The No. 8 California women's gymnastics team is set for its inaugural ACC road meet as the Golden Bears head to Raleigh, North Carolina, to take on defending conference champion and No. 21 NC State. First routine is set for 1 p.m. PT on ACCNX/ESPN+ at Reynolds Coliseum.
at No. 21 NC State Date: Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025 Time: 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. PT Location: James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum Streaming/TV: ACCNX/ESPN+ Broadcasters: Alex Perlman (PxP), Samantha Peszek (Color) Live Scoring: Virtius
RANKINGS (based on average score) Team: 8th Vault: 10th Uneven Bars: 5th Balance Beam: 10th Floor Exercise: 7th
FIRST ACC MEET, FIRST ACC WIN History was made Jan. 26 as the Bears participated in their first ACC meet and picked up their first ACC win in defeating No. 24 Clemson 196.925-196.225.
Cal earned at least a share of all five individual event titles and had 17 podium finishes. On the team side the Bears posted their two highest event scores of the season with a 49.400 on bars and a 49.475 on floor.
CESARIO NAMED ACC GYMNAST OF THE WEEK After a stellar outing at this weekend's win over No. 22 Clemson, senior Ella Cesario was named ACC Gymnast of the Week
The Golden Bears have now won the award three out of four weeks to begin their first season in the conference with senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier earning the honor the first two weeks.
Cesario picked up the first all-around event title of her career in Sunday's home opener and inaugural ACC meet with a season-high score of 49.475. She also placed first on vault with a career-high 9.900 and took home the uneven bars title with a season-high 9.925. The Glen Ellyn, Illinois, native tied her best floor exercise of the year with a 9.850 that was good for a share of seventh place and added a 9.800 on the balance beam to tie for fifth place.
ALL-AROUND GREATNESS Cal's four everyday all-arounders rank top 40 in the country in scoring average. Mya Lauzon (39.400) leads the way in 17th, followed by senior Maddie Williams (39.367) in 21st, junior eMjae Frazier (39.350) in 24th, and senior Ella Cesario (39.181) in 38th.
SOLID SPROUTS OUTING Cal had a strong showing at the nationally televised Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad on Jan. 11 that aired on ABC. The Bears put up season highs on all four events and captured a team score of 197.275, which is the fourth-highest score in the country so far this season. Seven of the Bears' routines earned a 9.900 or better, including three by eMjae Frazier and two by Mya Lauzon. Cal placed third in its session, besting No. 4 Utah (196.800) while falling to No. 1 Oklahoma (197.950) and No. 2 LSU (197.659). The program's team score was the fourth highest out of all 12 teams in attendance.
FRAZIER NAMED ACC GYMNAST OF THE WEEK Following the Bears' success at the Sprouts Quad, Frazier was named ACC Gymnast of the Week, making Cal 2-for-2 on weekly conference awards in its inaugural season in the conference. The junior had three scores of 9.90 or better, including a 9.90 on both the balance beam and vault that earned her a share of third and fourth place, respectively, in the session. Her floor exercise routine scored a 9.925, which led the Bears and was good for a share of fifth place. A solid 9.825 on the uneven bars rounded out her all-around score at 39.550, which tied her for seventh.
Frazier, who set the program record with four Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week awards last year, now has eight total weekly honors in her career.
LAUZON NAMED ACC GYMNAST OF THE WEEK On Jan. 7, Mya Lauzon became the first Golden Bear to be named ACC Gymnast of the Week. Lauzon got her senior season started off right at the American Gold Collegiate Classic with four podium finishes.
The Kent, Washington, native placed second in the all-around with a score of 39.525, finishing behind only Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey of Oregon State. Lauzon tied for first place on both the vault and floor exercise, posting a 9.900 on both events. She was one of just three gymnasts in the meet to collect three scores of 9.9 or better, earning a 9.900 on the balance beam as well to earn a share of second place on that apparatus. She added a 9.825 on the uneven bars, which was good for sixth place. Her all-around score was the sixth highest achieved by any gymnast in the country during opening week.
2024 RECAP Cal had yet another historical season in 2024, earning its highest finish in program history as national runner-up. The Bears' final season as a Pac-12 institution concluded with their first outright conference championship after going a perfect 7-0 against Pac-12 opponents. A number of accolades were achieved along the way, including 19 All-America honors, 14 All-Pac-12 honors, and three WCGA West Region honors, headlined by eMjae Frazier being named the Regional Gymnast of the Year. For the second straight year the Bears won their NCAA Regional and had four individual event champions. Cal also did a number on the program record book, breaking the vault record and notching the top three team scores in school history: 198.550, 198.500, 198.400.
BEARS EARN HIGHEST PRESEASON RANKING Following an incredible 2024 campaign, the Bears entered the season as the fourth-ranked team in the country in the WCGA coaches poll, their highest preseason ranking in program history. The Bears earned 1,785 points in the poll and picked up a first-place vote for the first time. Cal is the highest-ranked ACC school and trails just three SEC schools in No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Florida. The ACC, which only began sponsoring women's gymnastics last year, saw five of its six programs listed in the poll.
CAL TABBED TO WIN ACC For the first time in program history, Cal was picked to win its conference in the preseason coaches poll. The Bears led the voting with 34 points and the rest of the poll played out identically to the national poll with No. 15 Stanford coming in second and reigning ACC champion No. 25 NC State in third. No. 28 Clemson was picked fourth, No. 36 North Carolina was picked fifth and Pitt came in sixth.
3 BEARS NAMED TO ACC PRESEASON WATCH LISTS eMjae Frazier and Mya Lauzon were named to the ACC Preseason Watch List and Ondine Achampong was named to the Newcomer Watch List. Last season, Frazier set the NCAA single-season record with 673.0625 points scored, thanks in part that she did not miss a single routine all year long. The 10-time All-American finished the regular season as the No. 3 all-around gymnast with an NQS of 39.755 and was named the WCGA West Region Gymnast of the Year.
Lauzon is a 13-time All-American after being named the College Gym News Breakout Performer last year. At the NCAA Championship, Lauzon won bronze on balance beam, placed fourth in the all-around, and became the first Bear to record a perfect 10 in the postseason, doing so on vault. Lauzon finished the regular season as the sixth-ranked all-arounder in the country as well as fifth on vault and the uneven bars.
Achampong has been a Great Britain National Team member since 2020. The freshman won the 2024 British All-Around Championship and placed 13th in the all-around at the 2023 World Championships. Achampong also helped Great Britain win the silver medal in the team competition at the 2022 World Championships.
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