UCLA's Olympian
One of UCLA's incoming gymnasts will compete in the Olympics for Canada. Here is the release from the school:
Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs Earns Olympic Berth
Incoming UCLA freshman gymnast claims one of two spots for Team Canada.
Toronto's Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, who will be joining the UCLA Gymnastics
team for the 2009 season, has earned one of Canada's two individual
berths at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Hopfner-Hibbs concluded competition at the Canadian National
Championships on Saturday night with a pair of third-place finishes on
uneven bars and balance beam. On Thursday night, she won the
all-around title for the second time in the last three years.
Hopfner-Hibbs was the No. 2 Olympic qualifier for Canada, which used a
points system from the national championships and international
competitions to determine its Olympic berths. Montreal's Nansy
Damianova surpassed Hopfner-Hibbs for the No. 1 slot after winning the
vault and placing second on uneven bars on Saturday.
Hopfner-Hibbs will become the sixth Canadian Olympian to compete for
UCLA, joining Kate Richardson (2000, 2004), Yvonne Tousek (1996,
2000), Michelle Conway (2000), Stella Umeh (1992) and Gigi Zosa (1984).
About Inside UCLA
This is Brian Dohn's sixth season covering UCLA after spending 4 1/2 years covering the Dodgers for the Daily News and other Los Angeles Newspaper Group papers. He graduated from Rutgers, where the first college football game was played in 1869. Sure, the Scarlet Knights suffered for a long time, but now RU is doing what Jerseyans always thought was possible. Winning at Rutgers also proves winning is possible everywhere else in the nation, so underachieving coaches better be careful. Now, if only men's hoops can turn it around.
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