The Bruins ended the 2023 season without making an appearance at the final of the NCAA championships for the fourth straight time.
But Janelle McDonald, in her first year coaching the team, said she still considers the season a success.
“I think back to where we started from and just the growth in enjoyment and growth in determination and growth in being a family,” McDonald said. “It’s more than I could ever ask for, and I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
In its first appearance at nationals since 2019, No. 5 UCLA gymnastics exited the NCAA championships in the semifinal round, posting a 197.9125 and failing to eclipse No. 3 Utah and eventual champion No. 1 Oklahoma for a chance to compete for a title Saturday.
But Thursday’s result didn’t dim the Bruins’ outlook moving forward. Sophomore Jordan Chiles – who has expressed her plans to leave UCLA for at least the 2024 season as she looks to secure a place on the 2024 Olympic team – said she knows the team has the drive it needs for the future.
“I’m leaving knowing that the team has something to go for next year,” Chiles said. “They have something that they really want, and I saw it in their faces today. … Knowing that they had that in their mind, years on, they’re going to be solid. They’re going to be great.”
Redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier, who has not decided if she will use her final year of eligibility to compete in 2024, was also a critical part of UCLA gymnastics this year as the most senior member of the team and the only gymnast remaining from UCLA’s 2019 nationals appearance.
In addition to her leadership, Frazier also contributed on the competition floor, posting 18 9.900-plus scores over the course of the season and continuing her streak of 131 routines competed without falling at the collegiate level. Frazier agreed with Chiles about the Bruins’ bright future, with or without them.
“Everything I’ve ever learned from anybody I’ve ever trained with at UCLA is ingrained in me,” Frazier said. “I use all of that information to help my team out, and they do the exact same thing internally. You just have to keep that momentum going.”
The future for Chiles and Frazier at UCLA may be uncertain, but the Bruins have another weapon in their pocket for the future: Selena Harris. The freshman showed throughout the season why she was the No. 1 recruit going into 2023, ending the regular season as the only freshman ranked in the top-10 for the all-around. Her dominance extended onto the national stage, as she placed sixth in the all-around at the NCAA semifinals.
Despite her individual achievements, Harris was visibly upset when UCLA failed to secure a spot in the finals. Chiles said it’s exactly that competitive nature that will allow Harris to become a leader for UCLA in the coming years.
“This girl is competitive,” Chiles said. “When you have somebody on the team like that, they’re going to turn to a leader.”
In addition to Harris, McDonald promises to be a welcome fixture of the Bruin squad for years to come. In her first year, she took the Bruins from No. 12 in the rankings at the end of the 2022 season to No. 5 by the end of the 2023 season. Under McDonald’s leadership, UCLA scored above 198 three times in 2023, its first time doing so since 2019.
Chiles credited the improvement to the culture McDonald has built.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what she has done with this team,” Chiles said. “It has just been shown not just through us, but also through what she voices to us throughout the gym, on the competition floor. … We wouldn’t be where we are right now if it wasn’t for her.”
Frazier added that above all, it’s the team spirit that McDonald has fostered that will take the Bruins where they want to go in the coming years.
“Those are the little things that add to those threads that really keep our foundation in check,” Frazier said. “As long as we’re still doing that, the world is ours. The gymnastics part is easy.”
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