UCLA gymnastics looks to bring all-time record against Cal to 87-5 in upcoming meet

The Bruins are not training to the point at which they succeed, but rather to the point at which they cannot fail, according to coach Chris Waller.

No. 10 UCLA gymnastics (5-1, 4-1 Pac-12) could improve to 87-5 all-time against No. 9 California (4-1, 3-1) with a win at Haas Pavilion on Saturday. The Bruins have also reached a team score above 197 in consecutive weeks – a feat they did not achieve once in the first four meets of the season.

It wasn’t until a showdown against then-No. 3 Utah in the fifth meet of the season that UCLA broke the 197 barrier. Waller said the team discussed the ramifications of competing against its rival before the Red Rock meet, and the Bruins relished the opportunity to step up against one of the top-ranked programs in the country.

Despite NCAA gymnastics rankings being solely predicated on team scores as opposed to wins and losses, Waller said this year’s team is driven by competition.

“This team does respond to its competitors,” Waller said. “Last year, we were just charging ahead, and (other teams) were behind us for the most part. And this year, they get motivated to step up.”

Saturday’s competition at Berkeley will be the penultimate competition of UCLA’s shortened, eight-meet regular season – with a meet against San Jose State in Pauley Pavilion representing the lone remaining competition on the schedule before the postseason.

With the Pac-12 championships around the corner and the academic quarter coming to a close, Waller said he wants to make sure his student-athletes are staying on top of their studies, getting good sleep and taking care of their bodies.

“Once you start moving to championship season, it’s important that our team starts to block out the noise (and) make sure that the Bruin bubble gets a little bit tighter,” Waller said.

For freshman Sara Ulias – who scored a career-high 9.925 on bars en route to UCLA’s season-high event score of 49.550 against Oregon State last weekend – the key to reaching her potential has been overcoming self doubt, her coach said.

When Ulias first joined the Bruins, Waller said she set ceilings for her performances and battled impostor syndrome among a gym full of elite-level gymnasts, but after breakthroughs in practice and the addition of a skill she hadn’t trained in years, Waller added there are no bounds on Ulias’ potential.

Ulias said it was former Olympian and current UCLA undergraduate assistant coach Kyla Ross who unlocked her potential.

“In the past, I was more timid when I was approaching my skills because I was focusing on trying to be perfect,” Ulias said. “It’s actually the opposite approach that (Ross) has taught me – that going big is what’s really going to do it for you.”

Ulias isn’t the only freshman who has benefited from the support of the experienced Bruin gymnasts on the team.

“I know I have people that have my back and are there to support me whether I do good or bad,” said freshman Frida Esparza. “It’s kind of like a safety net for me. It’s nice to know I have a lot of people on my side cheering me on.”

Esparza, a bars and beam specialist for UCLA in her freshman campaign, recorded her best combined score in the two events a week ago. She said while practices in anticipation of last week’s meet were about working out details, the team knows what it has to do to succeed now and simply needs to execute.

Waller echoed Esparza’s sentiment.

“We are on track (to improve) every event as I had hoped,” Waller said. “What we need to do is put a whole meet together, all four events as we’re capable of. That’s the next big step.”

After two consecutive competitions in which the Bruins scored above 197, Waller also cautioned that his team cannot become complacent with its progress.

“We talked about the fact that ‘good is the enemy of great,’” Waller said. “The moment you start to feel like you’ve achieved something, it’s very easy for any of us to go, ‘Hey, we’re pretty good.’ And that’s the very moment that you have to double down.”