California Golden Bears Athletics
Saturday, January 28
Berkeley, Calif.
6:00 PM
California
vs
Arizona State
Photo by: cal.isiphotos.com
No. 15 Bears Look To Stay Perfect vs. ASU
1/25/2017 2:52 PM | Women's Gymnastics
Cal vs. Arizona State
Saturday, Jan. 28 | 6 PM PT | Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, Calif.
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The 15th-ranked Golden Bears, still undefeated against seven opponents this season, wrap up a two-meet homestand this weekend when they play host to conference foe Arizona State in a dual meet on Saturday. Meet time is set for 6 p.m. from Haas Pavilion, airing live on Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson and Amanda Borden on the call.Fans can also follow the meet online at Pac-12.com/live or by using the Pac-12 Now app. Live stats can be accessed via the women's gymnastics schedule page on CalBears.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
3: Toni-Ann Williams and Desiree Palomares have each won three consecutive titles on the same event in all three meets this season. Palomares has won all three beam titles, while Williams has won all three floor titles.5: Golden Bear gymnasts have turned in five scores of 9.90 or higher. Amber Takara and Emily Richardson own 9.90s on bars, Palomares owns a 9.90 on beam, and Williams has a 9.90 and a 9.925 on floor.
11: After earning her first Specialist of the Week honor of the season on Tuesday, Williams now owns a program-record 11 Pac-12 weekly honors.
LAST TIME OUT
The 13th-ranked Golden Bears improved to 7-0 with a pair of wins over No. 17 Washington and San Jose State in a triangular meet in Haas Pavilion. The Bears used a season-high 196.300 total to top the Huskies (195.325) and Spartans (193.875). Highlights:• The Bears set season-high scores on bars (49.100), beam (49.175) and floor (48.925).
• Cal scored above 49.0 on three events - vault, bars and beam.
• Toni-Ann Williams led the Bears with a pair of titles on vault (9.875) and floor (9.90). It was her third consecutive floor title in three meets.
• Desiree Palomares also three-peated on an event, taking the beam title for the third meet in a row with a career-best 9.90.
• The Bears tallied eight top-three finishes.
TONI AWARD WINNER
Toni-Ann Williams picked up her first Pac-12 weekly honor of the season on Jan. 24 when the Golden Bear junior was named Specialist of the Week after claiming a pair of event titles in the Cal triangular meet and finishing in the top three on bars. The selection marked the second Specialist of the Week honor of her career, and her program-best 11th weekly honor.BEAM QUEENS
Desiree Palomares is the reigning queen of the beam among Bears after picking up three consecutive titles on the event to start the season. In Palomares' most recent outing in Cal's tri meet with Washigton and San Jose State, she matched a career-high 9.90 to win the event.In Cal's first two meets this season, the Golden Bears swept the balance beam event. In Cal's season-opener at the NorCal Classic, Palomares and Sofie Seilnacht shared the title with a pair of 9.875s, and Cassidy Keelen debuted with a 9.825. Against No. 24 Iowa, Palomares repeated as beam champion with a 9.875. Keelen was second with a 9.85, and Zoe Draghi made her season debut with a 9.80.
Once considered Cal's worst event, the Bears have made significant improvement on the apparatus under coaches Justin Howell and Liz Crandall-Howell. The Bears owned a 48.285 RQS and ranked 44th in the country on beam in 2012, prior to the duo taking the lead in Berkeley. In 2016, Cal finished 13th on beam with a 49.205 RQS -- an improvement of nearly one point and 31 spots in the rankings. The Bears currently rank 14th on beam and are averaging 49.008 with a high of 49.175.
RANKED ON THE ROAD TO NATIONALS
Cal is set to face eight opponents who were 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.Cal's results against top 25 ranked opponents so far in 2017 (using rankings at time of competition):
No. 11 Stanford -- W, 195.325-193.250
No. 24 Iowa -- W, 195.550-194.400
No. 17 Washington -- W, 196.300-195.325
NEXT ROTATION
The Bears hit the road for a dual meet in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Cal will take on the hosting Utah Utes on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 12:30 p.m. The meet airs live on Pac-12 Network.
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