WGYM2/8/2023 4:14 PM | By: Cal Athletics
No. 7 Cal Faces No. 13 Oregon State on the Road
Bears Look to Start 10-0 for First Time Since 2015
BERKELEY – The No. 7 California women's gymnastics team (9-0, 3-0) will hit the road this weekend as the Bears take on Oregon State (8-3-1, 1-0-1) this Friday, Feb. 10. The meet is set to start at 7 p.m. at Gil Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon.
In an already historic year for the undefeated Bears, another possible record sits just in front of them. A win against the Beavers would put them at 10-0 on the season and tie the best start in program history, a record that was set back in 2015.
While being more consistent across the board than it has in past years, Cal is still finding its strength on bars and beam. The team ranks third in the country on the uneven bars with a 49.460 average and fourth on the balance beam with a 49.395. In the 10 rotations the Bears have competed in those two events, they have never scored lower than a 49.250. This past week they set a season-high on bars with a 49.525, which ties the 10
th-best score in the record books, and was made possible by a career-high 9.975 routine by sophomore
Maddie Williams. Williams received one perfect-10 and a 9.95 from the two judges.
Cal and Oregon State met earlier this season at the Wasatch Classic quad meet back in January where the Bears took first place with a score of 197.525 and the Beavers finished in second with a 196.850. Since then, Oregon State has gone an undefeated 5-0-1 including an impressive tie with then No. 5 UCLA two weeks ago in Los Angeles. The Beavers are led by U.S. Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey who currently ranks top-three in the nation in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise.
BEARS ON THE AIR
The Bear's Saturday afternoon session will be streamed live by Oregon State on Pac-12+ and live scoring will be available on CalBears.com.
LAUZON TIES ALL-AROUND RECORD
This past weekend sophomore
Mya Lauzon etched her name into the Cal record book by tying the program's all-around record in her first all-around win. She notched a 39.700 tying a score that was last secured by Toni-Ann Williams in 2018. Lauzon was on an absolute terror in the meet taking first on beam (9.925) and winning a share of both the vault (9.925) and the floor (9.950) titles. She finished tied for second on bars with a 9.900.
FRAZIER NAMED Pac-12 SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
A superb performance in Cal's home-opening win over Stanford earned freshman eMjae the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week Award. After resting during the Bears' previous meet at Arizona, Frazier jumped back into the starting lineup in the team's home opener with rival No. 24 Stanford and flourished in three different events. Her efforts helped lead Cal to a 197.525-196.075 win over the Cardinal in Haas Pavilion tying its season-high team score.
Beginning on vault, the freshman was the fifth routine in the lineup and in her first event in over two weeks made an immediate impact sprinting down the runway and nailing a Yurchenko Double Full to near perfection. A career-high 9.950, which ties the third-highest score in program history, would eventually win her the vault title in the meet. She followed by tying for fourth on beam with a 9.850 in the third rotation to help extend her team's lead over Stanford late in the meet. As one of the final routines in the contest, Frazier capped off the day with a 9.925 on floor to win a share of that title as well and seal the victory for the Bears.
Frazier has now won four event titles on three different apparatus in just three meets this season. This the first Pac-12 weekly honor of her young career.
LI LEADS THE WAY
Much of the Bears' early season success can be attributed to junior
Andi Li. The three-time All-American has not only been consistent, but also dominant, with eight event wins already and 15 podium finishes in just five meets. She took home the all-around title at the Super 16 and placed second at the Wasatch Classic behind only US Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey from Oregon State. In that meet Li posted a career-high 39.675, which is the second-highest score in program history. She followed by taking second in the all-around at Arizona with a bars title and won bars, floor, and the all-around in the team's home opener with Stanford.
Li currently ranks fifth in the country on bars with a 9.940 average. Her season-high came in the season opener as she notched a 9.975 at the Super 16. That mark was not only a career-high for Li, but the second-highest score by any Bear in history. She is also 15th in all-around with a 39.440 average.