No one is immune to season-opening jitters.

But the youthful Bruin squad managed to find balance in its Jan. 3 season-opener – ending the meet with their highest season-opening beam total since 2004.

No. 1 UCLA gymnastics heads to West Valley City, Utah, for the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, where the top-ranked unit will face Oklahoma, LSU and Utah on Saturday in their second competition of the season.

“We needed to get a couple events under our belt before we settled in a little bit more,” said coach Janelle McDonald about the squad’s opening competition. “I’m excited to see them hit the ground running with that mentality right out of the gate.”

The Bruins are no strangers to shaky starts.

In 2025, the squad’s season-opening 195.250 marked their lowest score of the season by almost two points.

Just one week later, the Bruins leapt from last place to a 197.550 first-place finish at last year’s Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad.

UCLA’s 2026 season began on the floor, with over half the lineup consisting of underclassmen. Three freshmen contributed to UCLA’s 49.075 total, which scored 0.457 below last year’s average.

But the squad improved with each rotation – and by the final event, beam, the newcomers had found their footing.

Freshman Tiana Sumanasekera garnered a 9.950, earning Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week honors.

“When you’re in a room full of really great teams and great gymnastics, it’s easy to get your eyes pulled away and want to watch,” McDonald said. “We’re focused on the things that are important in the job that we have at hand, which is trying to stay together, stay focused and put the best gymnastics we can out on the competition floor.”

Now, the Bruins have the opportunity to carry their first-meet momentum into their second week of competition, where they will meet familiar and top-ranked foes. All four teams finished in the top five at the 2025 national championships, with Oklahoma claiming the title.

While UCLA bested Utah at last year’s national championship, Utah has swept all of the squad’s dual meets since 2020. And Oklahoma and LSU entered the 2026 season as No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the WCGA Preseason Coaches Poll.

“It’s really cool and really exciting to be competing against such talented teams, but ultimately we’re only going to be focused on what we’re doing as a team,” said freshman Nola Matthews.

Despite the youth on the roster, a steady senior class is setting the tone for the younger gymnasts.

Senior Jordan Chiles swept every event title in the season-opener and now holds the No. 1 national ranking on all-around, bars, beam and floor, earning the Big Ten Conference Gymnast of the Week Award.

Senior Ciena Alipio also notched a near-perfect 9.975 on beam and was named the Big Ten Conference Event Specialist of the Week.

“We want to keep that energy going,” said sophomore Mika Webster-Longin. “Just go and show our hard work once again, get another experience under our belt and gain some more confidence.”