This post was updated Jan.11 at 11:47 p.m. 

Whether on the floor at Pauley Pavilion or a makeshift volleyball court during practice warmups, the Bruins embrace competition.

And with Saturday’s quad meet set to match UCLA against three of the top five programs in the country, the team will have the chance to match the best of the best.

“I think our team actually gets really excited for meets like this when we go against rivals,” said senior Sara Ulias. “We know that they’re going to push us to be our best, and we’re going to push them.”

No. 12 UCLA gymnastics will head to West Valley City, Utah, for the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, where it will face off against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Utah and No. 5 LSU. The reigning national champion, Sooners, posted a 197.850 to kick off their season, while the Red Rocks will rival the Bruins in the Pac-12 for the final time in 2024.

Graduate student Margzetta Frazier said she is looking forward to competing against teams that feature beautiful gymnastics.

“It’s such an honor going against great gymnastics, and I know they feel the same way about us,” Frazier said. “I think they are some stand-up competitors.”

UCLA last encountered Oklahoma and Utah in the NCAA semifinals, where the Bruins posted the largest score to not qualify for the finals in NCAA history. Although UCLA hasn’t met LSU since the 2019 NCAA championships, the Tigers hosted coach Janelle McDonald’s first collegiate competition as an assistant coach for California.

With big opponents, the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad presents an equally big stage to platform the event. The quad meet will be aired on ABC, and McDonald said she welcomes the larger audience.

“I really feel like it’s an honor to be a part of this quad meet, and I’m really excited about it because it is the first regular-season gymnastics competition that will be on ABC,” McDonald said. “I’m excited to cast that net wider for gymnastics fans to come.”

Last week at the Super 16, UCLA recorded a 196.550, stumbling on beam for its lowest score on the apparatus since 2021.

McDonald said most of the Bruins’ mistakes could be attributed to first-meet jitters, but different gymnasts may be seen in the lineup as they work on their beam confidence.

“It is one of those places that confidence is of the utmost importance,” McDonald said. “It’s not the hardest gymnastic skills they do on that event. It’s really just all about being consistent, calm and confident when you’re up there.”

McDonald added that the main way to get rid of those jitters is to ensure the team stays present on the road, and that team leaders have been helping the freshmen adjust to the NCAA gymnastics environment.

In order to achieve consistent gymnastics in those environments, Frazier said she has a few cheat codes, such as saying keywords before a routine or humming her favorite song, in order to program her mind and body to perform similar gymnastics every time.

“Before I jump on that bar, I put myself into Yates Gym, back in the Wooden Center, no matter where I am, down to the chalk marks on the mat down. … Everything’s the same,” Frazier said. “I’m in my gym, and I just tell myself, ‘Breathe, take your time, lift.’ Just little keywords. And that has been the number one thing that’s kept me consistent throughout my collegiate career.”

Ulias added that finding consistency is not only about practicing individual routines but also knowing how to recover rhythm following mistakes.

For the senior, keywords are helpful, but she also relies on consistent support from her teammates.

“Sometimes our teammates will come up to each other to give each other a fist bump right before our routine, and we’ll ask the same person to come up to us,” Ulias said. “That’s another part of our routine – not just the gymnastics but the pre-routine.”

UCLA will have the opportunity to test its consistency and shake off its first-meet jitters against the top teams in the nation at 1 p.m. on Saturday.