Katelyn Ohashi scores another 10 as UCLA keeps perfect record intact
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For the second time this season, senior Katelyn Ohashi earned a perfect 10 for her floor routine.
The performance comes in Ohashi’s first time competing in her hometown, Seattle, Wash., for UCLA gymnastics since her freshman year. She led the Bruins in a rotation where each UCLA gymnast scored higher than 9.8. UCLA defeated Washington 197.600-196.00 on Sunday to remain undefeated, with a 8-0 record.
The first time she earned a perfect 10 on floor this season, Ohashi’s routine went viral, earning more than 100 million total views online. This time, about 30 of Ohashi’s relatives were among the crowd of 7,228 that came to the meet — a new attendance record for Washington.
“I feed off the audience a lot, their energy,” Ohashi said. “And so having a lot of it be my family was just amazing and very supportive.”
Coach Valorie Kondos Field could tell by Ohashi’s face that she was going to post a standout performance on floor and beam, where she earned a 9.975. Concentration encompassed her expression.
“I’ve seen it this whole season,” Kondos Field said. “I’ve just seen her… she knows how to have fun with her team, she knows how to pump her teammates up, she knows exactly what she needs to feel comfortable on the equipment.”
Ohashi wasn’t the only Bruin with a perfect score on a rotation. Junior Kyla Ross was awarded her first-ever 10 on vault — the eighth total of her collegiate career. It was part of a career high 39.775 all-around score for Ross.
Ross’ all-around score is the highest in the nation this year, and the highest from a UCLA gymnast since 2012. Kondos Field said the difference in Ross was that she did not get ahead of herself in her routines, an improvement many of the Bruins are achieving as they approach midseason.
“It’s so encouraging to see them become mature athletes, and to understand that there’s not an athlete that’s had a perfect game or a perfect meet…” Kondos Field said. “That growth is what excites me most.”
But Kondos Field said UCLA still hasn’t reached its goal — to earn a perfect 10 on every rotation in a meet.
“The team knows that scoring a high of 197, that’s just our normal,” Kondos Field said. “I mean, we’ve proven that’s just our default… so we need to keep going back to the gym and making improvements so that we can crack that 198 and make that our default.”
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