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UCLA gymnastics’ Jordan Chiles leaves it all on floor with season’s 1st perfect 10

Sophomore Jordan Chiles poses with the perfect 10 scorecard. Chiles was perfect on floor and tallied a 39.825 in the all-around Saturday afternoon as No. 6 UCLA gymnastics bested No. 20 Arizona State in Pauley Pavilion. (Shengfeng Chien/Daily Bruin staff)

Gymnastics


No. 20 Arizona State196.900
No. 6 UCLA197.800

By Benjamin Royer

Feb. 11, 2023 5:17 p.m.

This post was updated Feb. 12 at 11:40 p.m.

Jordan Chiles ran into the Pauley Pavilion crowd to find her mom and give her a hug. 

Moments earlier, the sophomore had earned the Bruins’ first perfect 10 of the season as well as capped off Saturday’s action with a career-high 39.825 all-around score.

“Having her in the audience and being able to get a 10 all in the same moment was really emotional for me because it’s something that I always dreamed of,” Chiles said. “Having her see her baby girl get something that she’s always wanted to accomplish.”

No. 6 UCLA gymnastics scored season highs on bars and floor to defeat No. 20 Arizona State 197.800-196.900 at home. Chiles’ all-around victory marked her third of the campaign and tied the highest all-around score in the country this season, while the perfect 10 was the fourth of her career.

“For her to be able to dial in that routine so well and to be rewarded with the 10 was a really special moment,” coach Janelle McDonald said. “I think the high all-around score just really shows her consistency, it shows the high skill level but also the beautiful execution she has.”

Chiles’ aforementioned perfect 10 and a total of five 9.900-plus scores on the event helped lead the Bruins to a season-high 49.675 score on floor to cap off the win.

Freshman Selena Harris said it was about time that Chiles scored a perfect 10.

“I started to tear up when she (Chiles) went to hug her mom,” Harris said. “I know how much her mom means to her.”

Freshman Selena Harris smiles after finishing her floor routine. Harris earned a 9.800/9.950 split from the judges on the event. (Christine Kao/Daily Bruin staff)

Floor finished off the meet, where the blue and gold met new highs to start the apparatus. 

Sophomore Emily Lee scored a career-high 9.900 in the leadoff spot, with redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier also tying her career high and setting a new season high on floor with a 9.950.

But floor wasn’t the only season-high showing for the Bruins on Saturday. In the home stretch of the bars rotation, freshman Selena Harris scored a 9.950, and Chiles continued her reign of high scores on the event with her fifth 9.975 of the season overall. 

Junior Chae Campbell, who returned to the lineups after missing last week’s meet because of a family emergency, scored a 9.850 on bars. 

McDonald said the team missed Campbell’s presence at the meet last week.

“She’s a really great friend and teammate,” McDonald said. “And to have her back out here today, it felt right. It was really great to have her out here, and she competed like a champion today.”

Bars and floor set the standard for UCLA against Arizona State, and although the Bruins were unable to reach the same height on their other two events, they kept their form on vault and beam.

Opening the meet on vault, the Bruins headed into their final routine without scoring above a 9.900 on the first five tries. But Chiles broke the trend.

The Olympic silver medalist stuck her double-twisting Yurchenko vault for a 9.950, the blue and gold’s highest score of the apparatus. The 49.125 score on vault tied the Bruins’ lowest score of the season on the event.

“Our vault lineup, we need to up our game,” McDonald said.

UCLA couldn’t match its season-high 49.575 on beam from a week ago, but Chiles continued to showcase her Olympic skills and set the blue and gold back on track with a 9.900 in the fourth spot. 

Harris one-upped her teammate and scored a 9.950, the top beam score of the meet. The fifth-ranked all-arounder in the nation coming into the week said she has started to feel more confident on beam as the season has progressed.

UCLA’s 49.425 beam score was its third-highest of the season and a 0.625 improvement from the first home meet of the season Jan. 29.

With season highs on bars and floor and Chiles’ 39.825 in the all-around, UCLA cleared Arizona State by nearly a full point despite trailing after the first rotation.

“I’m super proud of our team,” McDonald said. “To set a great home score just helps us with our confidence moving forward.”

The Bruins will return to action Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. when McDonald returns to California for the first time since coming to Westwood.

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Benjamin Royer | Assistant Sports editor
Royer is the 2023-2024 Assistant Sports editor on the baseball, gymnastics and men's water polo beats and a reporter on the football beat. He was previously a staff writer on the baseball, football and gymnastics beats. He is also a fourth-year communication student.
Royer is the 2023-2024 Assistant Sports editor on the baseball, gymnastics and men's water polo beats and a reporter on the football beat. He was previously a staff writer on the baseball, football and gymnastics beats. He is also a fourth-year communication student.
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