Gymnastics picks up pace of season with 3 meets in 10 days

While some gymnasts may not compete three times in a year, the Bruins will take the competition floor three times in 10 days.

When No. 10 UCLA gymnastics (2-0, 2-0 Pac 12) takes on No. 11 BYU (4-3) on Wednesday, it will be the Bruins’ first meet of the month. That matchup precedes meets at Washington and No. 3 Utah in the following nine days. UCLA has competed that often in a 10-day span only once in the last decade.

Coach Chris Waller noted the slightly extended break leading up to the meet against BYU gave the team time to polish its skills, but competing three times in 10 days will force the team to shift its focus to injury prevention.

“The next 10 days are really going to be about refining our competitiveness and making a good plan to keep our student-athletes healthy through the meets,” Waller said.

Junior Margzetta Frazier added that competing three times in 10 days will be uncharted territory for most of the gymnasts on the team. Frazier — who has competed in the all-around in the first two meets of the season — expects her usage to be limited considering the frequency of competition.

“Having an athlete compete all-around three times in 10 days can be a lot,” Frazier said. “I would not be surprised if they were to save my legs one competition and just let me do floor one day or just let me do only bars and only beam.”

Nevertheless, Frazier said the team will be prepared for the challenge because it approaches practice the same way as it does competition.

“The fact that we make every training day feel like a competition (means) competing three times a week should make no difference,” Frazier said.

Despite reiterating that junior Norah Flatley will not compete in any of the next three meets, Waller said the team is getting healthier and building its depth.

The second-year coach specifically noted the potential insertion of freshman Sara Ulias into the bars rotation and the return of junior Sekai Wright on floor and vault as important depth additions. The Bruins currently rank No. 11 on floor and No. 20 on bars, events in which they ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, a season ago.

While UCLA has started slowly on floor and bars compared to last season, the team currently holds the No. 6 spot in the nation on beam. Waller said beam was the first event the team was able to start training since returning from the offseason.

“They’ve been able to train at a higher level for literally two months longer than any of the other events,” Waller said. “I think with (associate head coach Kristina Comforte) being in her second year here, she’s really just got a program going on beam. They’re building momentum.”

The beam rotation is anchored by junior Samantha Sakti, who scored a 9.950 on beam at Arizona a week ago and ranks third in the country individually on the apparatus.

Sakti — a transfer who competed for one season at William & Mary — said going last in the rotation is nerve-wracking, but she has changed her breathing technique and rhythm to feel more comfortable waiting for her turn.

“I’m usually an overthinker, but I think UCLA has really taught me to be confident in myself and be confident in my team,” Sakti said. “They trust me and I trust them. And so through that, I learned to like going last.”

Despite notching wins in each of the team’s first two meets, Waller said the lack of training coming into the season incited some doubt within the program. However, he added, the team builds confidence with each meet.

“That first meet was pretty terrifying,” Waller said. “Everybody worked as hard as they could to push the negativity out of their head and believe.”