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Defying gravity: UCLA gymnastics’ Margzetta Frazier hits 100th routine without fall

Redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier celebrates after a bars routine. Frazier has hit 100 straight routines without a fall for UCLA gymnastics. (Daily Bruin file photo)

By Sam Settleman

Jan. 25, 2023 6:35 p.m.

This post was updated Jan. 27 at 12:13 a.m.

Low bar to high bar and back and forth again.

Check one in the hit routine column for Margzetta Frazier.

A punch off the springboard, a full twist in the air and right back down to earth. Check two.

Two hit routines for the redshirt senior, just like clockwork. It may look like a moment of magic to an outsider, but not to Frazier. She had done it 100 times – in a row.

“You’re just GOAT status, Margzetta,” said freshman Selena Harris to her teammate.

At UCLA gymnastics’ third meet of the season Saturday, Frazier reached a historic mark. The redshirt senior hit both of her events in the meet to nail her 100th straight routine without a fall.

Five years of collegiate competition later, and Frazier hasn’t fallen once – an almost unheard of feat in a sport predicated on precision. And while coach Janelle McDonald wasn’t around for the first 92 of those routines, she said she appreciated Frazier’s accomplishment, just like everyone else.

“Oh my goodness, it’s amazing – 100 straight routines without a fall,” McDonald said. “That’s pretty impressive and pretty special.”

Frazier looked poised to reach No. 100 a season ago. But on her first and only routine of the season, Frazier collided with the low bar, leaving her foot fractured and ultimately ending her season. And yet, she still didn’t fall.

Three meets into the 2023 season, after an offseason in which she said she almost had to start from scratch, Frazier hasn’t missed a step.

“She told us after the meet, and I was like, ‘That was your 100th routine?’” Harris said. “I was amazed.”

[Related: UCLA gymnast Margzetta Frazier rebuilds skills, confidence after foot injury]

The three-time All-American and former Pac-12 champion on bars may be known for her strongest event, but Frazier is far from a specialist. She’s competed at least 14 times on each of the four events and made 14 appearances in the all-around for UCLA.

Frazier has averaged a 9.800 or better on all four events across her career, including nearly a 9.900 average across 38 bars routines.

“It’s due to the work she puts in in the gym, and then just really coming out and wanting to be at her best when it counts,” McDonald said.

Five years and 100 routines later, Frazier stands as the longest-tenured Bruin on the roster – athlete or coach. She’s traversed three coaching staffs and competed in 39 meets, but her consistency has never wavered.

While sophomore Jordan Chiles has only been a teammate of Frazier’s for one season at UCLA, Chiles said the streak simply embodies Frazier’s character.

“Me and Marz go way back, so I know she can do anything that she puts her mind to,” Chiles said. “It’s just very impressive that she’s been able to continue to do that. She shines bright through each and every routine that she does.”

At some point, Frazier’s streak will come to a close, whether that comes along the course of her fifth season or when her collegiate career inevitably reaches its end in April. But she won’t leave without cementing a legacy – both in the record books and for her teammates.

“She’s crazy. I love looking up to Marz,” Harris said. “She’s definitely a very talented human.”

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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.
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