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UCLA gymnastics lineup predictions 2025

From left to right: freshman Macy McGowan, graduate student Brooklyn Moors, junior Jordan Chiles and seniors Emma Malabuyo and Emily Lee all in Pauley Pavilion. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)

By Aaron Doyle and Samantha Garcia

Dec. 19, 2024 9:56 p.m.

UCLA gymnastics put at least eight routines on every event at its annual Meet the Bruins intrasquad at Pauley Pavilion – showcasing its newfound depth following the revamping of coach Janelle McDonald’s roster. While the pressure to beat an opposing team was lifted off the team’s shoulders Saturday, a different form of pressure resided upon the Bruins. McDonald and her staff will begin to compose their competitive lineups for the 2025 campaign, with their first impression of each gymnast’s ability to perform in front of the Pauley Pavilion crowd fresh on their minds.

Following the team’s first look ahead for the 2025 season, assistant Sports editor Aaron Doyle and Daily Bruin staff writer Samantha Garcia predict McDonald’s competitive lineups for this year.

Vault lineup: Brooklyn Moors, Riley Jenkins, Katelyn Rosen, Chae Campbell, Macy McGowan, Jordan Chiles

(Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)
Junior Madisyn Anyimi runs toward toward the vault table in Pauley Pavilion on Saturday. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)

McDonald has acknowledged that vault has been notoriously weak for UCLA, but this year could be different. Most of UCLA’s freshmen have at least trained a Yurchenko 1.5 and Macy McGowan successfully landed it at Meet the Bruins on Saturday. Riley Jenkins, who is coming back from an injury, is another freshman who could make an impact on UCLA’s vault lineup. Although the freshman was absent from Saturday’s event, Jenkins consistently competed a Yurchenko 1.5 during her senior year in high school and notched a 9.950 at the Region 1 championships in 2024.

Graduate student Brooklyn Moors is a relatively new addition to UCLA’s vault lineup, having not making a competitive lineup on the event since 2022. The Canadian Olympian owns a front handspring front pike with a half twist – one of the only Bruins to vault with a forward entry. On Saturday, Moors showed a much-improved version of the vault compared to her freshman year, showcasing a more powerful block and landing with a higher chest position.

While Chae Campbell doesn’t go for a 10.0 start value, her consistency on a Yurchenko full makes it nearly just as valuable. Campbell finished the 2024 season ranked fourth on the event in the Pac-12 and was the only gymnast in the top 10 to compete a 9.95 start value vault. Junior Jordan Chiles, on the other hand, adds a full twist to Campbell’s vault, making her one of the only gymnasts in the NCAA to compete a Yurchenko double. Every time Chiles salutes for a vault, she is on the cusp of scoring a perfect 10. This year could be the year she finally does it.

Bars lineup: Sasha Fujisaka, Mika Webster-Longin, Katelyn Rosen, Frida Esparza, Emma Malabuyo, Jordan Chiles

(Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)
Graduate student Frida Esparza salutes after landing a double layout bars dismount. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)

The Bruins are losing just two bar routines heading into the 2025 season and have only improved their depth with the addition of freshmen Sasha Fujisaka and Mika Webster-Longin. In high school, Fujisaka was one of just four Level 10 gymnasts to score a perfect 10 on the event during the 2024 season. Her bar work is technically sound, and she competes a floaty Pak salto that judges will struggle to deduct from. Webster-Longin, on the other hand, missed out on the majority of the 2024 Level 10 season to instead compete for the Belgian national team alongside the 2020 Olympic champion of the event, Nina Derwael. The San Francisco local has some great lines of her own and has the potential to score big despite her 4-foot-11-inch frame.

Sophomore Katelyn Rosen, senior Emma Malabuyo and graduate student Frida Esparza are all returners from last year’s lineup, and they look primed to contribute again this year. Rosen boasts a career-high 9.925 and was tied for the highest-ranked freshman bar worker in the Pac-12 last year. Esparza was a regular in the Bruins’ lineup last year and seemingly has a UCLA-themed bar routine, highlighted by her Maloney to Bhardwaj combination – both skills named after former Bruin NCAA national champions.

Malabuyo and Chiles return to UCLA after competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer, and their added experience could be crucial for McDonald and her lineup. The last time Chiles competed a collegiate bar routine, she scored a perfect 10 to win the 2023 NCAA title on the event. The nine-time All-American’s deferral from the team last year certainly didn’t help the Bruins, but her return will be pivotal for this lineup.

Beam lineup: Mika Webster-Longin, Ciena Alipio, Katelyn Rosen, Emma Malabuyo, Emily Lee, Jordan Chiles

(Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)
Senior Emma Malabuyo poses on beam during a routine. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)

Beam is the event that ended the Bruins’ season last year at NCAA regionals. With only two gymnasts scoring above a 9.900 on the event, UCLA fell out of a contention spot for the NCAA championships in the final rotation. Junior Ciena Alipio – who tied for the second-highest beam score of the session to match her 9.925 career-high – could return as a key piece of the Bruins’ 2025 beam lineup. After capping off her elite career with a silver medal in the event at the U.S. Championships in 2022, Alipio became a regular in UCLA’s beam lineup as a freshman.

Although beam was statistically Chiles’ weakest event in 2023, her ability to perform in high-pressure moments will be impactful for a team that counted falls twice on the apparatus throughout the season. Despite lacking experience at the collegiate level, Webster-Longin will be another strong addition to the lineup as she was crowned the Region 1 balance beam champion in 2023.

Rosen and seniors Emily Lee and Malabuyo were consistent members of the Bruins’ beam lineup last season. Rosen and Malabuyo never recorded a fall on the event, and the latter boasts a career-high of a perfect 10. After earning the nickname “Lee-doff” for her clutch, tone-setting routines, Lee will likely remain in the leadoff spot for UCLA in 2025.

Floor lineup: Katelyn Rosen, Macy McGowan, Emma Malabuyo, Brooklyn Moors, Chae Campbell, Jordan Chiles

(Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)
Junior Jordan Chiles poses while performing a floor routine. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)

UCLA would not be the same without its renowned floor parties. Likely returning to the floor lineup are Rosen, Campbell, Moors and Malabuyo.

As a freshman, Rosen made a name for herself at UCLA with her unique, dark and creepy-style routine. Meanwhile, Moors and Malabuyo – two of the Bruins’ three rostered Olympians – reliably put up 9.725 or higher scores on the event. Although Malabuyo missed parts of the season, representing the Philippines when vying for a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Moors held down the fort – notching a 9.900 or higher in eight of 12 meets. Campbell was the sole member of last season’s team to earn a perfect 10 on floor, and will undoubtedly be a strong contributor to the Bruins’ floor lineup this season.

Fresh off her second Olympic run, Chiles will be back in UCLA’s floor lineup. Before deferring last season, Chiles was the 2023 NCAA floor champion and has notched perfection on the event four times in her collegiate career. McGowan will likely be the only new addition to the Bruins’ floor lineup. As the reigning Level 10 national and Region 1 floor champion, McGowan packs in both difficulty and artistry – qualities that will fit right in at UCLA.

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Aaron Doyle | Assistant Sports editor
Doyle is a 2024-2025 assistant Sports editor. He is a fourth-year psychobiology student from Las Vegas.
Doyle is a 2024-2025 assistant Sports editor. He is a fourth-year psychobiology student from Las Vegas.
Samantha Garcia | Sports contributor
Garcia is currently a contributor on the gymnastics and softball beats.
Garcia is currently a contributor on the gymnastics and softball beats.
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