One special fan sat in the stands at Haas Pavilion with her shirt split down the middle – one half representing the Bruins and the other the Golden Bears.

In a matchup of two sister schools, a pair of sisters in UCLA redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier and California freshman eMjae Frazier went head to head for the first time in their collegiate careers as their parents watched on.

And just like the shirt their mom wore, No. 6 UCLA gymnastics’ meet at No. 7 California on Saturday wound up split down the middle – a 197.975-197.975 tie. With the Bruins and Golden Bears neck and neck in the final rotation, none other than eMjae Frazier knotted up the competition with a career-high 9.975 on floor in the final routine of the day.

“I love my parents – very supportive, they’ve always been so supportive, ” Margzetta Frazier said. “They will not stop telling me how proud they are of me and how much fun they had watching.”

Cal held a 0.225 lead going into the fourth rotation, but the fifth-best beam score in the country this season put UCLA in prime position to complete the comeback. With five straight career-high or career-high-tying scores – all above 9.900 – the Bruins snagged a season-high 49.625 on the final apparatus.

Freshman Selena Harris and sophomore Jordan Chiles scored back-to-back 9.950s to win the event, marking Harris’ third straight 9.950 on beam and Chiles’ career high.

“We are a beam team,” coach Janelle McDonald said with a laugh. “This is the kind of quality of work we’ve been seeing in the gym, and I think that they just needed to really believe in themselves. … I think that was a big momentum shift for our team.”

Halfway through the meet, the Golden Bears were up by 0.350, but the Bruins put up five straight 9.925-plus scores to close the floor rotation for their second-highest team score on the event all season for a 49.650. 

After reaching perfection on the event last week at home, Chiles landed just short on her final pass for a 9.925, but junior Chae Campbell nailed her fourth 9.950 on the event this season to lead the Bruins.

Campbell said she loves following Chiles in the floor rotation.

“We have a routine, and it’s honestly just fun just to have that little thing between us,” Campbell said. “It’s just having fun. It’s a floor party. It’s what we do.”

Consecutive 9.900s from Campbell and Harris highlighted the Bruins’ showing on vault in the second rotation, as they eclipsed their season average with a 49.300. But the performance wasn’t enough to grab a hold of the lead, as the Golden Bears simultaneously posted a season-high 49.650 on bars. 

The last time Cal hosted UCLA in 2021, the Golden Bears were led by McDonald on bars and put out an NCAA-record-tying 49.825 on the event in what wound up being their highest score in program history. And on Saturday, with McDonald back in Haas Pavilion as the first-year head coach for UCLA, Cal nearly reached that mark again with its second-highest team and bars score ever.

“When our teams compete against each other, it helps us both want to show up and rise and be at our best,” McDonald said. “I was really excited and really looking forward to head-to-head competition because I knew that it was going to be full of special moments and great competition.”

With the Bruins starting off the meet on McDonald’s area of expertise, Campbell brought in a 9.850, tying her season high on the event. Harris, ranked No. 7 in the nation on bars entering the day, dropped below 9.900 on the apparatus for the first time this season with a 9.875.

However, Chiles nailed a 9.950 with her sixth bars score at or above 9.950 in 2023, and Margzetta Frazier anchored the event with her second straight 9.900.

Across the gym, the fifth-year Bruin’s younger sister also anchored the Golden Bears on vault. By the end of the competition, eMjae Frazier posted three 9.900-plus scores to claim a 39.700 in the all-around and win the title with her sister and parents standing by.

“She’s my favorite gymnast. She’s so talented. It’s always a treat watching her in person, and so I definitely took advantage of that today,” Margzetta Frazier said. “But I didn’t even know how well she did because I wasn’t watching her. I was trying my best to be present with my team. I’m glad she did great.”