UCLA gymnastics seeks to build momentum with home meet against California

The Bruins will have a chance to continue their momentum in March after recording their lone win of February.

No. 17 UCLA gymnastics will compete against No. 8 California – which currently sits atop the Pac-12 standings – on Sunday in Pauley Pavilion. The second in a stretch of three home meets to finish out the regular season, this Sunday’s meet comes on the heels of the blue and gold’s victory against Washington after three consecutive losses.

Coach Chris Waller said UCLA’s latest win showed progress for its final push before the postseason.

“They came out and got after it right from the beginning,” Waller said. “I’m just really proud of this team right now. We’re on the right direction.”

The Bruins broke the 197 mark for the second time this season against the Huskies, tallying a 197.125. Several UCLA competitors also posted season-high scores, including a perfect 10 from sophomore Chae Campbell on floor – the first of her career.

Campbell’s perfect 10 was one of seven scores at or above 9.900 for the Bruins in the meet, with the sophomore accounting for two such scores and UCLA’s freshmen putting up four of the remaining five.

Campbell said the Bruins’ freshmen are committed to working hard every week and making the necessary improvements to succeed.

“I’m so excited to see them improving every week,” Campbell said. “They’re a very talented class. They bring it every day in the gym and they keep building on that, and I’m very proud of them.”

One of those freshmen, Emma Malabuyo, competed in the all-around for the fifth time this season and reached a career-high-tying score of 9.875 on bars to pair with a 9.900 on beam.

Seven meets into her collegiate career, Malabuyo said she is heading in the right direction.

“I definitely feel like I’m starting to figure out the pace and slowly getting better,” Malabuyo said. “Especially those corrections and seeing what I can improve on each week.”

UCLA began the campaign with its lowest team score in seven years in its season opener and posted its lowest single-event score in more than 10 years on bars against Arizona State on Feb. 20. Cal, on the other hand, currently holds the second-highest ranking of any team in the Pac-12 behind No. 4 Utah.

Waller said while there have been bumps in the road for his team, he feels that UCLA has only grown stronger because of them.

“We want to turn this thing around and start building,” Waller said. “We knew that we needed to ramp up, so this is a good stepping stone.”

With two meets remaining before the Pac-12 championships, UCLA’s regular season is almost at a close. Waller added that he hopes his team’s performance against Washington can set the foundation for the rest of the stretch.

“I hope that we can build on this for the next one,” Waller said. “We’ve got two more home meets to prepare for the postseason and the Pac-12s. … We can put together some good practices and good energy throughout the next few weeks.”

Sunday’s meet is scheduled to begin at noon in Pauley Pavilion.