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KRISTEN ELVES/Arizona Daily Wildcat
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UA junior Nikki Beyschau competes in the uneven bars last weekend in McKale Center.
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By Brett Fera
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday Jan. 28, 2002
The Arizona women's gymnastics team notched its sixth win of the season Friday night with a close victory over Pacific 10 Conference rival UCLA in its first conference meet of 2002.
The No. 6 Gymcats (6-1, 1-0 Pac-10) beat No. 3 UCLA (6-4, 1-1) on the strength of a solid team effort, despite not winning a single individual title for the evening.
With a winning overall score of 195.175, this was the first victory for the Arizona squad over two-time defending champion UCLA since 1996. UCLA had an overall score of 195.100.
Despite not being at her best for the greater part of Friday's meet after slipping on the uneven bars and missing a landing on the vault, standout senior team captain Randi Liljenquist helped push the team victory with a 9.950 score on floor exercise.
"Coming here as a freshman, it was difficult to imagine beating a team like UCLA," Liljenquist said. "It's encouraging to see that as one of the leaders of this team, I can have an off day, still manage to get through it, and have our team be successful in the end."
Despite not being overly impressed with the performance of his team, UA head coach Bill Ryden said he was pleased with the victory and the balance displayed by the Gymcats.
"While this was our flattest meet of the season by far, the team never gave up," Ryden said. "Randi is capable of competing with anyone in the nation, and to have her have an off night and still win like this against UCLA shows a lot of heart in our gymnasts and great teamwork."
Liljenquist, who also finished third in the overall individual competition, finished third in the floor exercise, one spot behind freshman teammate Katie Johnson.
Johnson secured a second-place finish with a career-best 9.975. Johnson's score was also the second-highest individual floor mark in school history.
She paced the Wildcats by finishing third on the beam (9.850) and fifth on the vault (9.825).
Freshmen Monica Bisordi, Jamie Duce and Jamie Schell posted season-highs on the bars, beam and floor, respectively.
The Gymcats travel to Stanford, Calif., Friday to face the No. 14 Cardinals.
