Mar. 20, 1997
Cal Gymnastics to Travel to Pac-10 Championships
THIS WEEK: March 22 at Pac-10 Championships Tucson, AZ 7 p.m.
NEXT MEET: April 4-5 at NCAA Western Regionals Boise, ID 7 p.m.
CAL AT PAC-10's: The California's women's gymnastics team travels to the Pac-10 Championships, Saturday, March 14. Seven Pac-10 teams will participate in the competition.
COMPETITION RECAP: The Cal women's gymnastics team traveled to Boise State on March 14 for a three-way meet with the Broncos and the Washington Huskies. Cal finished third in the competition with a score of 191.600. The Bears top performance on the night was turned in by Candice Kwok, who finished third on beam with a score of 9.825.
BEARS GET NEEDED REST: Cal has been in a rest interval for the last two meets and have been without some of their top gymnasts. Without senior Mindy Ornellas in the lineup and with other gymnasts competition curtailed the Bears have still managed to record scores that are either at or just below their season average. This bodes well for Cal as they head to Pac-10's where coach Alfie Mitchell expects to compete his top six gymnasts in each event.
THE WORD ON THE BEARS: "We're right where we hoped to be at this point in the season," said coach Alfie Mitchell. "Our scores aren't quite as high as we'd like, but I think that we are poised to have a strong showing in the next few competitions. All of the athletes are well rested and that is a key element of execution. We certainly have the potential to put up some season high scores and possibly even break some school records at Pac-10's and NCAA's. This is the point in the season that all that we've been working on comes together."
THE COMPETITION: Seven Pac-10 schools will be fielding teams at the Pac-10 Championships. Arizona State and UCLA figure to be the favorites for the Pac-10 title. Washington, Stanford, Oregon State and Arizona are all ranked ahead of the Bears going into the competition averaging scores of 193.617 or higher.
CAL COACHES: Former Pac-10 Coach of the Year Alfie Mitchell is in his fourth season with the Bears and has a Cal coaching record 46-31 (.597). Overall, Mitchell boasts a record of 93-51 and is in his ninth season as a collegiate head coach. He is joined by first-year assistant coach Meredith King and first-year volunteer assistant coach Kazukuni Ono.
TENTATIVE CAL LINE-UPS: (six competitors, five high scores count toward team
total, one designated exhibition)
Vault Bars Beam Floor
1. Angela Mapa 1. Mindy Ornellas 1. Elizabeth Alden 1. Chantel Debert
2. Chantel Debert 2. Jenny Kang 2. Leila Khoury 2. Lindsay Garrett
3. Kelly Webster 3. Leila Khoury 3. Jennie Kang 3. Leila Khoury
4. Cristine Nishimoto 4. Christine Nishimoto 4. Emily Bails 4. Emily Bails
5. Leila Khoury 5. Chantel Debert 5. Mindy Ornellas 5. Angela Mapa
6. Candice Kwok 6. Jennifer Wang 6. Candice Kwok 6. Mindy Ornellas
