No. 2 Bears Meet Top Competition At Metroplex

SATURDAY, FEB. 17
NO. 1 OKLAHOMA (15-0), NO. 2 CAL (9-2), NO. 16 ARKANSAS (2-2-1), NO. 29 WASHINGTON (1-7) AT METROPLEX CHALLENGE| 5:15 P.M. PT | FORT WORTH CONVENTION CENTER ARENA | FORT WORTH, TEXAS
LIVE SCORING: CALBEARS.COM
 
The No. 2 California women's gymnastics team is back on the road this weekend for a pivotal showdown against some of the nation's best teams at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. Included in the meet is No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 29 Washington. The Bears have already faced off against both the Sooners and Huskies this season, falling to Oklahoma in a tri-meet at Arizona State and defeating Washington in their Pac-12 opener in Seattle. Despite losing to Oklahoma, Cal tied its highest team score of the season against the Sooners at 197.950.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live scoring for the meet will be available at CalBears.com. No live stream will be provided, but follow Cal Women's Gymnastics social media accounts for real-time coverage.
 
LAST WEEK
The Bears used a dominant performance in the floor exercise to notch a riveting come-from-behind victory over No. 17 Arizona at Haas Pavilion. Competing without No. 2-ranked all-around gymnast Mya Lauzon (rest), Cal had four gymnasts score over 9.90 - including a 9.95 by both sophomroe eMjae Frazier and freshman Kyen Mayhew (career-high). The Bears' team score of 49.600 on floor tied a season-best and is the third-best in program history.
 
BEARS THREE-PEAT FOR GYMNAST OF THE WEEK
Cal took home the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award three consecutive weeks, with sophomore eMjae Frazier securing the honor on Jan. 16 and junior Mya Lauzon winning the award each of the following two weeks. Lauzon became the first Golden Bear to earn back-to-back Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors since Kyana George in 2020.
 
50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Last season marked the 50th year of California women's gymnastics, and the Bears honored the occasion last month with a memorable gala the evening before their meet against Oregon State. Alumni across different decades attended the event at the University Club at California Memorial Stadium, and they were also honored during the meet against the Beavers.

CRANDALL-HOWELL REACHES CENTURY MARK
Cal co-head coach Liz Crandall Howell notched her 100th career victory with the Bears' win over Oregon State on Jan. 27. Crandall-Howell has an overall record of 102-40-2 since joining Justin Howell as co-head coach in 2018. Crandall-Howell and Howell were named the WCGA Co-Head Coaches of the Year last season.
 
CAL PICKED THIRD IN PAC-12 PRESEASON POLL
Cal was picked to finish third in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll for the seventh consecutive year. The top half of this year's poll shook out to be nearly identical to last season's, as Utah claimed the top spot with 46 points and five first-place votes and UCLA placed second with 43 points and the three remaining first-place votes. The Golden Bears followed in third with 43 points and Oregon State placed fourth with 30 points. All four programs tied for the Pac-12 regular season title in 2023. Arizona State (22), Stanford (19), Washington (14) and Arizona (10) rounded out the rest of the poll.
 
FRAZIER, LAUZON NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Sophomore eMjae Frazier and junior Mya Lauzon were named to the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Watch List.
 
Frazier burst onto the scene in her freshman year, helping the Golden Bears to a historic year that included the program's first Regional Final title and a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. She earned NCAA All-American Second Team honors in the all-around, vault and floor and broke the program mark for the all-around twice last season. Frazier also became the first Bear to earn a Perfect 10 on the floor exercise and was named a WCGA First Team All-American on the event as well.
 
Lauzon had a breakout sophomore campaign a season ago, setting a Cal program mark with the Bears' first Perfect 10 on the balance beam and tying the program's all-around mark in the same competition with a 39.700. She earned regular season and NCAA All-American honors on the vault and balance beam and became the first Bear to win a Pac-12 title on beam.
 
BACK-TO-BACK CO-CHAMPS
The Bears secured back-to-back Pac-12 regular-season titles last March as the championship was once again split amongst four teams. They ended the season with a 4-1-2 conference record. Last year's title was the first in program history.
 
THE LAST DANCE
This will be Cal's last season in the Pac-12 conference as the school announced it will be joining the ACC in the fall of 2024. The ACC is currently in its first season of women's gymnastics.