Cal Ranked No. 14 in Preseason Coaches' Poll

Article by Cal Athletics  Photo by GoldenBearSports.com
BERKELEY, Calif. – The California women’s gymnastics team earned its highest preseason ranking in school history to start the 2015 season, checking in at No. 14 in the GymInfo preseason coaches’ poll released this week. The No. 14 ranking tops Cal’s previous best of No. 21, set in 2004.
Florida tops the list with 756 points and 19 first-place votes, followed by Oklahoma with 746 points and eight first-place votes. LSU was third with 689 points and two first-place votes, Alabama was fourth and UCLA rounded out the Top 5.
“It’s so nice to be recognized by our peers as one of the top programs in the country,” said Cal head coach Justin Howell. “We have our sights set on finding a way to becoming one of the top 12 teams to compete at Nationals, and we feel like each day we get one day better and one step closer to our goals.”
This is the second consecutive season Cal is ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason poll, eclipsing last year’s No. 22 ranking by eight spots.
Cal will face five opponents ranked in the Top 25 of the preseason poll: UCLA (No. 5), Stanford (10), Oregon State (11), Denver (20) and Arizona (21). Additionally, every opponent Cal will face in 2015 claimed a team or individual berth to 2014 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regionals competition.
The Golden Bears open 2015 competition on Jan. 4 at the NorCal Classic hosted by UC Davis. The five-team meet also features No. 10 Stanford, San Jose State, UC Davis and Sacramento State.
“This is a great start, but we recognize that we have a lot of work ahead,” Howell said. “We are so excited to start our journey on Jan. 4 at the NorCal Classic at UC Davis. This year is going to be very exciting for our team and our fans!”
The Bears welcome back 12 members of last year’s squad that helped Cal to its second consecutive NCAA Regional berth and a third-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, the program’s highest finish in school history. The Blue and Gold also welcome four strong freshmen in Toni-Ann Williams, Alicia Gallarzo, Yuleen Sternberg and Arianna Richardson.
Tickets for all regular-season home meets will be available for purchase at the ticket office on Spieker Plaza the day of the meet, beginning approximately one hour before the start of each meet and through the end of the second rotation. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth (12th grade and under) and seniors (age 65 and above). Membership for the popular Cub Club, which allows youth special perks such as an exclusive seating area and membership gifts, will also be available for purchase.
Tickets for NCAA Regionals, which Cal will host in Berkeley on Saturday, April 4, will be available at a later date.