oregon State -- 25 points
6. Arizona -- 22 points
7. Washington -- 13 points
8. Arizona State -- 7 points
RANKED ON THE ROAD TO NATIONALS
Cal is set to face eight opponents ranked in the Road to Nationals preseason top 25 this season, including three in the top 10: top-ranked Oklahoma, UCLA (No. 4), Utah (6), Stanford (11), Nebraska (12), Oregon State (13), Arizona (18) and Washington (20). Additionally, seven of the Pac-12's eight gymnastics programs also rank in the top 25 in the preseason rankings.NEXT ROTATION
The Bears return home to host Washington and San Jose State in a triangular meet on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. in Haas Pavilion. The meet will be televised live on Pac-12 Network.PRESEASON PROWESS
For the first time in school history, Cal women's gymnastics begins the season ranked top 10 in the nation with a No. 10 ranking in the Road To Nationals Preseason Coaches' Poll. This is the fourth consecutive season Cal is ranked in the top 25 preseason poll. Reigning national champion Oklahoma, who the Bears play host to in their home finale on March 12, took the top spot with 47 first-place votes and 2,519 points.THE BEAR FACTS
California returns 12 letterwinners from the 2016 squad who helped lead the Golden Bears to their first NCAA Championships appearance in 24 years. The Bears did not lose a single routine from their NCAA Championship squad. Leading the way in 2017 are seven talented and battle-tested seniors, including Zoe Draghi and Jessica Howe, as well as 2016 Olympian Toni-Ann Williams and All-Pac-12 second team honoree Arianna Robinson. Sophomore Chelsea Shu and senior Dana Ho, who both redshirted last season, are also healthy and expected to contribute this season. National Coaches of the Year Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell return for their fifth seasons at the helm for the Bears.FAB FOUR ARE TOP TEN
The Bears signed four gymnasts to National Letters of Intent in the early signing period, inking Kyana George, Alma Kuc, Victoria Salem and Nina Schank. The class was named the ninth-best class in the country by CollegeGymFans.com. More on this year's signees:• A 2016 Junior Olympic National Team member and all-around and floor runner-up at 2016 JO Nationals, George is expected to make an instant impact on all four events. At JO Nationals, she also finished in the top 10 on bars (7th) and vault (9th).
• A member of the Polish National Team who competed at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, Kuc is the 2016 Polish uneven bars champion and logged a bronze finish on floor at the Polish National Championships.
• Salem posted two top-three finishes at the 2016 JO Nationals, winning the balance beam title and taking silver on bars. She was seventh all-around at the prestigious event after winning the beam title and turning in top-four finishes on every event at Level 10 Regionals.
• Schank trains at the nearby Head Over Heels Athletic Arts facility and qualified to the 2016 Level 10 national championships after claiming the bars, beam and all-around titles in NorCal State competition.
ALL-ACCESS PASS
Join Cal Women's Gymnastics in the social media realm for behind-the-scenes access to the Bears. Follow Cal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for meet scores, practice updates, exclusive photos, videos and more.Find Cal at:
• Twitter: @CalWGym
• Facebook: Facebook.com/CalWomensGymnastics
• Instagram: @CalWGym
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