Jan. 18, 1997
Women's Gymnastics Off To A Solid Start
BERKELEY, Calif. - The Cal women's gymnastics team opened the 1997 season with wins over
Illinois-Chicago and Iowa, however a team score of 192.775 was not high enough to
defeat No. 8 Arizona (193.450) which claimed the team championship at the Cal
Invitational in Harmon Gym on Friday, Jan. 18.
"I'm pleased with our score," said head coach Alfie Mitchell. "In terms of score,
it's a much better start than we got off to than last last year. We have plenty
to work on but, if we make consistant improvement from here, we should be in good
shape come the postseason."
In team competition, Arizona outscored Cal on Vault, Bars and Beam while the
Bears bested the Wildcats on floor. Arizona went one-two in the all-around
competition as Heidi Hornbeek and Tenli Poggemeyer proved to be most consistant
in all four events.
In individual competition, Cal's Candice Kwok's 9.90 was equaled by Arizona's
Kiernan Andrews and Hornbeek as the trio shared top honors. Hornbeek and Wildcat
Becky Bowers shared the win on bars. On Floor, Cal's Mindy Ornellas and Leila
Khoury tied for first with a pair of 9.90's while Ornellas won beam outright with
her 9.85.
