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Scouting report: UCLA gymnastics vs. Stanford

By Sam Settleman and Nico Edgar

Feb. 11, 2022 4:50 p.m.

Coming off a season-best performance, No. 16 UCLA gymnastics will head to the Bay Area for a showdown with No. 19 Stanford. While the Bruins and Cardinal sit a few spots apart in the national rankings, UCLA’s season-high is nearly 1.5 points more than Stanford’s. Here is this week’s scouting report from assistant Sports editor Sam Settleman and gymnastics reporter Nico Edgar – who are both disappointed they couldn’t travel to Stanford for the meet.

UCLA
Strength: Beam
Weakness: Vault
X-factor: Jordan Chiles

When the calendar flipped from January to February, the Bruins flipped a switch.

The team that put up a 197.650 against No. 3 Utah on Feb. 4 is an entirely different team than the one that tallied a 194.850 in its season opener Jan. 17. The good news for UCLA is there’s no reason to think scoring a 197.650 is unsustainable.

In fact, that was the team everyone expected the Bruins to be this season.

With an influx of freshman talent, UCLA was supposed to get back to its spot as a perennial top-10 program. And for the first time all season, that freshman talent materialized against Utah.

Jordan Chiles led the crew of first-year Bruins, putting up a 39.700 in the all-around – the top score by a UCLA freshman in 17 years – en route to earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. Chiles’ all-around performance has been topped by only eight other gymnasts this season.

As a staple in the all-around rotation, Chiles will be a key piece in the Bruins’ hopes to sustain their success, but she’s not the only freshman putting up big scores.

Freshman Ana Padurariu has stabilized UCLA’s beam rotation after it hampered the blue and gold time after time a season ago. Padurariu registered her third straight 9.900 in the leadoff spot on beam against Utah. But fellow Canadian freshman Brooklyn Moors has also proven her worth on the event with a 9.850 and 9.875 in her two beam routines this season.

Meanwhile, while freshman Emma Malabuyo struggled Friday, she looks to be a prominent contributor for UCLA in all four events this season.

Although it is no surprise that the Bruins’ freshmen are contributing right out of the gate, one surprise this season has been the emergence of senior Norah Flatley in the all-around. Flatley missed most of her junior year because of injury but has returned to full strength in 2022, competing on all four events in every meet this season.

Flatley posted a career-high 39.525 against Utah after winning the all-around with a 39.450 against Arizona the week prior. The senior put up a 9.950 on bars against the Red Rocks before capping off her night with a 9.925 on floor, headlined by a perfect triple full opening pass.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Friday’s near-win over the Red Rocks is that the floor party is truly back for the Bruins. Chiles’ perfect 10 stole the show, while Flatley’s 9.925 to open the rotation set the tone, but UCLA had hit routine after hit routine on floor against Utah.

Senior Pauline Tratz returned to the lineup with a vengeance, earning a perfect 10 from one judge en route to a season-high 9.925, while sophomore Chae Campbell looked like her old self with her explosive tumbling, leading her to a 9.925 as well. That’s not even considering the 9.825 from senior Sekai Wright, whose season-debut floor routine accrued millions of views across the internet.

Last week UCLA proved it is still capable of being one of the best teams in the country. While they may not earn a 197.650 again this week, I expect the Bruins to comfortably clear the 197 mark and take down the Cardinal.

Stanford
Strength: Floor
Weakness: Vault
X-factor: Brenna Neault

Stanford will look to get its first-ever win against UCLA in the teams’ first matchup in two years.

While only two programs separate the Cardinal and Bruins in the rankings, the gap between the two teams may be larger than suggested. Stanford heads into the meet with an average score of 196.063 and a season-high 196.275, just below UCLA’s 196.300 average.

Given that and the Bruins’ season-high of 197.650 in their last meet, it’s quite obvious the visiting blue and gold will sport a higher ceiling Saturday.

For Stanford to have a chance, the Bay Area squad will need gymnasts outside of star fifth-year senior Kyla Bryant to step up.

Bryant has registered all seven of Stanford’s 9.900-plus scores this year and is averaging a 39.438 in the all-around, good for 22nd in the country. The fifth-year senior has shown particularly strong performances on floor this season – where her lowest score is a 9.900 – as well as on bars, where she has not scored lower than a 9.825.

Outside of Bryant, freshman Brenna Neault has stepped into a feature role for the team and competed in the all-around in two meets. While Neault averages a 39.225 in the all-around – which would rank fourth on UCLA – she has yet to eclipse a 9.750 on vault, emblematic of a team that has struggled on the event as a whole.

Stanford’s 48.838 average on the apparatus places it 39th in the nation. Outside of Bryant’s 9.925 against California, no Cardinal gymnast has scored higher than a 9.825 on vault.

The Cardinal have yet to tally a score above 49.000 on vault and have not done so since the 2020 season.

Things look better for the team on floor, where it has improved its score in each of its last two meets. Despite ranking 23rd overall on the event, Stanford’s 49.300 last weekend was a step in the right direction.

Five of six gymnasts scored a 9.8000 or higher against Cal, with Bryant, senior Madison Brunette and fifth-year senior Taylor Lawson all notching season highs.

If the Cardinal can pull out a season-best vault rotation and continue its ascent on floor, Stanford may be able to keep pace with a UCLA team finding its groove. But if not, expect the Bruins’ domination in this series to continue.

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Sam Settleman | Sports editor
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
Settleman was the 2022-2023 Sports editor on the football, men's basketball and gymnastics beats. He was previously an assistant editor on the gymnastics, women's soccer, women's golf, men's water polo and women's water polo beats and a contributor on the gymnastics and women's water polo beats.
Nico Edgar | Sports staff
Edgar is currently a Sports staffer on the gymnastics beat. He was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
Edgar is currently a Sports staffer on the gymnastics beat. He was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
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