If you watched UCLA’s meet against Arizona State last weekend, you’re probably feeling a little concerned, anxious, maybe even sleepless on behalf of Janelle McDonald and her lineup decisions. The 196.325 against Arizona State is UCLA’s lowest score since Janelle became head coach of the program. Hear me out, though; the Bruins are in a manageable position heading into the postseason. UCLA will welcome Emma Malabuyo back into the beam lineup following her return from the Baku World Cup, Selena Harris will hopefully be back after a rest week, and Chae Campbell is trying to get back into the floor lineups. When all the puzzle pieces are in place, The Bruins can put up a 198+ performance, which will be crucial for them heading into the postseason.
This meet is Clemson’s first and possibly last-ever dual meet against another Pac-12 team. Most importantly,, though, this is Clemson’s last opportunity to raise its NQS to avoid the play-in round at Regionals. To avoid that situation, the Tigers need to put up at least a 197.125. The Tigers were able to put up a 197+ twice this season, but only at home meets. Will the Tigers be able to break into the 197s again without the help of a home arena?
Updates: Looks like Chae Campbell and Margzetta Frazier are back in the floor lineup, am I a soothsayer or?
Introductions underway.
Anastasi warmed up the 1.5 – small shuffle forwards
Rotation 1: UCLA Vault, Clemson Bars
Lee – UCLA: Yfull, her normal, tiny hop forwards on the landing. 9.825
Wells – Clemson: Orphan half turn to Takachec to bail, doesn’t get her second hand around the bar and comes off, good last handstand, full-in dismount is secure. 9.4 with a fall
Rosen – UCLA: 1.5 – nice form in the pre-flight, some knees in the post-flight, takes a step back on landing. 9.850
Jackson – Clemson: Nice handstand, blind to Jaegar to bail, nice amplitude, slight arch on last handstand, full-in dismount with a large step back.
Campbell – UCLA: I’ve run out of words to describe how excellent this FTY is – hop back on landing. 9.850
Lippeatt – Clemson: Ray to Pak, great handstand positions, blind full, small waver, stuck double tuck dismount with a break at the waist to hold the stick. 9.875
Reed – UCLA: 1.5 – Two very large lunges on the landing. 9.850 is a very interesting choice.
DeGuzman – Clemson: Blind to Jaegar, a little close catch, short on last handstand double layout with some starfishing, doesn’t hold the stick on landing and takes a step back. 9.8
Harris – UCLA: Stuck 1.5, a little deep in the landing – but it was almost identical to the 10.0 she got a few weeks ago. She gets her 10 today.
Rutherford – Clemosn: Off on the Ray, bail handstand, misses the position, double layout, holds the stick. 9.150
Anastasi – UCLA: She warmed up the 1.5, let’s see how this goes today. Lots of knees in the post-flight, but finds the landing for almost a stick. 9.925. That’s VERY high.
Webb- Clemson: Maloney to Pak, the half-turn position is late, takes three steps back on the double layout.
Irvine – UCLA: Got swapped into the exhibition spot, full-on pike off, not the most amplitude, hop back.
I missed Clemson’s exhibition on bars oops!
After 1: UCLA 49.475, Clemson 48.700
Overall UCLA had a really strong vault rotation highlighted by Harris’ 10.0 and Anastasi debuting her Yurchenko 1.5. A 49.475 is UCLA’s second-highest vault score this season. Clemson had a rough start from the get-go, having to count a fall. Some of the scoring has been VERY senior nighty so expect this meet to be a rollercoaster.
Rotation 2: UCLA Bars, Clemson Vault
Wells – Clemson: Stuck FTY – great start! 9.875
Campbell – UCLA: Malnoey to bail handstand, great position, stuck double front just some cowboying. 9.9
Jackson – Clemson: Another stuck FTY, not as much amplitude as Well’s but finds the landing. 9.9
Anyimi – UCLA: Jaegar, to bail, fingertip catch! good handstand, full-out dismount with a lunge back. 9.850
Arnold – Clemson: Stuck 1.5 – Clemson’s landings are ON FIRE. 9.975
Rosen – UCLA: Maloney to Pak, good handstand positions, double layout with a small shuffle back on the landing.
Rutherford – Clemson: 1.5, almosttt holds the stick but has to take a sizeable hop to the side.
Frazier – UCLA: Maloney to Pak, great, shy on the half turn, stuck double layout, not sure if she held it for a second. 9.950
Minner – Clemson: Tucked 1.5, large lunge on the landing. 9.850
Esparza – UCLA: Maloney to Pak, VL, great, great final handstand, double layout with a small hop back. 9.9
Holman – Clemson: Handspring pike-half, her block is so good, she shows a full layout shape before she snaps into the pike-half. Lunge back on the landing. 9.850
Harris – UCLA: Great handstand, position, Ray, nice bail handstand, blind full into a stuck double layout. Great work as always. She gets her first perfect ten on bars tonight. Should we be on a 40.0 watch?
Bryant – Clemson: Exhibition, FTY, some piking down and a lunge back.
Erodes- UCLA: Exhibition, Jaegar to bail, catches the Jaegar a little close, full-in dismount with a lunge back.
After 2: UCLA 99.100, Clemson 98.150
UCLA’s 49.625 is a season-high on bars. There was some home-scoring magic going on, but this was definitely the Bruins’s best bars performance this season. Clemson had a fantastic start on vault, opening with three sticks and Arnold going 9.975.
Rotation 3: UCLA Beam, Clemson Floor
Warmups are underway and it looks like Alipio is back in the lineup, that’s good news for the Bruins after last week’s performance.
Lee – UCLA: Front aerial to split jump, smooth, BHS LOSO, solid, her gimme gimme choreo is so funny I love it, gainer full dismount, stuck. Lee gives me Grace Glenn vibes, could it be a leadoff ten? Nope 9.925
Lippeatt – Clemson: Nice double tuck to open, I missed the dance series, 1.5 to full to finish. Great start.
Rosen – UCLA: Switch to split to stag, slow in the connection and disguises a step out of it, BHS LOSO, great. Stuck 1.5 dismount. 9.950
Arnold – Clemson: Full-in, legs staggered in the air, but finds the landing, she music is Kill This Love from Blackpink and I think the UCLA student section is eating it up, 2.5 to front tuck to finish, great.
Andres – UCLA: Switch half to beat jump, hesitation and a wobble breaking the connection, front toss to swing down, slow in that connection, stuck double-full dismount. Since the judges don’t really take for slow connections her score is so dependent upon the landing of her dismount so let’s see where this goes. 9.875 Hmm
Jackson – Clemson: HUGE full-out, switch half to wolf full, front tuck through to double-tuck, finds the landing. Clemson is kind of popping off with the K-pop floor musics.
Alipio – UCLA: Front aerial to big arm swing, doesn’t connect it to the LOSO, redoes it and gets the series this time and wobbles out of it, gainer-full with a tiny hop forwards. 9.750
Wells – Clemson: Full-in, legs staggered in the air, good landing, a little short of the straddle position in the dance series, great 1.5-step out to double-full to finish.
Harris – UCLA: BHS LOSO BHS, solid, switch to split to full-turn, good rhythm, solid front toss, gets the stick on the 1.5 today. WOW. She goes 9.950
I get why some judges may be hesitant to give Harris the bars 10.0 but I’m not sure what’s holding her back on beam.
Rutherford – Clemson: 2.5 to front tuck, moves the back foot on the lunge, missed the dance series, double-tuck, lunge back. Great amplitude. 9.850
Malabuyo – UCLA: Wolf-turn, nice, BHS LOSO, great, front aerial to beat jump, good speed in the connection, great connection in the split jump to ring jump, stuck gainer-full dismount. GIVE THIS GIRL A NAP! Gets it from one judge, 9.975.
Clark – Clemson: Double layout, great in the air, can’t control the landing and takes a lunge OOB, great positions in the dance series, she has a UCLA-esque floor routine, she has great performance value, interacting with the audience and the judges. 9.750
Esparza – UCLA: Exhibition, front aerial to BHS, glad she got that this week, balance check on the switch half, a little tentative on the last triple-series, BHS gainer dismount with a foot slide.
Minner – Clemson: Exhibition, front double-full, lunge a few shuffles on the landing, great Rudi LOSO to finish.
McNamara – UCLA: Aerial LOSO, large hip break but holds onto it, switch quarter to straddle jump, nice, cartwheel to 1.5 dismount, couldn’t see the landing.
After 3: UCLA 148.775, Clemson 147.525
The Bruins had a pretty dramatic turnaround from last week’s 48.450 to a season-high 49.675. Clemson showed solid tumbling for a 49.375, but Clark’s 9.750 held Clemson from breaking the 49.5 mark.
Rotation 4: UCLA Floor, Clemson Beam
Lippeatt – Clemson: Front aerial to BHS swing-down, tad slow in the connection, good rhythm in the dance series, side aerial, break, split jump, split jump half from cross position, gainer aerial full of the end, really close to the beam cap but sticks it.
Andres – UCLA: 2.5 to front tuck, could use more amplitude on the front tuck, great, double-tuck, lunge back. Swtich 3.4 to Popa, good positions. She has amazing performance value.
Clark – Clemson: Front tuck, big break with her leg up, BHS LOSO, solid. Floaty front-full to dismount, I think she stuck it.
Frazier – UCLA: Her floor debut for this season. She’s going back to her floor routine from last year, whip, BHS BHS to double tuck, she opens out of it like 30 feet in the air oh my god, a little shy on the positions in the dance series and stumbles out of the Popa, double pike to finish, great work. We love to see it. 9.975, I think that’s a career-high.
Jackson – Clemson: Off on the BHS LOSO LOSO, doesn’t get that much amplitude on the cat-leap half, it’s been a second since I’ve seen someone do that on beam. Step on the 1.5 dismount. 8.975
Moors – UCLA: Front double-full to front tuck, stays in bounds, I’m literally at church right now, switch leap to an oops, Rudi to stag to finish. That miss on her dance series is going to hurt, I think she’s limping off the floor. One judge went 9.850 with a 10.0 SV,
Wells – Clemson: Full-turn, slight bobble, switch split to switch side, BHS LOSO, double-full dismount with a slide on the landing. 9.925
Harris – UCLA: Massive DLO, lunge back, good positions on the dance series, double-tuck, finds the landing, 1.5 to Barani to stag, amazing competition for her today. That rest week is paying off today. 9.950
McCright – Clemson: BHS LOSO, small correction, split to tuck jump full, aerial to split jump, another correction, stuck gainer full dismount. 9.925
Reed – UCLA: Big double-layout, finds the landing, switch full to wolf full, secure with it today, front layout to Rudi, has to take a step across on the landing to avoid stepping OOB.
Church – Clemson: BHS LOSO, to wobble to scale? Great cover-up, aerial to pause to wolf jump, tiny hop on the 1.5 dismount.
Campbell – UCLA: Great to see her back in the lineup, opening full-in, secures the landing, switch full to Popa, front layout to full, secure, double-tuck, student section all throwing their confetti as soon as she landed the double-tuck, amazing finish for her. 10.0
UCLA goes 49.775 on floor, Clemson 49.300 on beam.
Lashbrooke – UCLA: Exhibition, great double-tuck to open, 1.5 to layout, some crossed legs in the twisting, secure landing, a little deep in the double pike.
Kuhl – Clemson: Exhibition, BHS BHS LOSO, smooth, hitch-kick to split jump, hesitation on the full-turn, front toss to beat jump, nice 1.5 dismount.
Esparza – UCLA: Exhbition, 1.5 to layout, this is our first look at her floor routine this season, it’s so punk rock, double tuck, stuck cold, missed her dance series, switch half to split half, so stoked for her.
Kurrack – Clemson: Exhibition, I missed most of the routine but caught the 1.5 dismount
FINAL: UCLA 198.550, Clemson 196.825
Did anyone else have UCLA going 198.550 on their bingo cards for this weekend? Scores aside, today’s performance was a massive turnaround from last weekend and will do a lot to quell some fears about UCLA’s post-season prospects. Clemson had a good performance but mistakes on bars early on really foreshadowed how today’s meet was going to go. The Tigers’ highlight of the day was their season-high 49.450 on vault.
Harris’ 39.900 ties Jordan Chiles and Jamie Dantzscher for UCLA’s second-highest all-around score in program history.
UCLA is honoring the seniors from Clemson. Campbell just gave DeGuzmann a rose, Lashbrooke just gave Wells a rose. My heart!
VT: Harris (UCLA) 10.0
UB: Harris (UCLA) 10.0
BB: Malabuyo (UCLA) 9.975
FX: Campbell (UCLA) 10.0
AA: Harris (UCLA) 39.900
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Live blog by Daniel Rothwell
