This post was updated Jan. 26 at 10:47 p.m.

Superheroes from Westwood don’t fall from the sky. 

They stick their landings. 

No. 8 UCLA gymnastics defeated Illinois 197.200-194.750 Saturday for its home opener. Junior Jordan Chiles may not wear a cape, but the Pauley Pavillion crowd didn’t seem to notice. 

“Competing in Pauley never gets old, and we always feed off of the energy and excitement,” said senior Emma Malabuyo. 

Chiles’ 9.950 mark on floor led the nation’s No. 3 floor squad to a 49.500 event total and guaranteed the Bruins’ win over the Fighting Illini. After she landed her final tumbling pass, blue and gold confetti erupted and the crowd demanded a perfect ten from the judges.

Malabuyo also brought the heat, tying her season high of 9.925. Graduate student Brooklyn Moors notched a 9.900, maintaining her unbroken streak of 9.900 or higher scores this season. 

UCLA’s day started on vault, and was led by a tandem of 9.925 scores from graduate student Chae Campbell and Chiles. Senior Emily Lee’s season-high 9.900 led off the Bruins in the first spot and kicked the rotation off with a stuck landing. 

“I’ve been working hard to find my groove again on vault,” Campbell said. “It’s nice to start building that confidence and getting back to my sticks that I was doing in the past.”

Junior Madisyn Anyimi reentered the lineup after being replaced following UCLA’s season opener, achieving a 9.750 that was dropped from the cumulative score. Freshman Macy McGowan assumed the anchor position for the first time in her career and notched a 9.800 on UCLA’s sole Yurchenko one-and-a-half vault.

The Bruins’ 49.325 mark was their highest of the season, improving by almost two tenths from their previous outing last weekend against Maryland.

The Bruins posted a 49.225 on bars – their lowest ranked event this year at No. 21. Graduate student Frida Esparza led the way after notching her third 9.900 or higher score in a row, this time scoring a 9.925. Esparza’s double layout dismount marked UCLA’s third consecutive stuck landing on the event, but she was the only Bruin to score above a 9.900.  

“We’ve been focusing so much on sticks and being able to stick back-to-back landings,” Malabuyo said. “That’s what I’m most proud of this team.”

Malabuyo made her return to the lineup after an exhibition last week, recording a season high of 9.850 and sticking her full-twisting double-back dismount. Chiles took a step on her dismount and posted a team-low 9.750 in the anchor spot, sending UCLA’s bar total to a 49.225.

“We have a lot of little details we’ve got to work on,” said coach Janelle McDonald. “But, I was really happy to see particularly dismounts in comparison to last week – definitely came off the bar in a better shape or looked better in the air.”

At the halfway point, UCLA held the lead by over half a point, with its two highest-ranked events to come. 

On beam, the No. 3 ranked squad’s performance on the event was marked by career highs and lows across the board. Lee, who consistently set the tone for UCLA on the event, showed signs of being human after wobbling on her acrobatic series to score a season-low 9.725. 

Sophomore Katelyn Rosen returned to the event after missing out on a lineup spot last week, posting an 8.875 that accompanied her first career fall on the event. 

Moors’ 9.875 season-high score provided stability to UCLA’s lineup, as she connected her front aerial to back handspring series and punctuated the routine with a stuck dismount. Malabuyo, the nation’s No. 3 beam worker, was the only squad member to breach the 9.900 barrier in the anchor spot.

“I’m really excited about how beam went today,” McDonald said. “To have a mistake in the lineup and everybody really rallied and still hit their routines with aggressiveness and confidence.” 

Chiles hinted at a potential return to the Bruins’ beam lineup, recording a 9.850 in the exhibition spot that would have replaced junior Ciena Alipio’s 9.800 in the event total. 

UCLA’s team total marked its third consecutive 197.000 or higher total and the squad no longer appears to be the team it was three weeks ago in Oceanside, California.

The Bruins will next return to Pauley Pavilion next week to face No. 4 Michigan State – the top ranked Big Ten team this season.