UCLA junior Sydney Barros had never experienced negative-degree temperatures before last weekend, when she delivered a hit bar routine for a career-high 9.900 in front of a packed house at Michigan State’s Breslin Center. The wintry weather and the season-high team total weren’t the only notable things about the meet, however. What the sold-out crowd didn’t see was the long road to recovery Barros has been on since before her freshman year.
Barros came to UCLA in January 2024 with an ACL injury and had to redshirt the season. When the 2025 season rolled around, she was healthier and performed multiple exhibition routines on bars and floor throughout the season, as well as one bar routine in competition. UCLA head coach Janelle McDonald said Barros was physically cleared to do gymnastics last year, but had to take time to work on the mental aspect of competition readiness.
This year, however, things are different: Barros is ready, physically and mentally. “She’s fired up, she’s training really hard, she’s training really confidently and aggressively,” said McDonald. “We really felt like this could really be her breakout year in the NCAA, and for her to go out this past weekend and just perform like she did, it just was so exciting to see because it’s really a testament to the work that it takes to come back from something like she did.”
That newfound confidence led to Barros securing a place in the bars lineup in last weekend’s meet, as well as making her floor debut. The breakout meet came as a surprise to Barros, who is recovering from a minor ankle injury and wasn’t expecting to compete yet. However, when teammates Mika Webster-Longin and Nola Matthews were sidelined with illness, Barros was called up.
“I was more ready to be on the sidelines and just cheer for my team, but when everybody started getting sick and everything, I realized I might have to step up this weekend. I had to mentally put myself in that position really quickly,” she said. It was a quick turnaround, but Barros had done the mental prep work, and she delivered when her team needed her most.
After her knockout bar routine in the first rotation, Barros went on to deliver another 9.900, this time in her competitive floor debut, as well as a beam exhibition that scored a 9.850. “That being my first beam performance, it only makes me more confident going into the rest [of the season] as well. Knowing that I start at a 9.850, and now I can only get better from there,” she said about the routine.
Going into UCLA’s home meet against Washington this Friday, Barros’ focus remains on the team. “We’ve been doing a great job of putting our heads down and getting our work done […] If we keep trusting our training, I feel like we’re going to be on top of the world,” she said.
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Article by Sophie Poirier
