The Bruins are back.
No. 10 UCLA is back in Pauley Pavilion for the first time since March—this time, with a completely new look. Head coach Janelle McDoanld brought in a new coaching staff in former British national team member Mark Freeman and former Oregon State gymnast Lacy Dagen to complement the team’s inaugural season in the Big Ten. On top of the new coaching staff, UCLA’s roster is also completely revamped with junior Jordan Chiles returning after becoming an Olympic champion in Paris this summer. McDonald’s standout contributor Selena Harris is now practicing her Gator chomps at Florida, but the Bruins still show potential after slotting in as the top-ranked Big Ten team in the WCGA preseason coaches poll.
Today’s competition, however, will look different than a regular season meet. It provides a chance for the Bruins to test out new skills, shake out nerves, and prepare themselves for the season ahead. McDonald and her squad will have the chance to iron out mistakes and fine-tune details as she tests routines that could end up in her competitive lineups in 2025.
Lineups: https://x.com/aarondoylepf/status/1868047248703336457
The five-minute touch has just gotten started.
Rotation 1:
Lee (VT): Yurchenko full. Big Block as usual and sticks that cold. That was a good start.
Moors (VT): Big front pike half! Just a hop back, but that has dramatically improved from previous seasons. Good work from Moors.
Barros (BB): Going at the same time as vault, so didn’t see the whole thing. Hit the BHS + BHS + LOSO, but fell on a side aerial.
Rosen (VT): Big Yurchenko 1.5, slight hop to the side.
Erdoes (BB): Split leap + switch half + split jump, solid. Hits a full turn with no problem.
Campbell (VT): HUGE block on a Yurchenko full, opens a bit early and takes a small hop forward. Not the front pike half that she was training in the off season, but her full is a safe go to.
Webster-Longin (VT): Goes for the Yurchenko 1.5 and sits it down. Needs a little more push off the table to make that around.
McGowan (VT): The most powerful Yurchenko 1.5 so far, but took two small hops forward.
Anastasi (VT): Yurchenko full onto an eight inch matt. Not the biggest block, but finds a safe landing.
Anyimi (VT): Huge improvement on her Yurchenko full from her freshman year. Big block off of the table and flares it out at the end.
After Rotation 1
The Bruins showcased four 10.0 start value vaults, with a fall coming from freshman Mika Webster-Longin. They’ve got another one that should be ready to use from Jordan Chiles, which offers a glimmer of hope of a vault lineup with six 10.0 vaults. Not a bad showing today, though.
Rotation 2:
Campbell (UB): Nice first handstand. Solid Maloney to Bail, hitting that handstand. Fights for the landing on the double front dismount but takes a step.
Anyimi (FX): Same routine as last year, but starts today’s with just a front layout. Goes for a Rudi as her second pass and has a bit of an awkward landing. BHS + LOSO before the third pass – which means they’ve removed her back 2.5 from last year. Front layout + front full, solid landing.
Moors (BB): Nice front aerial + BHS. Solid full turn. Cat leap + side aerial, splits the beam. Gainer tuck full to dismount, hop forward.
Clay (FX): Felicia Hano’s routine from 2018 – one of my personal favorites. Hits the front tuck through to double back, nice landing. She gets huge height on the double pike, but struggled to finish it cleanly. Fun routine though.
McGowan (UB): Goes over on her first handstand. Clear hip + straddled Tkatchev + overshoot, nearly hits handstand on the overshoot. Double layout dismount, big step forward.
Esparza (UB): Maloney + Bhardwaj is back. Maloney half to get back up to the high bar. Double layout dismount, big hop back.
Barros (UB): Gorgeous Maloney + Pak, really nice. Hits the half pirouette on the low bar. Double layout to dismount, just a small step. First bar routine for Barros as an NCAA athlete and it looked really strong.
Rosen (UB): Maloney + Pak, nicely done. Shows off her final handstand, and sticks her double layout dismount. And as always, a Katelyn Rosen-esque celebration to finish off her routine.
After Rotation 2
The Bruins have added depth into the bar lineup this year, thanks to their star freshman and the return of Sydney Barros. While UCLA’s 2025 bar lineup might look different than it did compared to last year, the changes could prove to be beneficial.
Rotation 3:
Lee (BB): Front aerial + split jump, very solid. Hits her BHS + LOSO perfectly. Switch leap + straddle jump, slight hesitation in that connection. Confident full turn. BHS + gainer full off the side, finds that landing. Only mistake was the balance check during the leap series.
Campbell (BB): BHS + back pike. New series for her, and she crushed it. Switch leap + switch half, that was solid. Goes for the full turn and finishes it with finesse. Cartwheel + gainer full off the side, stick the landing.
Fujisaka (FX): Front double full to start but takes a big, uncontrolled step. Second pass is a front layout + Rudi, lacks a bit of control on the landing. Really fun, upbeat music to complement the big tumbling. Front layout + front full dismount with a controlled step forward. Solid routine.
Rosen (BB): Switch leap + split jump, lacking 180 degree split on that second leap. New acrobatic series for Rosen – this year, it’s a solid BHS + LOSO + LOSO. Sticks the back 1.5 dismount.
Anastasi (FX): Same choreography and music from last year. First pass is a front tuck through to double back, sticks that landing cold! Tour jete full + wolf jump full for her leap pass. Second pass is a back 2.5, which looked a lot better than it did in warmups. Dismounts with a double pike, just a small step forward. Solid routine for her.
Clay (BB): This is the piece where she can make her mark at UCLA. Switch leap + standing switch leap, solid. BHS + LOSO, looks like she was going for a third LOSO there but bailed. Front aerial + beat jump, really confident. Really solid full turn and kick out of it at the perfect moment. BHS + back 1.5 to dismount, big step forward. She gets a lot of height and amplitude on ALL of her skills.
Barros (FX): Huge double tuck to start, complementing her fun and upbeat choreography. Back 1.5 + front layout second pass, just a controlled step forward. Switch half + Popa, really nice position on those leaps. Barros’ return has the potential to have a big impact on this team.
Alipio (BB): Solid full turn to start. New acrobatic series this year – BHS + BHS + LOSO. Slight wobble on it, though. Solid side aerial. Split leap + switch leap + beat jump, solid as usual. Gainer tuck full off the end with a small hop forward. Nearly got the stick.
Malabuyo (BB): Solid wolf turn to start. Uncharacteristic fall on the BHS + LOSO. Split jump + ring jump – beautiful position on both of those leaps. BHS + gainer full off the side, small hop. Not the routine she wanted, but I would be shocked if she isn’t a lock in this year’s lineup.
Webster-Longin(BB): Solid triple series from the freshman after looking a bit hesitant on it in warmups. Solid side aerial. Switch leap + split jump, hits a nice split in both of those leaps. Back 1.5 dismount and a big hop forward. Looks like she is still finding her confidence up there, but the skills are solid.
McGowan (BB): Front toss + BHS, really slow connection there. Cat leap + straddle quarter, solid. RO + back 1.5 dismount with a small hop.
After Rotation 3
Head coach Janelle McDonald told media that beam is furthest along two weeks ago, and that looks to be true. Despite some wobbles and falls, the skills and composure is there from the Bruins. The only missing piece was some confidence, which this squad will build with time.
Rotation 4:
Rosen (FX): Start off with a double tuck, likely a placeholder for a double layout. Extremely well controlled double pike second pass. Goes for the extra difficulty in her third pass, dismounting with a back 1.5 + front layout + front tuck. Solid work for the sophomore.
McGowan (FX): Huge full twisting double back to start with big step back. Switch straddle + Popa, nicely done. A bit short on the back 1.5 + front full, takes an awkward step to the side. Despite the mistake, her potential is massive.
Webster-Longin (FX): Huge front double full to start things off, a bit too much power and takes a big hop forward. Second pass is a back 1.5 + front layout, nice amplitude on that second salto. Dismount with a Rudi with a controlled step back. Solid routine.
Lee (FX): Big double tuck to start off the routine. Front layout + front full as the second pass, nearly stick it. Switch ring + switch half, nicely done. Just a back layout dismount that will likely transform into a double pike come January.
Malabuyo (FX): New double arabian first pass this year. Landed it a bit short, and is likely going to add a stag jump when season starts. Back 1.5 + front layout for the second pass, well done.
Moors (FX): Really solid front double full + front tuck to start her routine off. She’ll look to replicate the landing she had tonight in her competitive routines this year. Switch leap + switch half + wolf jump full, really well done. Rudi dismount, well controlled landing. That was fantastic.
Campbell (FX): Huge full twisting double back to start off the routine. Tour jete half + Popa, nicely done. Front layout + front full for her second pass with a controlled step forward. Dismounts with a back layout, which should turn into a double back soon. Really fun, new routine from Campbell.
Chiles (FX): Chiles is competing her Olympic floor routine for the final time – this time, in Pauley Pavilion. Watered down all of her tumbling for this year, but the crowd loves it regardless.
After Rotation 4
That wraps up Meet the Bruins for this year. Overall, the Bruins look solid heading into the 2025 season. There are a lot of new faces, but each looks hungry to recover from UCLA’s 17th place finish last year. With the return of Jordan Chiles and their star-studded freshman, the future looks bright.
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Live blog by Aaron Doyle
