#Haas Howell Building

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#3 Bears Repeat As NCAA Regional Champions

Cal Records Highest Postseason Team Score Ever To Advance To NCAA Championships

Golden Bears Easily Dispatch Stanford to Win Regional

BERKELEY – 198 never looked so great.

The No. 3 California women's gymnastics team went over the 198 mark for the fifth time this season and first time in four meets Sunday, punching its ticket to the NCAA Championships by winning an NCAA regional for the second year in a row with a 198.275 at Haas Pavilion.

The Golden Bears recorded their highest postseason score ever in the process while also tying their fourth highest score ever in any meet.

"These meets are tight. Everybody is good," Cal co-head coach Justin Howell said. "Our overarching goal all year long has been to compete on the final night of the national championship. But we put that aside and didn't talk about it – we focused on our own gymnastics and being at our best. I'm incredibly excited and grateful to have the opportunity to compete for a national championship."

The Bears rose to as high as No. 2 in the national rankings this season, which included a breathtaking string of performances where they set the program record for team score in three straight meets. Cal went over the 198 mark four times in a row, during which they clinched the first outright regular season conference championship in program history.

Cal had been under 198 in each of the past three meets – including Friday's regional semifinal and last month's Pac-12 Championships when it finished third – but the Bears had their fans beside themselves with the show they put on Sunday, easily outdistancing Stanford's 197.575 to cruise to the regional championship.

"We took a little look in the mirror after Pac-12s and had a really productive team meeting," Howell said. "We got some really good feedback from the team and tried to implement it into our training. We wanted to figure out what was different at Pac-12s and make sure it didn't happen again."

Junior All-American Mya Lauzon became the first Cal women's gymnast ever to win the individual all-around title at a regional with a 39.750 – which is also tied for the third highest score ever in program history at a single meet. Her performance included a perfect 10 on vault – the Bears' first 10 in any event in the postseason and the first on vault in Lauzon's career.

Cal began Sunday's regional final on the balance beam and finished the first rotation tied for the lead with Denver. The Bears then put on a breathtaking performance on the floor exercise, with all six gymnasts recording a 9.8 or better – including a 9.975 by sophomore All-American eMjae Frazier.

Cal then moved on to vault where Lauzon helped the Bears record their highest postseason score ever in the event and tied for second highest at any meet in program history with a 49.500. By the time the Bears rounded out the meet on the uneven bars, the party was in full effect in Berkeley and Cal ended with a flourish with a 49.675 – once again setting a program benchmark for the postseason.

"Competing at home in a regional was an incredible feeling," Howell said. "Our fans were absolutely amazing on both nights. They've been building toward this moment just as much as we have. We really felt that tonight."

The NCAA Championships are April 18-20 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

[rabbitcruiser]

Buildings Ornamentations (No. 82)

Bank of America Plaza, Atlanta

Centennial Tower, Atlanta

Downtown Atlanta

Haas Howell Building, Atlanta (two pics)

National Center for Civil and Human Rights,

497 Auburn Avenue NE, Atlanta (two pics)

Historic Fire Station No. 6, Atlanta (two pics)

[bearterritory]

Cal Upends #3 Utah

Bears Come-From-Behind On Final Rotation To Defeat Utes

BERKELEY – The 9th-ranked California women's gymnastics recorded their third-ever victory over #3 Utah in a thrilling matchup on Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. The Bears led after each of the first two rotations, but Utah took the lead after the third rotation to set up an exciting ending. Cal recorded the seventh-best floor score in school history at 49.475 to fly past the Utes and claim a 197.525-197.275 victory. "It feels amazing, this is the way a sporting event should be," co-head coach Justin Howell said. "Two great teams going head-to-head with it coming down to the wire. We went back-and-forth and it came down to the last couple routines. I know the fans loved it, the athletes fed off the energy. All of those pieces came together. The most exciting part is that we didn't have our entire roster healthy and ready to compete, it gave some opportunities for people to step in and they showed everyone what they're capable of." The Bears moved to 5-0 on the season and are 4-0 in Pac-12 meets. Cal notched the seventh-best score in school history and handed Utah its first loss of the season. Cal is now the lone undefeated team in the Pac-12. The Bears opened the meet on vault and recorded the eighth-best vault score in school history at 49.350. Nevaeh DeSouza led the way as she set a career high on the event at 9.950 with a beautiful Yurchenko 1.5 vault. DeSouza finished in second place while Nina Schank took third with a 9.90. Andi Li and Madelyn Williams both recorded 9.85 scores and Maya Bordas led off with a 9.80 to help carry the Bears lineup to a season-best score. "I was really proud of our vault lineup," Howell said. "We've struggled to find a rhythm. We changed the order today, which allowed them to build off each other. They also performed vaults and landed much better than they have been. You add Mya and Milan back and we're in great business. We moved Nina back in the lineup, because her vault is huge, sometimes in that first spot you don't get everything that you may have earned. We moved her back and it helped her. Bordas and Maddie both had clean, powerful vaults. To have the first two solid vaults above 9.80 is great to start. Li continued her torrid start to her sophomore season with a 9.95 on bars to win the event, which featured both of last year's co-national champions in Cal's Maya Bordas and Utah's Maile O'Keefe. O'Keefe tied for third with Cal freshman Madelyn Williams and sophomore Gabby Perea as all three scored a 9.90. It was the first meet of her career for Perea. She joined the team last year, but spent all of last season and the beginning of this year recovering from injury, appearing in a couple of exhibition lineups before making her collegiate debut Saturday. "We've been seeing Gabby nail bar routines in practice over and over again," Howell said. "We talked about it as a staff, and she was ready and ran with her opportunity. She started putting floor routines together this week and with Milan and Mya out, she had an opportunity. She looked ready, looked great in warmups, we put her at the end to ease some pressure, hoping we would hit five routines before her and we did. That should give her a lot of confidence not only today but for the next couple of years." DeSouza finished with a 9.875 score for the Bears who totaled a 49.450 and held a 98-800-98.675 lead after two rotations. DeSouza led off Cal's beam lineup with a 9.90 score, Li followed with an equally impressive 9.90 score. Those two high scores sandwiched a 9.85 score for the freshman Williams. Bordas recorded a 9.825 and Nina Schank notched a 9.775 while trying out a brand-new series and doing all-around for the first time since Cal's opening meet of the 2021 season. The third rotation swung the way of the Utes as they recorded a 49.525 on floor while the Bears scored 49.200 on beam to give Utah a .150 lead heading to the final rotation. The Bears knew they needed to make up the difference and started off the floor rotation with three straight 9.90 scores. Schank led off, followed by DeSouza and Bordas as the Bears got within .025 points heading to the fourth routine of the rotation. That is where Li shined. The sophomore tied her career high with a 9.95 score and pushed the Bears in the lead as Utah's fourth routine from Abby Paulson scored a 9.575. Grace Quinn and Perea each scored 9.825 in the final two routines to complete the comeback and give the Bears a dramatic victory over Utah.

[bearterritory]

Bears Dazzle With Season-Best Outing To Top Stanford

Team Matches Its Fourth-Best Total In School History

BERKELEY – Cal’s Women’s Gymnastics turned in a trio of top team scores this week to set a new season-best score and surge past Stanford, 197.325-195.550, at Haas Pavilion.  It was the third time this season that the Bears have bested the Cardinal. Cal's 197.325 tied the fourth-highest team total in school history. The 5th-ranked Golden Bears were helped by two other program-record scores – a school-record 49.575 on bars and the fourth-best floor score in school history, a 49.425. "It was amazing being back home. It's a whole different type of energy, especially when we were on bars. When we were sticking our landings, you could feel the energy erupt out of nowhere, and it's nice to carry that from event to event," said junior all-arounder Kyana George.   For the second week in a row, Cal swept every event title, including another three titles for reigning Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week George. The junior was all-around champion with a 39.575 and won vault and floor, which included earning a new career-high 9.95 on floor. Emi Watterson took titles on both of her events with a near-perfect 9.975 on bars and a career-high 9.875 on beam. She shared the beam title with Maya Bordas and Nevaeh DeSouza. Bordas was the all-around runner-up after matching her career-high 39.450, and freshman DeSouza turned in her strongest showing yet with a 39.350 all-around total to take third. "I was really, really proud of how they controlled the controllables tonight, and this is what they're capable of. This is what we know they're capable of. I think it's a great reminder that we can build off of," said co-head coach Justin Howell. The Bears opened with a 49.050 thanks to season-highs from half of its lineup. DeSouza upped her career-high to 9.80, and Grace Quinn matched her season-best 9.80. Rachael Mastrangelo debuted on vault for the season with a 9.80. A program-record uneven bars total fueled the Bears a point past the Cardinal. Cal matched its school-record 49.575, set at last year's NCAA Regional final, behind four routines of 9.90 or better. George started the string with a season-high 9.90, and then bars staple and 2018 All-Pac-12 uneven bars selection Nina Schank made her return to the event for the first time all season to tally a career-best 9.95 for second on the event. Watterson continued to build with a near-perfect 9.975 for a new personal best of her own, and Bordas anchored with a career-high 9.925, taking third. "Our entire bar lineup drilled landing after landing," Howell said. "At this level, where everyone is good, there are not a lot of big mistakes because everyone is so well-prepared, so it really comes down to those landings. If you land well with confidence, you get great scores and we've really been working hard on that." Cal's booming bar rotation gave way to a strong 49.275 beam set, the team's best this year. Talitha Jones led off with a strong 9.80, and DeSouza logged her second new career-high of the afternoon with a 9.875. In the fifth spot, Bordas upped her season-high with the same 9.875 score. Watterson matched DeSouza and Bordas' scores in the anchor spot, continuing her stellar day in just the third beam performance of her career.

The Golden Bears continue to own the Cardinal this season, having stormed back most recently in the NorCal Classic to beat #9 Stanford to claim the crown on January 12th.  Earlier the Bears had topped their rivals in the Collegiate Challenge.

The Bears entered Sunday's meet ranked 42nd in the country on floor, which was not telling of the talent loaded in the lineup of Cal's final event of the day. Each of Cal's first five gymnasts on the event tallied career or season-high totals, starting with a career-high 9.85 by DeSouza. Maya Bordas (9.875) and Milan Clausi (9.90) each added season-best scores, and Grace Quinn set a career-high 9.85. George's performance in the middle of the lineup dazzled the judges for a career-high 9.95, and the Bears finished with a 49.425 to match their fourth-best floor total in school history. "Floor is just a part of me where I get to express myself. Outside of the gym, I can be shy when I meet people, but when I'm competing it's a way for me to show who I really am," George said. Cal returns to action at Washington on Sunday beginning at 2 p.m. and live on the Pac-12 Networks. "I was so happy with the crowd. We had a pretty packed house, and a lot of energy. We're really trying to come up with things that keep the energy going. The gymnastics is amazing and the entertainment value of what we do is getting higher and higher," Howell added. SOCIAL MEDIA Join Cal Women's Gymnastics in the social media realm for behind-the-scenes access to the Bears. Follow Cal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for meet scores, practice updates, exclusive photos, videos and more. Find Cal at: • Twitter: @CalWGym • Facebook: Facebook.com/CalWGym • Instagram: @CalWGym