As Mohini Bhardwaj confidently advanced across the balance beam, the UCLA senior seemed oblivious of the 8,245 Gym Dog fans furiously barking at her in the University of Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum, site of this year's NCAA Gymnastics Championships.

On that night, April 20, in the last rotation of the championships, the Bruins led Georgia by one-tenth of a point as they headed to the beam. Sophomore Doni Thompson, up first, scored 9.9. Sophomore Malia Jones followed with a strong performance but fell. The pressure was on for the four remaining team members to "hit their routines" - which is precisely what they did.

Freshman Yvonne Tousek scored 9.95, sophomore Onnie Willis, 9.9, and freshman Kristen Maloney, 9.925. Bhardwaj finished with a 9.9, giving UCLA its third NCAA championship title and second consecutive victory. The win makes UCLA only the third school in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles.

"They were phenomenal," said Bruin head coach Valorie Kondos Field, who, for the fourth time in six years, was named coach of the year by the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches. "When I watch them in my memory, it's like seeing them in slow motion, every finger deliberately and meticulously put in place."

"I was prepared ... but nervous," admitted Bruin co-captain Bhardwaj, named the nation's top senior gymnast. "I tried to make it appear I was calm so my teammates wouldn't freak out."

"That was probably the highest pressure situation I've ever been under," agreed co-captain Onnie Willis, who became UCLA's first-ever NCAA all-around champion.

"But the really important aspect of the championship is that we could pull it together as a team. It makes the victory a whole lot sweeter when you know everyone has put in the same effort as you."

Defending their NCAA title was actually harder than winning it the first time, said Kondos Field, "because every day for 365 days, someone asks, 'Will you win next year?' "