Love will take center stage Friday.

Coinciding with Valentine’s Day, the Bruins will also celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

No. 5 UCLA gymnastics (7-2, 4-0 Big Ten) will host No. 25 Penn State (8-2, 3-1) at Pauley Pavilion in the Bruins’ annual Pride meet.

“We’re going to be able to really lean into and promote inclusivity but also celebrate love and celebrate each other,” said coach Janelle McDonald. “Having it on Valentine’s Day makes it even that more special.”

In the schools’ last regular-season matchup in 1999, the Nittany Lions defeated the Bruins by three-tenths. Now, UCLA has a chance to even the score.

UCLA is fresh off a season-high 197.950 team total against Washington last weekend, a score that propelled the squad to its first top-five national ranking since 2023.

After a season-low 49.000 beam total the week prior, the Bruins rebounded with a season-high 49.625 on the event to lead them to victory in Seattle, marking only scores of 9.900 or higher.

“We’re finding our groove again on beam,” said graduate student Brooklyn Moors. “We’ve been working quite hard, and I think the results are showing that.”

Senior Emma Malabuyo’s 9.950 last weekend lifted her to the No. 3 individual beam ranking and helped UCLA earn the No. 4 ranking on the event.

Reigning Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week and graduate student Chae Campbell joined Malabuyo in the national rankings, securing the No. 11 spot in the all-around after a 39.625 against Washington – the highest score in the Big Ten on the event this season.

The Bruins hold the No. 1 national floor ranking for a second straight week following their 49.575 total on the event against the Huskies. Leading the top-ranked squad is Moors, who has owned the No. 1 individual floor ranking for two consecutive weeks. Moors, who has been a staple on three events this season for the first time in her collegiate career, only posted scores higher than 9.900 last weekend.

“I’m having so much fun,” Moors said. “We come back on Monday (and) we’re like, ‘Oh, I’m so excited for this weekend,’ and I haven’t felt that in a while.”

Adding to the tally of Bruins with top-10 individual national rankings is graduate student Frida Esparza, who landed the No. 9 spot on bars after tying her career-high 9.950 last weekend.

While bars is UCLA’s lowest nationally ranked event at No. 15, Esparza’s consistency has helped the Bruins improve their ranking every week after starting the season at No. 30.

“Trusting all the years of gymnastics I’ve done allowed me to focus more on the details,” Esparza said. “I don’t have to worry about the technique as much because that’s dialed in.”

However, Esparza’s bar routine will not be her only performance Friday, as she will play the national anthem on her electric guitar to commence the competition.

“People can go to dinner and the best show in LA for Valentine’s Day,” McDonald said. “There’s not much better plans than that.”

Pauley Pavilion’s tribute to love will commence 8 p.m. Friday.