Full disclosure: As CGN’s SEC editor who lives on the East Coast, it’s not often that I get the chance to cover Pac-12 meets. That said, I’m a big fan of Pac-12 gymnastics, so I’m excited for every chance I do get!
In its home opener quad meet last weekend, Arizona fell off the pace set in its season debut against Southern Utah thanks to a disappointing bars rotation (not quite a Georgia beam-level disaster, but certainly disappointing). The Wildcats finished out that meet with strong rotations on beam and floor, but will still need to prove that that meet’s bars performance was a fluke.
Where to even start with UCLA? Last weekend the Bruins improved on their disappointing sub-195 season opener by nearly a point and a half but were still well below the 197 mark expected of a top program. This week, we’ve gotten some context on why that is. This will be UCLA’s first competition of the season in Pauley Pavilion, and its first competition since the behind the scenes issues have been made public. Obviously, this is going to affect (and has been affecting) the team’s performance, but how remains to be seen. Sometimes sunshine is the best antiseptic, and an arena full of supporters will be on hand to cheer the Bruins on regardless of their scores.
Live scoring will be available here.
Oh god, Miss Val is here… That’s just what this meet needed!
Sounds like Pac 12 Network is just going to gloss over all of the recent controversy. Jim asked Janay if the team “seems happier this week,” but that’s it so far.
Rotation 1: UCLA vault, Arizona bars
Flatley (UCLA): Very nice Y full with a small hop back. Great form in the air, no surprise. 9.850 and I’m OK with that.
Mueller (Arizona): KCH, good. High Tkatchev, but not much rotation. Bail is good, lost a little bit of tension. DLO with some feet form, but a stick. 9.750
Poston (UCLA): FHS pike half with good form in the air but chest down on the landing and a large step back. 9.750
Linton (Arizona): KCH, nice. Very low Tkatchev, almost looked liek she hit the bar? Very nice bail to handstand. DLO clean in the air if a little low, small hop forward. 9.7
Malabuyo (UCLA): Lovely Y full, arms slightly bent on the table and a hop in place. 9.825
Hargrove (Arizona): Glad to see her healthy after that scary fall last week. Overarches during her full pirouette and has to come off. Second time better. Tkatchev a bit low. Bail is fine. Slightly short on the final handstand, but a nice FTDT in the air with a tiny step. 9.150
Moors (UCLA): Another FHS pike half, not quite as clean in the air as Posten. Some leg sep on the preflight, low chest and a step on the landing.
Deets (Arizona): Blind full finished a little late, Tkatchev was nice. Good bail, could be a little tighter. Beautiful DLO in the air, basically stuck. 9.700
Chiles (UCLA): Tsuk full, lots of distance and nice stretched position in the air. Small hop. 9.875
McCabe (Arizona): Short first handstand. Blind change to straddled Jaeger, well done. Bail is fine, sole circle to a slightly short final handstand. DLO, stuck. 9.825
Campbell (UCLA): Her usual enormous Y full. Great form and amplitude, flares out and nearly sticks it. 9.900
Fears (Arizona): Big Tkatchev with a lot of rotation. Lovely hecht shoot. Handstand positions dead on throughout, and a stuck DLO. Great comeback for her after last week’s fall. 9.850
AFTER ONE ROTATION: UCLA 49.250, Arizona 48.825
Glad to see the Wildcats shake off last week’s issues. Lots of small errors and form breaks throughout the rotation, but Linton’s fall was the only major issue.
FYI, saw Frazier on the UCLA sideline. By far, the Bruins cleanest and most controlled vault rotation of the season (actually, their first time breaking 49). Very glad Chiles has opted to compete the Tsuk. It’s a grea
Rotation 2: UCLA bars, Arizona vault
Mueller (Arizona): Y full. She twists a little early on the table, but great landing. 9.775
Campbell (UCLA): Short first handstand. Maloney to bail, overdoes the handstand but manages to pull it back. Blind change to tucked double front dismount, very cowboyed but a stick.
Fears (Arizona): Misses the block a bit on her Y full, doesn’t get much amplitude and has to tuck it a bit. Small hop. 9.750 is too high for me given the form break.
Padurariu (UCLA): Lovely first handstand. Some leg sep on the backswing of her Maloney. Nice position on her bail. Blind full lacks a little control, but a tidy double tuck with a hop forward. 9.725
Castles (Arizona): Y full with plenty of distance but slightly piked. Chest down on the landing, but a definite stick. 9.825
Ulias (UCLA): Toe on to blind half, gorgeous straddled Jaeger. Excellent bail. Very deliberate, precise final handstand. DLO a bit low, lands lock-kneed and takes a large step back. 9.675
Herry (Arizona): Underrotated Y full, chest down and has to take a big step forward. 9.625
Malabuyo (UCLA): Good first handstand. Big leg sep on her Maloney. Floaty Pak. High DLO with a small hop back. 9.825
Nosek (Arizona): Y full Some leg sep on her preflight, but a ton of amplitude and a big hop back. 9.775
Chiles (UCLA): KCH to piked Tkatchev, well done. Pak, great. Maloney to in-bar Gienger, lets glued together. Solid FTDT with chest down a bit and a hop forward. 9.900
Hargrove (Arizona): Goes for the Y 1.5! Block was a little wonky and she ends up sitting down. Tough break. 9.325
Flatley (UCLA): Blind change in eagle grip to a lovely straddled Jaeger. Excellent bail. Aggressive final handstand. Clean DLO with a medium hop back. 9.800
AFTER TWO ROTATIONS: UCLA 98.300, Arizona 97.575
A good but not great bars rotation for the Bruins. Scoring was surprisingly tight, and all those minor form breaks added up. Chiles’s routine was the clear standout, which is even more impressive given its length and comparative difficulty.
Hargrove’s fall was the only major error of the Wildcats’ vault rotation but that just felt like a tough vault rotation. Everyone seemed pretty tentative, and the lineup just never hit its groove.
Rotation 3: UCLA beam, Arizona floor
Padurariu (UCLA): Candle mount. Side aerial to bhs, very deliberate. Good amplitude on her switch split. Beat jump to sheep, good. Side aerial to full, slightly piked it but stuck. Great lead-off from the freshman. 9.900 is high
Orman (Arizona): Front lay to Rudi with some leg form. Switch side to Popa, really nice amplitude. Can’t tell if that was a stumble or choreo. Double pike with soft knees but a solid landing to well-controlled lunge. 9.775
Chiles (UCLA): Bhs to floaty loso; misses her foot but works right through it. Front aerial, solid. Switch leap to wolf, good positions. Long pause before the dismount. Double pike with chest down and a hop back. 9.750
Castles (Arizona): Back 2.5 with some leg form to punch front, dances out of it. Nicely done. Back 1.5 through to Rudi, again some leg form in the air. Switch leap to switch ring half, front leg a hair low. 9.750
Malabuyo (UCLA): Wolf turn, fine for what it is. I have to admit, she does perform it very well! Bhs loso with some knees. Front aerial to split jump to ring, well done. The Carlton… Bhs loso to a stuck full, again with some knees on the bhs. 9.925 is high given the form issues.
Mueller (Arizona): Floaty double pike, but lands back on her heels and has to slide. Great amplitude on her Popa series. Clean back 2.5 to front lay to stag. Tight double tuck, chest down but a well-controlled landing. 9.725
Sakti (UCLA): Switch split to bhs and HUGE loso. Switch half with a large leg up check and waist bend. Full turn, good. Cat leap and she balks on the connection; side aerial to a stuck full. 9.550
The non-Janay Honest commentator is annoyed that Arizona keeps changing its lineup because he doesn’t know who’s who. Sigh.
Fears (Arizona): Opening double tuck nice in the air, finesses the landing a bit. Gorgeous position on her Popa series. Lovely back 2.5, beautiful form. Back 1.5 to a punch full, slightly underrotated but she covers well. 9.800
Flatley (UCLA): Front aerial to bhs loso with softer legs than usual. L turn to split, gorgeous. Switch ring, very solid. Bhs to a college stuck 1.5, again some leg form. 9.900
Herry (Arizona): High, powerful double tuck, slides back just a bit. Switch half to straddle half, very precise. Back 2.5 to front lay; excellent rise on the lay. Double pike, opens a bit too early and has to take a step forward. Man commentator said, “She looked like she was gasping for air at the end!” Dude, what… Really nice routine.
Campbell (UCLA): Bhs loso with a large hip bend. Switch leap to switch half, nicely done. Switch jump to switch side with another check. Beautiful cartwheel side gainer full, stuck. 9.775
Hargrove (Arizona): Gigantic FTDT, a little bouncy on the landing but she finessed it well. Whip half to full, great form in the air but a a little stutter step. Switch ring not quite horizontal, but a lovely switch half. Double back with a minor slide back. Really strong routine! 9.850
AFTER THREE ROTATIONS: UCLA 147.550,
OK, the beam scoring was pretty generous, but that was a decent offering from UCLA but they’ve got to start cleaning up the details. This lineup obviously includes some fantastic skills, but the execution just isn’t quite there yet. Major props to Padurariu; she seems to have fully embraced the lead-off role.
Solid floor rotation for Arizona! Whatever timidness they had on vault was gone this rotation, and the scores reflect that.
Rotation 4: UCLA floor, Arizona beam
Fears (Arizona): Bhs loso, no problem. Side aerial to Sissone. Beautiful switch leap to switch side. RO back 1.5, stuck. Excellent routine. 9.850
Ulias (UCLA): Punch Rudi, a little overrotated. Loses her balance on her leap series and has to do some extra footwork. Switch full to switch half, good position. Floaty back 1.5 to front lay, lands a little forward and has to scoot. 9.750 is high compared to the Arizona scores.
Deets (Arizona): Bhs loso, lovely extension. Full turn, nicely done. Hitch kick to switch side, good. Cat leap to front toss with extra steps and a leg up. Switch leap to gainer side full with a hop. Won’t build on Fears’s score, but had lots of nice moments. 9.675
Flatley (UCLA): High triple full with a large but controlled lunge. FHS double twist with a little hop forward. Switch ring to switch half. Back 2.5 to a high front lay, well done. 9.900
Mueller (Arizona): Side aerial to loso with soft knees but rock solid. Switch leap to split jump, a little slow on the connection but should be credited; back leg a little low on the jump. RO back 1.5, perfect stick. 9.900
Chiles (UCLA): Punch front through to double tuck, well done. DLO (yes, she did a DLO as her second pass!) landed short, big step forward. Switch full to wolf 1.5, nice height. Double pike landed a little deep, but very secure landing. Fun debut routine, and she really sold it. 9.825
Hargrove (Arizona): Bhs loso loso and comes off the back of the beam; too bad because her height and extension is lovely. Split leap to sheep jump, didn’t quite hit the shape. RO back 1.5 a bit flat, has to take a hop back. 9.250
Moors (UCLA): She’s dancing and emoting! Tucked front Arabian, beautiful in the air but takes a step OOB. RO loso, I love it. Switch ring to switch half to wolf half, nice. FHS full to what I think was supposed to be a front full? Missed the punch and landed on her side. Thankfully, she seems fine! 9.450 is very high for a routine with an OOB and fall.
Castles (Arizona): Fun tick-tock mount. Bhs loso and she comes off. Switch leap to split leap, beautiful position. Front aerial to Sissone, some foot form on the aerial. Really controlled, deliberate double wolf turn. RO back 1.5, goes up on her toes but didn’t move. 9.250
Malabuyo (UCLA): Short DLO, lands with chest down and a step forward. Back 1.5 to an incredibly low front tuck, but somehow managed to avoid a fall. Wow. Switch side to switch half, good. Double pike to close; a little crunched on the landing. 9.675
Linton (Arizona): Double wolf turn a bit wild. Bhs bhs loso with some foot form, but right on. Switch leap to split jump, great. Side aerial to back full, a little piked but a decisive stick. Great routine. 9.825
Campbell (UCLA): FHS to double full, not quite as clean on the landing as it was in the air. Her usual dynamic Popa series, fantastic. Fhs full to front lay, very underrotated and she has to take several steps back. Honestly, I could just watch an entire routine of her dancing. High double tuck to close, lands a little deep and on her toes but sticks it cold. 9.700
AFTER FOUR ROTATIONS: UCLA 196.400, Arizona 195.125
VT: Campbell, 9.900
UB: Chiles, 9.900
BB: Malabuyo, 9.925
FX: Flatley, 9.900
AA: Flatley, 39.400
Live blog by Claire Billman
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