Practice makes perfect.

Unless an external factor – like illness – gets in the way.

That reality surfaced for the Bruins on Sunday, when lineup staples freshman Nola Matthews and sophomore Mika Webster-Longin were sidelined from the competition with the flu. The setback, however, did little to slow No. 5 UCLA gymnastics which still posted a season-high 197.425 against Michigan State. The vacancies also allowed multiple athletes to take on expanded roles.

[Related: UCLA gymnastics beats Michigan state with another perfect 10 from Jordan Chiles]

Junior Sydney Barros filled in for the missing pair on two events, delivering a career-high 9.900 on bars and another 9.900 in her collegiate debut on floor – both of which were good for the Bruins’ second-highest scores in each event at the meet.

“Putting up a career-high on bars, it makes me feel better about going into the rest of the season,” Barros said. “It only makes me more confident.”

Barros added that she found out she had made the lineups just a day before the meet – and was initially not slated to participate at all due to a minor ankle injury.

“I was always mentally prepared to go in and do my job,” Barros said. “Knowing that we had teammates who couldn’t be there this time, I was doing it for a bigger purpose.”

Freshman Ashlee Sullivan added a new event to her repertoire Sunday, filling in for Matthews on beam and competing in the all-around for the first time with a 39.200 mark, which makes her the No. 34 all-arounder in the nation.

Sullivan joins freshman Tiana Sumanasekera, junior Katelyn Rosen and senior Jordan Chiles in the all-around, expanding a role that was limited to just two athletes last season.

“As much as I loved competing in the all-around, I want what’s best for them (my teammates),” Sullivan said. “If my beam seems not great, I don’t want to be in a lineup. I want the absolute best gymnast and best scores that we can put out there.”

Sullivan earned a 9.775 mark on the apparatus after wobbling but regaining composure. She said assistant coach Lacy Dagen let her know in advance that there was a high likelihood of her competing on beam – a prospect she called both exciting and nerve-wracking.

“It was a new routine for me, so this was probably the second week that I’ve been doing it,” Sullivan said. “I was just really happy that I was able to contribute the best that I could for the team and give it my all in that moment.”

Freshman Jordis Eichman stepped up into an entire new realm of competition Sunday, with the meet marking her collegiate debut. The Colorado Springs, Colorado, local earned a 9.825 on beam – tying for the Bruins’ third-highest scoring performance on the event – and a 9.750 on vault, which was dropped from the squad’s cumulative score.

Senior Ciena Alipio, a beam specialist who has yet to fall below 9.925 on the apparatus and is ranked No. 5 in the nation, logged a 9.875 in her collegiate bars debut – making her the Bruins’ second-best barworker at No. 24 in the nation.

Coach Janelle McDonald said Matthews and Webster-Longin were back in the gym but had not regained full strength as of Wednesday. The Bruins are preparing for their next competition against Washington on Friday night – just five days after their last meet.

“A couple other athletes (are) dealing with some things, but not quite as severe, so I think we’re heading in the right direction,” McDonald said. “Hopefully, the worst is behind us, but it’s that time of year and how things play out, in the winter sometimes.”

McDonald said she was proud that no athlete deflected responsibility despite the circumstances. Rather, McDonald said, everyone stepped up and gave it their all.

“It would have been really easy to make an excuse, with so many athletes dealing with illness and things like that – to make an excuse for it to not go perfectly,” McDonald said. “This team didn’t do that. They said, ‘We got it. We’re going to figure it out. We’re going to fight for everything to still make this one of our best meets possible.’”