BERKELEY – A sweep of every single event lifted the 15^th-ranked Cal women's gymnastics program to its eighth victory this season as the Golden Bears downed Arizona State 196.025-193.575. Cal improved to 8-0 this season and 3-0 against Pac-12 foes.
 
"Overall, with the week that we've had emotionally and physically, we just gave a gritty performance tonight," said head coach Justin Howell.  "We had a rough week with some injuries and lineup shuffles. We had to put some people in tough spots tonight to compete, so I was happy with all the adversity we faced that we came out and competed really well.  Our entire bars, beam and floor lineup…I commend all of them."
 
Five different Bears picked up event titles, including Toni-Ann Williams' fourth consecutive floor title of the season.  Emily Richardson won vault (9.85), Dana Ho and Chelsea Shu shared the bars crown (9.825) and Alicia Gallarzo picked up the beam title (9.875).
 
With several gymnasts out or limited by injuries – including Cassidy Keelen (knee), Alex Dudschus (back) and Williams (knee) – Cal's deep lineup stepped up to provide boosts throughout each rotation. Gallarzo made her season debut on both vault and beam, claiming the beam title with a career-high 9.875 and taking a share of third place on vault with a 9.775. Sylvie Seilnacht made her first floor appearance of the year and earned a career-high 9.80, and Zoe Draghi joined the floor lineup for the first time all season after slowly returning from an illness, where she took third with a 9.825.
 
"Depth is something that we haven't enjoyed in the past. It's coming in the clutch right now as we've had some injuries and things to deal with," Howell said. "I think the event titles are great – they say a lot about our individual performances – but collectively as a team that depth is going to be a key factor in us being able to go the distance for the rest of the season."
 
In the anchor spot on vault, Richardson led the meet with her season-high 9.85. The Bears made it a sweep with Arianna Robinson finishing as the runner-up with her 9.825, and Amber Takara and Gallarzo added a pair of 9.775s to share third. Newcomer Mariah Peterson made her career debut with a 9.70 in the leadoff spot, and Cal finished with a 48.925 on the event.
 
The Bears upped their event total to 48.975 in the next rotation and saw a pair of 9.825s from Ho and Shu, who tied for first on the uneven bars to lead the Cal rotation. It was Ho's best routine since she returned to the lineup after sitting out 2016 due to injury. Cal made it a second consecutive event sweep as Richardson, Takara and Sofie Seilnacht all picked up a share of third with 9.775s.
 
At the halfway point, the Bears had already pulled away with more than a one-point lead, 97.900-96.825.
 
Cal continued a solid night on beam, where Gallarzo picked up her first event title of 2017in her 9.875 season debut. Richardson finished in the top three once again, going 9.825 for second, and Ho added her own top-three finish with a 9.775 for bronze. A 48.950 team total helped the Bears pull away from the Sun Devils for good.
 
Cal's biggest improvement of the night came in the final rotation, where the Bears passed the 49.0 threshold for the first time all season in a 49.175 team performance.
 
"I thought we were solid on all four events, but I was especially happy that we put together a floor rotation because that's been something we've been struggling with. I was happy with the way we finished the meet," Howell said.
 
Williams matched her season-high 9.925 to claim her fourth consecutive floor title despite nursing a sore knee, which kept her out of the vault lineup.
 
"We were a little bit unsure as to what Toni would be able to do tonight because she's been nursing a sore knee and hasn't really had the opportunity to rest that up and get better," Howell said. "She came out and did a clutch performance. There were so many of those collectively tonight."
 
The Bears were also buffered by another strong performance from runner-up Robinson's 9.85. In her first floor outing of the season, Draghi earned third with a 9.825. In addition to her vault debut, Peterson made her first appearance on floor and drew a 9.675. Seilnacht's career-high 9.80 in her first try at the event in 2017 was an improvement from her previous best of 9.625 at the NCAA Championships last season.
 
NEXT UP
The Bears head to Salt Lake City to face conference foe Utah on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 12:30 p.m. The meet airs live on the Pac-12 Network.
 
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