After nearly matching their season-high team score last weekend, the Bruins will face another top-10 opponent in the Golden Bears.

But for some members of the team, the trip up north has more meaning than just any other weekly matchup.

No. 6 UCLA gymnastics will face No. 7 California on Saturday in Berkeley, a meet between two teams currently separated by a .108 difference in their average scores. The competition also represents a return to the past for coach Janelle McDonald, who was an assistant coach at Cal for four years prior to her transition to UCLA this season.

“I’m very excited to head back to a place that I have so many special memories at,” McDonald said. “And to be able to go up there and see a lot of people I care about, as well as make some new memories with the Bruins.”

McDonald is not the only one with a relationship to Cal’s program. One of the Golden Bears holds a special connection with a Bruin: Cal freshman eMjae Frazier, sister of UCLA redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier.

Margzetta said as eMjae’s older sister, she’s acted as a mentor to her throughout her gymnastics career and is proud to see how far she’s come.

“She’s always been exceptional, so I take credit for it, of course,” Margzetta Frazier said. “But it’s a joke. I love watching her. She’s just a stellar athlete.”

But the connections to the area don’t end there. Sophomore Emma Malabuyo, who hails from the Bay Area, said she is looking forward to having her family come to support her.

“I’m expecting a lot of friends and family just because I’m from the Bay Area,” Malabuyo said. “I have a lot of cousins and uncles and aunts coming, so I’m really excited.”

Despite the presence of family and old friends, the competition won’t be any less fierce. The Bruins and the Golden Bears are currently one spot apart in the rankings and are both coming off a series of three straight meets scoring higher than 197.

Cal has currently recorded no losses in Pac-12 competition, while UCLA’s only loss is against No. 4 Utah. With high implications for the rankings at stake, Margzetta Frazier said her family ties are second to her obligations to her team.

“I’m going to be stalking her (eMjae) the whole competition,” Margzetta Frazier said. “But at the end of the day, we both mean business, so we have to be good examples as far as staying in the zone for our team, no matter what distractions may be there.”

UCLA has consistently surpassed benchmarks from last season in both scores and rankings. By week six in 2022, the Bruins were ranked No. 15 with an average score of 196.410, more than a full point lower than their current 197.425 average.

McDonald said at this point in the season, her team is trying to balance improvements to scores and skills while maintaining their health and drive.

“We’ve been really efficient and intentional about what we do every day in the gym so that we can make those little corrections to help our scores,” McDonald said. “But also just to make sure that we’re not doing too much to feel sore or tired by the end of the weekend.”

The NCAA gymnastics season spans nearly three months. In a sport as physically and mentally demanding as gymnastics, avoiding burnout early in the season is critical to sustained success, McDonald said.

Malabuyo emphasized that UCLA’s motivation came from a desire to succeed against its high-caliber opponent.

“We really want to beat them because they’re so close,” Malabuyo said. “That passion, that drive – I think I could see it in everyone.”

Competition between the Bruins and Golden Bears will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday.