Katelyn Rosen watched from the sidelines for seven weeks before the postseason.

Fresh off a stellar all-around freshman season, Rosen struggled with confidence and a “sophomore slump” that held back the former three-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.

But with three scores of 9.8625 or higher, Rosen helped UCLA gymnastics advance toward its first national final since 2019 Thursday night. The performance came less than a month after Rosen’s break from competitive lineups and in arguably the most pressure-filled moments of the Bruins’ year.

Without Rosen – who adds stability, reliability and energy to her team – UCLA’s tale would have concluded with a not-so-happy ending.

Right before Rosen went on beam, senior Emily Lee, known for her signature leadoff routines, posted her lowest score on any event this season with a 9.6875 – nearly a death sentence for the Bruins.

Had Rosen succumbed to the pressure of following up a miss, UCLA would be forced to count Lee’s score, nearly failing to advance to the national final.

But Rosen kept the Bruins afloat with a 9.8875, sticking her dismount cold.

Her biggest impact was arguably carved in Thursday’s bars lineup. Twenty minutes before Rosen saluted the judges for her bars routine, she didn’t even know she was going to compete. Freshman Mika Webster-Longin was originally in the lineup but sustained an apparent knee injury during her vault routine the rotation prior and missed the rest of Thursday’s meet.

And Rosen picked up the pieces.

Assuming Webster-Longin’s role, Rosen posted a 9.875 and stuck her double layout dismount. The mark added to UCLA’s 49.425 bars total, tying the squad’s third-best performance on the event this year. And there was no better time to do it than at the national championships.

On floor, she led the Bruins off and set the tone for a 49.525 rotation that put UCLA in the lead after the first event. And she did so while pressure gleaned over freshman Macy McGowan’s shoulders in her first routine since suffering a back injury before the regional championships. But Rosen helped lift the weight off McGowan to allow the freshman to notch a solid 9.850.

Fans thought Rosen overcame her sophomore slump March 22 when she returned after being out for seven weeks. Then, Rosen’s two-event performance at the Big Ten championships helped UCLA secure the conference title.

But at her first national championships, Rosen proved she chewed up that slump and spit it out. She showed gymnastics fans – and No. 1 seed LSU – who was boss and helped clinch UCLA’s spot in Saturday’s national final.

Rosen has the ability to notch high scores on every event. She regularly competed the all around last season and set season-highs of at least 9.900 on every event, including a pair of 9.950 marks on beam and floor.

Rosen will compete for the final time this season Saturday. And with the Bruins posting the second-highest team score across the four teams to advance, Rosen and UCLA have the potential to bring a trophy back to Westwood.