Not everything went the Bruins’ way during the Pac-12 championships. But throughout it all, they had each other’s backs.
“We all knew that we could be in it, and that the meet is not over until it’s over,” said junior Chae Campbell.
No. 4 UCLA gymnastics scored a 197.850 in Saturday night’s Pac-12 championships, barely eclipsed by No. 5 Utah’s 197.925. The conference title marked the Utes’ third in as many seasons, as they and the Bruins bested No. 7 California and No. 11 Oregon State.
UCLA began Saturday’s meet at a disadvantage, as a 49.175 on vault – its lowest score in five weeks – put the Bruins in last place at the end of the first rotation, over three-tenths behind the first-place spot.
With ground to make up, coach Janelle McDonald said she told her team to concentrate on supporting each other and building off the energy.
“I just told the team to focus on what we can control,” McDonald said. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot, and they did exactly that. They went to the next event and just crushed it, and just kept building throughout the meet.”
Campbell set the tone for the comeback immediately on bars, leading off the Bruins’ second rotation with a season-high 9.875. The blue and gold proceeded to finish the rotation with a meet-winning 49.575 on the apparatus, anchored by sophomore Jordan Chiles’ near-perfect 9.975.
Campbell said the contributions from all sides of the team in the high-scoring rotation gave them motivation after their slow start.
“After vault, you can maybe see we were giving a little bit,” Campbell said. “Once we got to bars, and we kicked it off with my routine, and then Jordan ended it with a bang. I think that lifted our spirits, and we knew that we were right back in it.”
The Bruins were set to continue improving their pace on beam with a leadoff 9.925 from sophomore Emily Lee. However, Chiles recorded her first fall of the season and her first sub-9.900 score in four weeks with an uncharacteristic fall on her acro series from the fourth spot in the lineup.
Freshman Selena Harris, set to compete following Chiles, said she knew she had a responsibility to the team to stay calm under the increased pressure.
“I wanted to show the team, ‘So we have one little mistake? Let’s move on,’” Harris said. “I have to go up and hit, I can show them that I do have the ability no matter what’s happened here.”
In the high-stakes situation, Harris said she was more nervous than usual.
But she didn’t have to face it alone, as words from redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier helped calm her.
“She (Frazier) just said, ‘You got this, you’re normal, do your normal,’ just really trying to calm me down,” Harris said. “I think she could tell I was more nervous than normal.”
The encouraging words worked, as Harris hit beam for a 9.950. In the anchor spot, sophomore Emma Malabuyo finished with another 9.925, allowing the Bruins to post a 49.500 even with Chiles’ fall.
With the gap between first place dwindling, the Bruins turned to floor for the final rotation, an event in which McDonald said the team always supplies each other with motivation.
“We love to bring the energy there,” McDonald said. “I really think that our athletes are some of the best performers in the NCAA, and so it was a really special way to finish up the meet. And I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Although UCLA fell short of a Pac-12 title, its second-place finish was an improvement over last years’ fourth place. The Bruins will also hold the top seed in their regional group as they look to qualify for nationals for the first time since 2019.
Harris said she and her team will continue to have each others’ backs, knowing what their ultimate goal is.
“We’re starting to peak at the right time,” Harris said. “It just needs to be the right time for us to hit it perfectly. And we all know when the right time is going to be.”
Pac-12 awards
With the regular season and conference championships concluded, the Pac-12 awards were announced earlier Tuesday. After earning third place in the all-around at the Pac-12 championships, Harris was awarded Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. The freshman earned the weekly honor a record-tying six times in the regular season.
Additionally, Harris and Chiles each received All-Pac-12 honors on all four events and in the all-around, making them the first duo from the same school to win all five possible All-Pac-12 honors in the same year. Harris received first-team honors on all events and Chiles received them on four, with an honorable mention on beam. Campbell received All-Pac-12 honors on vault and floor to round out the Bruins’ honorees.
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