The Bruins will be competing for their teammates and fans in more ways than one Sunday.

No. 11 UCLA gymnastics will host No. 18 Arizona at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday afternoon for the Bruins’ Pride Meet, celebrating love, inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community. For graduate student Emma Andres and other members of the team, the fan-favorite event provides extra motivation for the gymnasts because of its significance.

“I love the Pride meet,” Andres said. “I like getting to get dressed up and put my rainbow on my face and feel loved by my teammates and just fully myself.”

Coach Janelle McDonald said creating a supportive environment was why UCLA’s Pride meet was valuable for the team and the community.

“That’s why it’s important to have Pride meets, to make sure that they feel that they’re in a safe space, where they’re celebrated for who they are,” McDonald said.

In addition to UCLA donning new Pride leotards, Pride flags and cheer cards will be distributed to fans.

But Andres said gymnastics hasn’t always been openly accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, and it wasn’t until coming to UCLA that she saw events like Pride meet.

“Being able to have Pride meets and wear Pride leos (leotards) and celebrate our queer gymnasts is a huge step,” Andres said. “I think we’re so privileged to be able to wear Pride leos and show our support for Pride.”

Graduate student Margzetta Frazier said gymnastics has traditionally been a very restrictive sport, but collegiate gymnastics has played a large role in pushing boundaries and encouraging the community to be more open-minded and inclusive of people’s differences.

She added that she has received countless DMs from fans ahead of the Pride meet and is glad that both her teammates and Bruin fans appreciate the event.

“That makes all of our hard work worth it,” Frazier said. “We really are trying to make the world a better, more loving and accepting place.”

With the fan-favorite event coming up and the Bruins back at Pauley Pavilion this weekend, Frazier said UCLA feeds off the crowd’s energy.

However, she said the enthusiasm and support her teammates give her motivates her even further.

When she’s jumping to the high bar in the middle of the arena, ready to get off and finish her routine, Frazier said hearing her teammates yell at her to be patient makes all of the difference.

“The cheering part – it does help. It is a big deal,” Frazier said. “Staying together as a unit and just helping each other remember the work we put into the gym and then applying that to the competition is important, and that’s why we did so well.”

With Sunday marking its second straight meet at home, UCLA has some breathing room without the stress of travel to build off its season-high team performance last week.

Whereas the Bruins had previously had one or two events pull down their overall score, UCLA reached a season high on every event. Still, McDonald said she thinks her team has further to go.

“That was what we were building for the first few months of the year, … just putting everything together,” McDonald said. “I was kind of surprised that it was all the season-high scores because I actually think there’s still room for improvement for us.”

UCLA will have the chance to top last week’s performance at home once again when it takes on Arizona on Sunday at 2 p.m.