SEATTLE – The California women's gymnastics team took home a second-place finish at the Best of the West quad meet hosted by Washington Saturday afternoon in Seattle. The No. 20 Golden Bears (196.000) finished behind No. 4 UCLA (196.975) and outscored No. 34 Washington (195.625) and No. 17 Oregon State (195.550) in the season opener. Junior Annalise Newman-Achee was awarded second-place in the all-around while sophomore Sage Melkonian received third.
 
The Bears got off to a strong start, capturing their highest team event score of the day with a 49.275 on uneven bars during the first rotation. Freshman Tonya Paulsson performed a stunning debut routine that earned a 9.925 and tied with UCLA's Jordan Chiles and Oregon State's Taylor DeVries for the top uneven bars score of the meet. The Bears scored a 9.800 or higher on all six routines.
 
Cal held onto the lead after the end of the second rotation after compiling a 49.025 team score on the balance beam. Newman-Achee was awarded a 9.900 for her routine while Abbey Scanlon and Melkonian each scored a 9.800.
 
Junior Kyen Mayhew anchored the Bears' floor exercise rotation with a 9.850, which was Cal's highest score on the event and landed her tied for a second-place podium finish. Senior Jayden Silvers and Paulsson each received a 9.750 on their performances to round out Cal's top-three scoring routines on floor and help the Bears to a 48.725 team score.
 
The Bears finished solidly on vault, putting together a 48.975 team score to lift Cal to its runner-up finish. Newman-Achee scored a 9.850 on her vault, which was tied for the second-highest vault score of the meet, while Melkonian and Silvers each received a 9.800. Silvers' vault score was a career-high on the event.
 
Cal will be back in action next weekend when the Bears head to their first podium meet of the season at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad. The Bears are slated to square off against No. 14 Michigan, No. 6 Michigan State and No. 9 Kentucky in West Valley, Utah on Jan. 10.