This post was updated Feb. 25 at 12:58 a.m.
With the help of their teammates and classmates, freshmen Maddie Anyimi and Ciena Alipio have swiftly integrated into Westwood.
As two of four first-year student-athletes for No. 5 UCLA gymnastics, Anyimi and Alipio have been mainstays in coach Janelle McDonald’s lineups through the first seven meets. In the Bruins’ latest meet, Anyimi tied her career-high 9.825 vault score, and Alipio set a new career high on beam, scoring a 9.900 on the apparatus.
Even after traveling back from Berkeley on Saturday, the freshmen, along with five teammates, attended UCLA baseball’s opening series finale against Omaha on Sunday – a contest the Bruins would win 8-1.
“Part of being at UCLA is being surrounded by a lot of amazing (and) inspiring sports teams,” McDonald said. “It’s one of the things I think our entire team loves to be a part of, is going out and getting to support fellow student-athletes.”
Alipio said the original idea entailed the team going to Jackie Robinson Stadium to get some homework done on their off day.
However, the plan shifted once the action began. The group of Bruins ditched their homework and took in the ballgame instead. They sat above UCLA’s third base dugout and rooted on their athletic peers.
“Going to the baseball game was really fun,” Alipio said. “I hadn’t been to a UCLA baseball game before, and I grew up where my family is a big supporter of the (Oakland) A’s. Going to support our collegiate team was really cool.”
Although homework may have played second fiddle for Alipio and Anyimi on Sunday, the first-year students said school has become a major focus for them.
UCLA admitted Anyimi – a pre-mathematics/applied science major – based on academic merit alone before she walked on to the gymnastics squad.
The Sacramento native said she is motivated to excel both in the classroom and the gym.
“I’ve always been someone who’s very driven about school,” Anyimi said. “That was one of the main reasons I came here – was for school. I’m always making sure I have my assignments (done) on time. School is the first priority.”
Alipio, on the other hand, said the college experience presented a totally new learning curve. The beam specialist had completed high school fully online to focus on gymnastics training and pushed schoolwork to the weekends.
Suddenly, Alipio was back in the classroom for the first time in years.
“Even if some of the girls will be like, ‘Hey, we want to go do this,’ now I have to talk myself through whether or not it’s a good idea to go, or to focus on school,” Alipio said. “I think being in person and in an actual classroom again has been really good for me learning-wise.”
UCLA’s winter quarter final exams are set to take place from March 18-24 and align with the Pac-12 championships on March 18 in Utah. If the Bruins were to qualify for the NCAA championships, the April 13-15 dates would coincide with the early weeks of spring quarter.
With studying and preparation already underway for finals, McDonald said she is proud of her team for striking harmony between the busyness of gymnastics season and academics.
“It’s why they’re such inspiring hard-working people – because they can balance it all,” McDonald said. “We have really great academic support here, and the messaging is just to stay really organized and stay on top of everything. It’s not easy to do, but I feel like our student-athletes are elite in a lot of things.”
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