Sunday, March 5
Los Angeles, Calif.
1:00 PM
California
at
UCLA
Photo by: cal.isiphotos.com
3/2/2017 11:58 AM | Women's Gymnastics
No. 19 Cal at No. 4 UCLA
Sunday, March 5 | 1 PM PT | Pauley Pavilion | Los Angeles, Calif.
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Coming off their highest away total of the season, the 19th-ranked Golden Bears look to secure another top road score this weekend when they head to Westwood to face No. 4 UCLA. The Bears battle the Bruins at 1 p.m. Sunday in Pauley Pavilion for Cal's regular-season road finale, airing live on Pac-12 Network.Fans can follow the meet online by watching at www.pac-12.com/live or by downloading 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 updates, behind-the-scenes photos and videos and the latest information, and like Facebook.com/CalWGym for more on the Bears.
BY THE NUMBERS
49.275California's 49.275 on beam at the Masters Classic marked both a season-high total and the fourth-highest beam score in school history.
9
There are only nine beam scores of 9.925 of better in program history. Sofie Seilnacht is responsible for one of them, after she earned a career-high 9.925 as the leadoff in Nebraska.
196.000
With a score of at least 196.000 at UCLA, Cal's RQS would move 0.9 at minimum. The Bears are currently .130 behind Washington for a coveted top-four seed at the Pac-12 Championships with two meets remaining.
WHAT'S AN RQS, AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Beginning in week eight of the season, women's gymnastics programs around the country earn their rankings based on their Regional Qualifying Score, or RQS. The RQS is determined using a team's top six scores of the season, three of which must be from an away meet. Of the six, the highest score is dropped and the remaining five are averaged.RQS determines seeding at conference championships and in NCAA postseason meets. In the Pac-12 Conference, the top four-seeded teams compete in the evening session of the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships, while the lower four teams compete in the afternoon session.
Cal currently ranks 19th with an RQS of 196.000. A score better than 195.325 at UCLA would allow the Bears to drop their sixth-highest total, the 195.325, and improve their standings in the RQS as well as their national ranking.
LAST TIME OUT
California produced its highest road score of the season, a 196.400, to take second at the Masters Classic quad meet. Host and 15th-ranked Nebraska won with a 197.175. The Bears defeated No. 24 Utah State (196.200) and Southeast Missouri State (190.325). Highlights:• Cal stormed back in its final rotation on beam, edging Utah State by using the fourth-highest beam total in school history, a 49.275.
• Sofie Seilnacht claimed the beam title with a career-high 9.925.
• Mariah Peterson took second on vault with a 9.85, and Emily Richardson's 9.875 on bars was also good for second.
BEAM QUEENS
California continues its reign over the balance beam in 2017, taking a beam title in six of eight meets this season. Cal has swept the beam event in three meets this season, and in Cal's meet at Nebraska's Masters Classic, the Bears turned in the fourth-highest beam total in school history with a 49.275.Desiree Palomares is the latest queen of the beam among the Bears with a team-best four titles, including three consecutive to start the season. She has matched her career-high 9.90 on the event twice in 2017. At Nebraska's Masters Classic, Sofie Seilnacht scored a career-high 9.925 to win the event. It was just the fifth 9.925 on beam in program history, and among the top nine scores on beam in school history (four 9.95s, five 9.925s). Alicia Gallarzo also owns one beam title, using a career-best 9.875 against Arizona State for her first crown on the apparatus.
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 17th on beam and are averaging 49.063 with an RQS of 49.100 and a high of 49.275.
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 ranked in the top 25 in the preseason rankings.The Bears are 5-2 against ranked opponents this season. 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
No. 4 Utah -- L, 196.450-195.725
No. 12 Oregon State -- W, 197.075-196.825
No. 12 Nebraska -- L, 197.175
No. 24 Utah State -- W, 196.200
NEXT ROTATION
Cal hosts defending national champion Oklahoma in the regular-season finale. The Golden Bears welcome the Sooners to Haas Pavilion on Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. in a meet televised live on the Pac-12 Network.
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