Grad student Jordan Williams faces former team at first home meet

After the Monday gymnastics meet at Pauley Pavilion, a Bruin squeezed her way into the Wildcats, hugging each one of them.

But there wasn’t a need for either side to be alarmed – that was just UCLA’s fifth-year senior Jordan Williams saying hello to her old college teammates from Arizona.

Before transferring to UCLA as the program’s first graduate student, Williams competed for the Arizona gymnastics team for four years from 2011 to 2014. During her senior year, Williams injured her shoulder on uneven bars and was forced to take a redshirt year.

Williams came to realize how important gymnastics is to her when the sport was suddenly taken away. Combined with a wish to pursue a master’s degree in physiological science, Williams decided to compete for the UCLA gymnastics team as a graduate student.

At Williams’ home debut as a Bruin Monday, she came face to face with none other than the Wildcats. Williams said it was a great experience for her to meet up with her old teammates.

“The girls are like sisters to me. I spent four years with them,” Williams said. “I got the chance to compete with my old family and my new family. It’s been great to be surrounded by everyone.”

Coach Valorie Kondos Field also praised Williams’ welcome gesture toward her old team.

“She did exactly what she should do. She didn’t wait for them to come up to her, but took control of it,” Kondos Field said. “Before the meet started, she was the one to go up and say hello to the Arizona coaches. She was the one to welcome them into Pauley Pavilion.”

During the meet, Williams competed in vault, scoring a 9.850 in her favorite apparatus.

Junior Danusia Francis, Williams’ teammate, said that the former Wildcat has added experience to the team.

“She gets into her role really well,” Francis said. “She’s older than all of us, so she is able to come in and bring her experience from her other school.”

As a graduate student, Williams only has one year of eligibility remaining to compete in college meets. However, Williams said she is determined to stay involved with the gymnastics team after retiring as a student athlete. Kondos Field added that she would love for Williams to become a graduate assistant coach.

“She’s got a great intuitive ability to know how to speak with her teammates, to let them know that she believes in them and help them build their confidence,” Kondos Field said. “She’s just an asset to the team. She’s a great combination of strength and humility.”