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Black History Month 2025

‘Competing for our city’: Gymnastics dedicates dominant quad win to LA amid fires

Graduate student Chae Campbell receives cheers from her teammates after performing a bar routine. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)

By Hannah Westerhold

Jan. 11, 2025 8:43 p.m.

This post was updated Jan. 14 at 8:52 p.m.

It’s easy to crack under pressure when the focus is on a winning score.

But when competing for something bigger than a victory, managing expectations is a whole different ball game.

“We were competing for something bigger than ourselves – we were competing for our city,” said sophomore Katelyn Rosen. “When this team holds on to something bigger than ourselves, we tend to do some amazing things.”

No. 12 UCLA gymnastics bounced back from last week Saturday to win the third session of the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad in Oklahoma City with a 197.550 – more than two points higher than its 195.250 from last week. After each routine, the Bruins flashed an “LA” with their hands to raise awareness of the ongoing Los Angeles fires.

UCLA’s win was highlighted by a nation-leading 49.600 on floor, notching four scores above a 9.900.

“We are known for our floor parties, known for our floor routines,” Rosen said. “I always knew we were capable of it, and I’m proud that we got to see what we can really do.”

Junior Jordan Chiles led the way for UCLA on floor, recording a 9.975 in the anchor spot. Her score ties for the highest individual floor in the country this year alongside fellow Paris Olympian Aleah Finnegan, improving her score from last week by two-tenths of a point.

Graduate students Brooklyn Moors and Chae Campbell recorded a tandem of 9.900-or-higher scores. Each nailed their first tumbling passes, sticking their landings cold. Campbell made her return to the event after being left out of last week’s lineup to contribute a 9.900 to the Bruins’ total. Moors’ 9.950 matched her career high after leading UCLA’s floor rotation last week.

“As a team, we were able to really build off of each other,” Campbell said. “That is something that we really worked in the preseason to have.”

Junior Jordan Chiles poses during a floor routine in Pauley Pavilion. (Darlene Sanzon/Assistant Photo editor)

Senior Emma Malabuyo added to the list of nailed floor routines for the Bruins – a significant improvement from her fall on floor in last week’s meet. While Malabuyo’s fall was dropped from last week’s floor total, her 9.925 this week led the Bruins to victory.

The Bruins may have begun on beam in their first two meets of the season, but the two rotations could not have been more different, going from two falls to none.

Malabuyo notched a 9.925 in the anchor position, sticking her gainer-full dismount. Her stick was one of five in the rotation, with Moors being the only one to take a hop on the landing. 

“Our success is not defined by a trophy,” Campbell said. “I was proud that the work we put in came to fruition.”

A pair of 9.900 scores from junior Ciena Alipio and senior Emily Lee aided the Bruins in taking the lead after the first rotation and marked a redeeming performance after last week’s 49.050 on the event.

On vault, Chiles recorded her second 9.900-or-higher score of the night with a 9.925, highlighting the Bruin’s improvement of nearly two-tenths on the event from last week. Chiles was the only Bruin to surpass the 9.900 barrier, with all other scores sitting at 9.850 or lower.

The Bruins finished their day on bars and were led by graduate student Frida Esparza’s 9.925 – just 0.025 off of her career high. Her routine included a Maloney to Bhardwaj combination and a stuck double layout dismount that resulted in the Bruins’ highest score on the event. 

“There’s a lot of people going through a lot of heartache and hardships right now and in LA,” said coach Janelle McDonald. “There’s people that are displaced and in hotels, and they might be able to turn on ESPN tonight and watch our team compete with joy and heart.”

The Bruins will meet their next Big Ten competitor next Saturday, when they will compete against Maryland in their third away meet of the season.

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Hannah Westerhold
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