‘Best show in LA’: UCLA gymnastics scores season high in home opener vs. Washington
“There’s no place like home,” UCLA gymnastics senior Chae Campbell said after the Bruins’ 197.825-196.300 win over Washington.
After three consecutive quad meets on the road, the Bruins returned to Pauley Pavilion for their first home meet of the season. The 197.825 was an overall season high, and the team posted a season-high score on every event.
Not only did the athletes deliver, but the fans as well. UCLA fans packed Pauley Pavilion and roared with support for the student-athletes all evening. Even before the routines began, plenty of fans were lined up outside of Pauley prior to the doors opening at 5 p.m. – a whole hour before the meet began.
They didn’t just show up, but cheered so loudly during the meet that each coach noted how enthusiastic the arena was.
“Great crowd today – so much energy,” head coach Janelle McDonald said. “And I love that our fans love gymnastics so much. The energy that they brought today made our team so excited and made them want to perform.”
Washington head coach Jen Llewellyn added, “It was an incredible environment to be in. By far the loudest arena we’ve been in in quite a few years. So I was really pleased with how our team handled their composure.”
The cheers from the UCLA fans began with the Bruins’ 49.400 on vault – talk about a ‘weak’ event – led by Chae Campbell once again nailing a perfect 9.950 on her full-twisting Yurchenko.
Outside of Campbell, Selena Harris and Katelyn Rosen each posted 9.9s as Emily Lee nearly stuck (9.875). The Bruins saw another 10.0 start value addition to the lineup with a Yurchenko 1.5 from Paige Anastasi. Anastasi fell on the vault during competition but successfully performed it during the warmup period.
On bars, the Bruins were solid with a combined 49.300, led by Harris’ 9.9 on the event. Had it not been for a hop on the landing, Harris could have been in contention for a 10. The sophomore was once again stellar on all four apparatus – earning at least a 9.9 on each one – and winning the all-around with a 39.625.
Though Harris can succeed on any event, her bars have reached a new level of fantastic. Harris hits all her handstands in such a satisfying way and holds a bar handstand longer than most can hold one on the floor.
After the meet, McDonald noted the effort Harris has put into these handstands and her overall bars routine. McDonald added that Harris has these types of “special details” on every event.
The Bruins next went to beam, where they put in a 49.500, settling many of the lineup concerns from the past few weeks. All six counting scores earned at least a 9.85, with Harris, Lee, and Ciena Alipio contributing 9.9s. The star of the event was junior Emma Malabuyo, who didn’t take long to beat the season-high 9.925 she set last week with a 9.95 this week.
Finally, UCLA took the stage on floor at Pauley for the first time this year. Heading into the first home meet of the season, McDonald reiterated the belief that UCLA’s floor party is the best show in LA, and the Bruins sure did deliver.
The floor party got off to a strong start, led by Malabuyo’s 9.875. Following her final pass, the crowd immediately erupted in huge cheers – cheers that would be echoed following the next five routines. The crowd went crazy as Brooklyn Moors, Harris, Nya Reed, and Campbell each put in 9.925s or better, compiling a season-high 49.625.
The UCLA Den (student section) also showed off what they’ve learned from choreographer BJ Das and the floor performers. The Den attended a couple practices to learn the routines, helping solidify UCLA’s party atmosphere by dancing along with the gymnasts.
Having that Pauley crowd was great for the athletes.
“I absolutely loved the energy and everyone claps. It just helps my my adrenaline go crazy,” Harris said.
For a team that did not put on its best performance against Denver a week ago, this meet was much needed.
“We know that our last meet, that wasn’t at all our potential,” Campbell said. “So coming together at the beginning of the week and just figuring out what we needed to get that extra push, whether that was just being more united as a team, feeling the team energy, especially knowing we’re gonna be at home and we’re gonna feel that love from the crowd … that really paid off for us today.”
So what was the motivation? Harris said, “We’re tired of losing.”
Harris and UCLA can rest easy knowing they got their first outright win of the season and performed like the team almost everyone expected in the preseason. With scores like these, UCLA can once again be considered realistic contenders.
Washington
For Washington, it took resiliency and a strong all-around performance from senior Skylar Killough-Wilhelm to put up a season-high 196.300.
At the end of the third rotation, Washington junior Ashley Blum had a scary landing on an under-rotated double tuck during an exhibition routine. The injury required immediate attention, and Blum was helped off the floor. After just witnessing one of their teammates go down, the Huskies needed to regain their composure before heading off to beam. The team huddled after the fall, but Washington was surrounded by the loud Pauley crowd and the touch warmup seemingly started before the athletes got the chance to collect themselves.
The pre-beam jitters were evident with Lana Navarro, who fell twice on her back handspring to back handspring to layout series during the warmup. However, when it was Navarro’s turn in the lineup, she hit her series with a huge smile and scored a 9.8 for the routine.
Overall, the Huskies finished with a 49.125 on beam, led by Killough-Wilhelm’s 9.9 on the event. Killough-Wilhelm was the lone Husky to compete in the all-around, earning a 39.475. It seems little fazes the senior, who posted at least a 9.85 on all four events in this meet.
Following the meet, coach Llewellyn referred to Killough-Wilhelm as the “standard” for Washington gymnastics.
“Who you see in competition is who she is every single day in the gym,” Llewellyn said. “She’s one of the hardest workers. She never cuts corners. She’s extremely healthy. She takes care of herself outside of the gym. So by being able to train all four events during the week at a high level and then execute it in competition, it just sets the bar for everyone that this is the standard. We talked to her about that too. Like, you are the standard of Washington, and this is what we want to recruit to.”
For Llewellyn, Killough-Wilhelm has many of the intangibles Washington is looking for as they build a culture within the program. For Killough-Wilhelm, she wants to pass this culture down to her younger teammates.
“We’re really big about culture on our team,” Killough-Wilhelm said. “I think it’s awesome being able to step into that position to pass down how important culture is. Having that position means the most to me because I just want to inspire everyone else to really put your teammates first, and it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, the scores or anything, when we have each other.”
Outside of Killough-Wilhelm’s performance, bars was the bright spot of the day for Washington. The Huskies posted a 49.250, their highest event score of the day. One of the biggest takeaways from their bars performance was the consistency with handstands across the lineup. The gymnasts hit practically every handstand, which Llewellyn noted has been a team priority.
“Handstands have been a big focus,” Llewellyn said. “We’ve tailored some conditioning specifically to handstand work – more assignments that are focused on the handstand and creating that pressure where you have to hit a handstand in order for the routine to count.”
After bars, the Huskies went to vault where the team earned a 48.850. Washington doesn’t have any 10.0 start value vaults, which limits how high they can score. The team also had a hard time dialing in on landings in this meet. Llewellyn shared that the team’s primary vault focus has been shapes, amplitude, and distance, which they’ll continue to focus on along with those landings.
Following vault, Washington made its way to floor, earning a 49.075. One of their breakout stars on floor this season has been Emily Innes, who opted for a fun and uplifting routine for her second season. Innes noted that Washington has focused on artistry, which she has taken to another level with her crowd engagement.
Innes recorded a 9.875 this week after tying her career high with a 9.925 a week ago. The sophomore seems to be leveling up in her second season with the Huskies.
“I feel like the confidence is there and the numbers are there,” Innes said. “Being able to put that into a meet has been really exciting, especially from last year. The nerves settled a lot.”
Overall, Llewellyn called this a “grind it out meet,” and the team will continue to fine-tune the details as they look forward.
“The primary focus is just to clean up the little things, not even the half-tenths, but the quarter-tenths, and I know we can’t take quarter-tenths,” Llewellyn said. “We just gave a lot away on landings on the floor or wobbling your dance… We’re in a good spot – the skills are there. The routines are there right now. It’s just settling and focusing on those little things.”
If they can iron out the little errors, the Huskies could easily reach that crucial 197 mark this season.
“We know we have that potential to be 197 or better,” Innes said. “We just have to put our work into a meet each time. So building off this meet is a great start.”
