Hello friends! As much as I would love to be live blogging this event from Pauley Pavilion, I will be watching from the comfort of my couch.
I’m super excited about this meet for a few reasons. One of which is this is my first ever live blog. AH! Additionally, we get to witness Florida transfer Nya Reed’s return to college gymnastics and the start of Margzetta Frazier’s last season. We’ll also get to see star returners like Emma Malabuyo, Selena Harris, and Chae Campbell.
The Bruins are coming off a great 2023 season as they finished fifth at NCAA championships. They were also ranked fifth in the preseason poll and second in the Pac-12 preseason poll. The Bruins didn’t lose many routines from last year and add four freshmen this season.
A lot is looming over this season for UCLA as conference realignment goes into effect after the 2024 season where the Bruins will join the Big Ten. There are high hopes for the Pac-12 in its last year, as many of the schools in the conference have top 25 rankings in many of their sports. With what remains for the Pac-12 and UCLA’s legacy here, the future looks bright for the Bruins this season.
Bear with me as my cable decided to say “not today” 2 minutes before the meet began. How cute is that to make me miss most of the vault rotation *insert upside-down smiley face here*.
Vault
Campbell: huge Yurchenko full, great stick
Harris: Yurchenko 1.5, little low but stuck cold…I smell a 10 in her future:)
Reed: huge Yurchenko 1.5 for her first vault as a Bruin
Unfortunately with my cable being out and glitching a bit, I was only able to see three of their vaults. From what I’ve seen in warmups and those three vaults, they look goodddd. Janay Honest is in the booth covering this meet…internally fan-girling. That was very refreshing to see after the debacle I just went through. I am however sad as I see Jordan walking around on the floor not in a leotard. It was at that moment I remembered she was deferring to train for Paris:(
Bars
Campbell: they cut to her routine after she started…rude. nice bail to handstand. solid handstands throughout. nice double front dismount, small hop forward.
Malabuyo: starts strong with Shaposh to Pak. handstand a little short but upright. great release. pretty full-twisting double-back.
Harris: really nice Tkachev. beautiful handstands as always. solid bail to handstand. pretty blind full connection to stuck double layout dismount.
Rosen: great connections and handstands from the start. pretty Shaposh to bail. sticks her double layout cold.
Esparza: gorgeous Shaposh to Bhardwaj right out of the gate. sharp Shaposh half. great toe point and lines throughout. double layout, slight slide back.
Frazier: first handstand a little over. Shaposh to Pak, beautiful as always. no major release. double layout dismount, a little short on the landing…seemed a little low on gas.
Lee: starts with a Pak that sadly did not go her way, came into the bar. comes off the bar afterward. handstand a little short. finishes strong with a pretty double layout, almost stuck.
Jordan Chiles being up in the booth was as distracting as it could be because I wanted to focus on what she had to say instead of watching the meet haha. Overall, the Bruins look clean and solid on bars. I can’t wait to see all of their upgrades once season is in full swing (no pun intended).
Beam
Lee: pretty front aerial split jump. beautiful back handspring layout. switch leap straddle jump, nice 180. back handspring gainer full, stuck. her dance throughout was GORGEOUS.
Rosen: clean switch leap split jump. cat leap front aerial beat jump, slight balance check. pretty full turn. back handspring layout, stuck…and she does it right before her dismount!?!?! a queen if you ask me. pretty round-off 1.5 twist, her toes were working overtime as she fights for the stick.
Andres: catches the judges’ eye immediately with a creative mount. pretty beat jump switch half, slight bobble. gainer handspring, super funky and cool. solid front toss to Korbut. beautiful dance and artistry throughout. round off double twist, stuck.
Campbell: double wolf turn, little wobbly. back handspring layout, a little crooked and comes off. beautiful switch leap split jump. finishes strong with a cartwheel gainer full, stuck.
Harris: starts off strong with a triple series whoop whoop, back handspring layout handspring with a slight balance check. switch leap split leap, nice clean lines. pretty dance and rhythm. debuts a new dismount with a round off double full, goes for the stick.
Malabuyo: nice double wolf turn. stunning back handspring layout. switch leap switch ring beat jump, literally couldn’t have been prettier. back handspring gainer full, stuck clean.
Esparza: little bit of a lineup switch and Frida will anchor beam. solid full turn. aerial back handspring, small wobble. switch half beat jump, made it look easy. nice lines and dance, as usual. back handspring gainer full, seemed to have surprised herself with a stick.
While it wasn’t my favorite UCLA beam rotation ever, I LOVED the creative series and choreography from everyone. Any errors that were made were swept away or forgotten and every routine finished off clean and most were stuck. Overall, it was pleasing to watch. Jordan pulling in the crowd and getting them excited for floor after beam was cute to watch as well. We love a supportive queen.
Floor
Moors: starts off dramatic, really draws the crowd in. sky high punch front 2.5 twist, slight step forward. round off back layout stepout as part of her dance. switch leap switch full wolf full, super pretty. stunning dance throughout, really drew the crowd in. finished with front handspring 1.5 twist. stunning Euphoria-themed routine.
Lee: round off double back, clean stick. front handspring switch leap switch half. dismounts with a round off layout, I presume a timer for a double layout. has a Shang Chi-themed routine, which is so sick.
Rosen: she starts out with a little witch-themed fashion show (as the commentators called it haha). coming to you live from Pauley Pavillion is the Scarlet Witch herself, Katelyn Rosen. opens with a gorgeous double layout. nice leaps. round off 1.5 twist front full front tuck, stuck. closes out with a double pike, oh man did she have crunchy ankles…ouchie.
Harris: also opens with a double layout, STUCK. switch full to Popa, nice and clean. punch front 1.5 to front full double stag jump. Selena became JLo for this routine and it was electric.
Reed: draws the crowd in by channeling her inner diva and sorority girl. ANOTHER opening double layout, dang ladies go off. switch full wolf full, nice height. the old-school dance thrown into the choreography is fun and funky. front handspring front full, seems to have run out of gas and sits it down. love how she paid tribute to her African roots and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, super fun and eye-catching!
Campbell: opens up with a HUGE tucked full-in…I think, it was indeed out of frame. switch full split full, so much height. the stream glitched a lil and I missed her second pass. ends her Black Panther-themed routine with a great double back, but I hope her elbows are okay as they seemed a little crunchy.
Malabuyo: starts of her jazzy Gatsby-themed routine with a round-off layout, not sure what it may be a timer for. does another round-off layout timer. switch ring switch full, just stunning. finishes off with a round-off back handspring layout, I figure she’s preserving her heavily wrapped knee by doing timers tonight. can’t wait to see what her full routine looks like!
Frazier: starts off fun as always. started to tumble but didn’t???? not sure what that was about lol. only does a switch leap by itself. runs through another pass, I feel like she’s saving her ankles for the real deal. with a fun pink cheetah print leotard, she did a great job paying homage to LA and keeping the crowd enthralled. this one is going to be 10 worthy for sure.
This was a fantastic floor rotation holy cow. It was fun, trendy, creative, and an absolute joy to watch. I look forward to UCLA’s themed routines every year and these might be some of my favorite ones yet. The way they drew the crowd in with a dramatic fashion show to highlight the theme of each routine was so cool. After a bit of a speed bump at the beginning, we made it through it! Live blogging Meet the Bruins was so much fun (even though I disassociated a few times during press box interviews). I cannot wait to see what this team accomplishes this season!
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Live blog by Jessica Brock
