UCLA gymnastics ready to tumble following Meet the Bruins intrasquad
Senior Frida Esparza performs a Van Leeuwen to get to the high bar during Meet the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on Friday night. (Brandon Morquecho/Assistant Photo editor)
By Aaron Doyle
Dec. 16, 2023 1:20 p.m.
Frida Esparza was in denial over the reality of not competing.
A shoulder injury caused the senior to miss the entirety of 2023. When the injury stole her ability to contribute, she said she screamed her head off for her teammates because it was the only way she felt she could chip in to her squad’s meets.
But when Esparza’s teammates yelled across Pauley Pavilion as she stuck her dismounts, the tables had turned.
“It was very surreal,” Esparza said. “I didn’t realize how much I miss competing until I went out there and saluted my routines.”
Spotlighted by Esparza’s return, No. 5 UCLA gymnastics hosted its annual Meet the Bruins intrasquad meet before the team’s season opener in January. The meet lacked formal judging, with scores not broadcasted, and included routines from all but three gymnasts.
Esparza made a return to bars and beam, highlighted by her difficulty-packed routine. The Pittsburg, California local performed a Maloney directly connected to a Bhardwaj within the bar routine, both eponymous skills named after UCLA alumni Kristen Maloney and Mohini Bhardwaj.
“She’s worked so hard,” said coach Janelle McDonald. “It was really special to get to see her not just crush her events today, but to do it at such a high skill level. It was really exciting to see and we’re just so proud of her.”
Team-wide changes transpired across numerous apparatuses, including the Bruins’ weakest event last season, vault.
After finishing No. 11 nationally on the event last season, the Bruins showed five 10.0 start value vaults during Meet The Bruins – three more compared to last year’s national championship lineup. Similar to many attempts from her freshman campaign, sophomore Selena Harris nailed her Yurchenko 1.5.
Graduate student Nya Reed, a Florida transfer student, made her Bruin debut on vault Friday, nearly sticking her Yurchenko 1.5 after missing a year of competition in 2023. With the Gators, the sixth-year gymnast scored a career-high 9.975 on the event in 2022.
“Coming into this and landing my vault, it was just amazing,” Reed said. “I finally have found a love for my sport again.”
Reed was one of six Bruins to wear a customized leotard to match the theme of their floor routine, a new tradition that McDonald introduced last year.
Freshman Katelyn Rosen, junior Emma Malabuyo, senior Chae Campbell, graduate student Margzetta Frazier and Harris also wore custom leotards, as each suit contained personal meaning and sentiment toward their new floor routines.
“I felt like they just did an amazing job performing and telling the story while they’re out there competing,” McDonald said. “Something that they work really hard on is the performance quality and the artistry.”
Rosen, a former elite gymnast, performed a sky-high double layout on floor in her superhero-themed routine. She also performed a Yurchenko 1.5 herself, taking just a small hop on the landing.
“She’s (Rosen has) been very dominant,” Reed said. “She’s been very hardworking, and I feel like her routine is her personality and she knows how to turn it on.”
The Bruins will return to competition Jan. 6 in a meet that is yet to be announced.
With three weeks left until the next meet, the Bruins still have time to clean up details to prepare for the 2024 season.
“I think we’re right on track to have a really great season,” McDonald said. “I’m excited in what we’re going to do over the next few weeks heading into the season.”
