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Yvonne Tousek performs on the floor during the Pac-10 Finals. The team will go to Missouri for NC

Coming off its Pac-10 Championship last weekend, the top-ranked UCLA gymnastics team awaits the NCAA South Central Regional Championship meet on Saturday, April 12 in Columbia, Mo.

The Bruins (19-2-1) will compete against three top 20 teams – including Pac-10 foes No. 12 Oregon State and No. 19 Arizona, who finished fifth and sixth respectively at the Pac-10 Championships. One of the Bruins’ two losses came early in the season against the Beavers.

There will be six regional championships and the top two teams from each region will receive a berth in the NCAA Championships, to be held in Lincoln, Neb. April 24-26.

The team will begin the meet on floor and finish on the balance beam. Head coach Valorie Kondos Field says the Bruins have been faced with similar rotations in recent years and have won the regional two out of the last three times.

Last season, UCLA won the NCAA South Central Regional held at Arizona State, but did not end up with an NCAA championship. This year the Bruins are set to finish up strong.

“There’s not a lot of hype going into the championship season, though the gymnasts are excited,” Kondos Field said. “My team is so focused and we won’t miss a beat.”

Asked about being ranked No. 1 going into the postseason, Kondos Field recognizes that eventually the top six teams will end up in the same gym – at the NCAA Championships.

On the other hand, being No. 1 virtually the entire season, “makes a statement to the country and the judges,” she said.