This post was updated Jan. 10 at 4:38 p.m.

An opportunity for revenge goes unfulfilled.

With three of the four 2025 NCAA finalists in the field, the Bruins had an opportunity to set the tone early in 2026 but ultimately fell short.

No. 1 UCLA women’s gymnastics took third at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad with a score of 197.000, coming in behind Oklahoma and LSU and outscoring No. 3 Utah by 1.100 on Saturday in West Valley City, Utah. Oklahoma and LSU recorded identical scores of 197.500, but the Sooners ultimately took first in the meet with a tie-breaker that factored in all six scores on each apparatus.

The Bruins ran out of balance on beam, finishing with a 49.125 – a stark departure from their nation-leading 49.525 score on the apparatus last weekend. Freshman Nola Matthews fell, earning a 9.200 that was ultimately dropped from the final tally.

“When you are in a high caliber meet this early in the season, that is where you are going to see the nerves peak through a little bit more,” said coach Janelle McDonald.

UCLA showed wobbles throughout a majority of the rotation. Freshman Tiana Sumanasekera made a small hop forward on her dismount and earned a 9.725 mark – well below her 9.950 score from last week. Senior Jordan Chiles also faltered after last week’s 9.975, logging a 9.850.

Senior Ciena Alipio finished strong, however, sticking the landing to earn a team-high 9.925 mark. 

“I don’t want to know what anybody else before me has done,” Alipio said. “It might be our greatest beam rotation ever – and it might be our worst – but as long as I can stay as calm as possible and just not feel like there’s so much pressure on me, typically is when I do my best.”

UCLA was not alone in its beam struggles, with three Utah gymnasts falling in a row en route to a 47.875 –  its lowest beam score since 2000. The podium-style meet raises the apparatuses higher off the ground, providing a less familiar environment for the gymnasts and potentially contributing to a difficult adjustment.

Sumanasekera debuted in the bars lineup after being pulled following a shaky warmup last week. The 2024 Olympic alternate stuck the landing, earning a 9.900 mark that tied with Chiles for the highest score of the rotation.

The rest of the lineup was unchanged, with junior Katelyn Rosen and freshman Ashlee Sullivan and Matthews improving on their scores from last week’s meet. Nevertheless, the Bruins posted a 49.425  – the squad’s highest on any apparatus on the day – illustrating a departure from last season where UCLA’s lowest-ranked event came on bars at No. 8 in the nation.

“These past two meets have just been lessons,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, there is some more technical stuff that I can improve on, but I feel like I improved from last week, and I am hoping to keep building up.”

The Bruins also saw improvement in their vault lineup, with five out of six routines scoring 9.825 or higher. Sumanasekera and Chiles led the lineup with a 9.875 and 9.900 to lead off and anchor the lineup, respectively.

The Bruin floor lineup only saw one change from last week, with Alipio competing her first career floor routine in the lineup. She earned a 9.800 mark after a correction to her initial 9.775. 

The event total improved by nearly a tenth from last week to 49.150 but still sat below the Bruins’ 2025 nation-leading average of 49.531.

Rosen led off, improving by more than a tenth on floor with a 9.800 and hitting that mark or above on all four events. Meanwhile, Chiles led the floor scores with a 9.925. The Olympic gold medalist finished the meet second in the all-around competition, losing out on the honors by a margin of 0.025.

“There was so much great gymnastics in this building,” Sullivan said. “It was a really good opportunity to see how we pair up and square up against them early on so we can build off of what we did today.”