New conference.

New rivals.

But the same swagger.

After steamrolling through its first season in the Big Ten, No. 5 UCLA gymnastics (13-3, 9-0 Big Ten) will return to the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday to compete in its inaugural Big Ten championships. The Bruins enter the competition as the regular-season champions after notching an undefeated conference record.

“Our team is really proud of the regular season that we’ve had, but now it’s time to lock in and step into that next gear to get ready for postseason,” said UCLA coach Janelle McDonald. “This is going to be such a fun competition to do just that.”

UCLA is set to compete in the tournament’s third and final session, facing No. 9 Michigan State (14-3, 8-1), No. 15 Minnesota (14-1, 8-1) and No. 17 Michigan (10-6, 6-3). While the Bruins haven’t battled the Golden Gophers since 2022, they defeated both the Spartans and the Wolverines in their dual meets earlier this season Feb. 1 and Feb. 23, respectively.

“People appreciate good gymnastics, and that’s what I told the UCLA team when they came,” said Michigan coach Bev Plocki. “Our fans have always been gracious fans – they appreciate good gymnastics, and I love that about our sport.”

Michigan State, the reigning conference tournament champions, won its first title in program history last season, knocking out Minnesota by .100. The championship victory was spearheaded by Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen, who is currently tied as Big Ten’s No. 4 all-around gymnast alongside teammate Nikki Smith.

But UCLA’s entrance into the conference could threaten Michigan State’s chances for back-to-back banners. Prior to the tournament, eight Bruins were named to Big Ten All-Conference teams, with graduate students Brooklyn Moors and Chae Campbell, senior Emma Malabuyo and junior Jordan Chiles all receiving First Team honors.

Chiles, one of UCLA’s three rostered Olympians, heads into the weekend leading the Bruins in the Big Ten rankings, owning top spots on bars and floor while sitting at No. 2 on vault and in the all-around. In 2023 – the last time the Olympic champion competed at a conference championship – Chiles was crowned the bars and floor champion and was the runner-up on vault.

“We have been fortunate to sell out, or nearly sell out, Crisler Arena three times in the last couple of years,” Plocki said. “A lot of that is attributed to (when) Auburn came with Suni Lee and UCLA with Jordan Chiles.”

The Bruins haven’t won a conference title since 2019 when they defeated the Red Rocks to win their 19th Pac-12 title. Since then, Utah has stood its ground and notched four team conference titles before its entrance into the Big 12 in 2024.

But this time around, UCLA will turn its attention to taking care of new opponents – a slate that excludes Utah for the first time in over a decade.

“It will be a dog fight,” said Minnesota coach Jenny Hansen. “It might come down to the last routine just like it did last year.”