FORT WORTH – The No. 20 California women's gymnastics squad (9-4, 3-1 ACC) took second place at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth with a 196.850 overall score, outscoring No. 10 Stanford (196.400) and No. 42 Air Force (195.750) and falling to No. 8 Georgia (197.650). Golden Bears Tonya Paulsson and Annalise Newman-Achee tied for bronze in the all-around with scores of 39.475, which is a personal-best for both gymnasts.
 
Newman-Achee came out hot, notching a 9.900 on uneven bars, which was her season high on the event and the first of her two routines at the meet to score a 9.900. Paulsson anchored with a 9.875 and Casey Brown recorded a 9.850 from the fifth spot in the lineup to help the Bears to a 49.150 score on the event. Cal was in second place, trailing Georgia by 0.325, at the end of the first rotation.
 
Sage Melkonian set the tone for a strong Cal balance beam rotation, earning a career-high 9.825 from the leadoff spot. Newman-Achee and Miki Aderinto put up back-to-back 9.900 routines, which was Newman-Achee's season high and was a personal best for Aderinto. The Bears compiled a 49.275 event score for the second consecutive week, which is the highest Cal has received on beam in 2026. Cal's strong rotation helped them close in on the Bulldogs to be 0.275 behind Georgia at the midway point of the competition.
 
Cal put up another 49.275 event score in the third rotation, bolstered by anchor Paulsson's career-high matching 9.900 floor exercise. She shared a piece of bronze on the event. Newman-Achee, Jayden Silvers and Kyen Mayhew all received a 9.850 score for their respective routines. It was a season-best score for Silvers. Cal remained in second place behind Georgia heading into the final rotation.
 
The Bears put together a solid vault rotation to hold onto the runner-up finish. Brown had her best vault of the season with a 9.875 and a stuck landing as Cal's leadoff. Paulsson and Mayhew each received a 9.850 score to help the Bears clinch the upset over Stanford and victory over Air Force.
 
After nearly a month on the road, the Bears will make their return to Haas Pavilion to host North Carolina on Friday, Feb. 20. The meet will begin at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be shown live on ACC Network Extra. Tickets can be purchased in advance here.
 
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