The spotlight will be on the No. 6 California women's gymnastics team this Saturday as the Golden Bears are set to compete in the nationally televised Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. It will be a near rematch of last year's NCAA Championship Final with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU and No. 4 Utah in attendance.
 
Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate
Vs. No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Utah
Date: Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025
Time: 1 p.m. PT/3 p.m. CT                                                                  
Location: Paycom Center | Oklahoma City, OK
Streaming/TV: ABC/ESPN+
Live Scoring: calbears.com
 
LAUZON NAMED ACC GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Last Tuesday Mya Lauzon became the first Golden Bear to be named ACC Gymnast of the Week. Lauzon got her senior season started off right at the American Gold Collegiate Classic last Saturday with four podium finishes in the last, first meet of her career.
 
The Kent, Washington, native finished second in the all-around with a score of 39.525, finishing behind only Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey of Oregon State. Lauzon tied for first place on both the vault and the floor exercise, posting a 9.900 on both events. She was one of just three gymnasts in the meet to collect three scores of 9.9 or better, earning a 9.900 on the balance beam as well to earn a share of second place on that apparatus. She added a 9.825 on the uneven bars, which was good for sixth place. Her all-around score was the sixth highest achieved by any gymnast during opening week.
 
LAST WEEK
The Bears are coming off a 2-0 start after defeating then-No. 10 UCLA and No. 19 Oregon State at the American Gold Collegiate Quad in Oceanside. Cal posted a 196.275 while the Beavers (195.775) finished second and the Bruins (195.250) finished third. Cal had six podium finishes from its senior class, including three event wins. In addition to the aforementioned success by Lauzon, Ella Cesario took bronze in the all-around with a score of 39.200 and Maddie Williams took home the bars title with a 9.95.
 
2024 RECAP
Cal had yet another historical season in 2024, earning its highest finish in program history as national runner-up. The Bears' final season as a Pac-12 institution concluded with their first outright conference championship after going a perfect 7-0 against Pac-12 opponents. A number of accolades were achieved along the way, including 19 All-America honors, 14 All-Pac-12 honors, and three WCGA West Region honors headlined by eMjae Frazier being named the Regional Gymnast of the Year. For the second straight year the Bears won their NCAA Regional and had four individual event champions. Cal also did a number on the program record book, breaking the vault record notching the top three team scores in school history: 198.550, 198.500, 198.400.
 
BEARS EARN HIGHEST PRESEASON RANKING
Following an incredible 2024 campaign, the Bears enter the season as the fourth-ranked team in the country in the WCGA coaches poll, their highest preseason ranking in program history. The Bears earned 1,785 points in the poll and picked up a first-place vote for the first time. Cal is the highest-ranked ACC school and trails just three SEC schools in No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Florida. The ACC, which only began sponsoring women's gymnastics last year, saw five of its six programs listed in the poll.
 
CAL TABBED TO WIN ACC
For the first time in program history Cal was picked to win its conference in the preseason coaches poll. The Bears led the voting with 34 points and the rest of the poll played out identically to the national poll with No. 15 Stanford coming in second and reigning ACC champion No. 25 NC State in third. No. 28 Clemson was picked fourth, No. 36 North Carolina was picked fifth and Pitt came in sixth.
 
3 BEARS NAMED TO ACC PRESEASON WATCH LISTS
eMjae Frazier and Mya Lauzon were named to the ACC Preseason Watch List and Ondine Achampong was named to the Newcomer Watch List. Last season, Frazier set the NCAA single-season record with 673.0625 points scored, thanks in part to the fact that he did not miss a single routine all year long. The 10-time All-American finished the regular season as the No. 3 all-around gymnast with an NQS of 39.755 and was named the WCGA West Region Gymnast of the Year.
 
Lauzon enters her final collegiate season as a 13-time All-American after being named the College Gym News Breakout Performer last year. At the NCAA Championship, Lauzon won bronze on balance beam, placed fourth in the all-around, and became the first Bear to record a perfect 10 in the postseason, doing so on vault. Lauzon finished the regular season as the sixth-ranked all-arounder in the country as well as fifth on vault and the uneven bars.
 
Achampong, who has been a Great Britain National Team member since 2020, is set to enter her first collegiate season. The incoming freshman won the 2024 British All-Around Championship and placed 13th in the all-around at the 2023 World Championships. Achampong also helped Great Britain win the silver medal in the team competition at the 2022 World Championships.