No. 5 UCLA gymnastics (13-2, 9-0 Big Ten) is officially undefeated in the Big Ten for the second-straight year. The Bruins closed out the conference season by taking first at the Big Four quad with a 196.950, besting a trio of ranked squads. Daily Bruin reporter Finn Karish gives five main takeaways from UCLA’s Big Ten performances as the postseason nears.
[Related: UCLA gymnastics secures Big Ten regular season championship at Big Fours quad meet]
Jordan Chiles really is “That Girl.”
Following 2025 – a year where she became a NCAA runner-up, Dancing with the Stars competitor and New York Times bestseller – senior Jordan Chiles has little to prove.
Despite this, the Olympic gold medalist has not slowed down in her final year with the Bruins.
Chiles’ all-around average of 39.694 is the highest in the nation and the highest average of her UCLA career. She is also averaging 9.900 or higher on all four apparatuses – a career first.
Her electric impact is apparent each time she steps up to compete, whether home or away, bringing the crowd to their feet in anticipation for the focal point of the best show in Los Angeles. As the Bruins continue to smash attendance records in away meets, Chiles plays a central role in the squad’s nationwide popularity.
The one thing that the UCLA veteran is missing is a NCAA team title, and this year is her last chance. And she has certainly done her part this season.
With a young but experienced squad behind her, Chiles and her fellow Bruins steamrolled through conference play. Now, it is time to convert the best regular season of her career into a postseason run to be proud of.
Floor consistency.
Floor parties are a Bruin selling point, bringing thousands of fans to their feet in Pauley Pavilion.
But as conference play wraps up, the event sits at No. 8, marking the squad’s lowest-ranking apparatus and a departure from last season’s No. 1 ranking.
While UCLA owns a 49.364 NQS, its score of 49.700 against Washington is the third-highest this season, showcasing a potential to top the charts – and a lack of consistency in hitting those high marks.
In the final matchup of the Big Ten regular season, UCLA scored a 49.225 on floor – their lowest mark since the first conference meet against Nebraska – and only two weeks after a 49.650 performance against Michigan.
The 2025 Bruins scored below 49.300 just once on floor, and in order to repeat last season’s postseason success, consistently putting together strong performances will be a key path to success.
On the verge of perfection.
Perfection is not quantifiable in most sports.
But it’s a possible goal in collegiate gymnastics, and a handful of Bruins are just hundredths away.
Senior Ciena Alipio scored her career-first perfect 10 at the Big Ten championships last season and has flirted with perfection every week in 2026, notching a 9.900 or above on beam. She boasts a No. 4-ranked NQS of 9.945 and a season-high 9.975, and the elusive mark is within reach once more. Additionally, with 9.950 marks on bars and floor this season, Alipio has the potential to earn a perfect 10 on three events.
Chiles, on the other hand, has been no stranger to perfect marks this season, with her first coming on vault against Nebraska on Jan. 17, followed by four consecutive perfect marks on floor. The Houston, Texas, local has now scored perfect marks on all events except for balance beam throughout her career, and with two 9.975s on the apparatus, that final piece of the perfection puzzle appears to be all but inevitable.
Freshman Ashlee Sullivan scored 9.950 on floor in three of the last five meets in conference play. Having found her rhythm heading into postseason, the Richardson, Texas, local could be the first of the freshman class to earn that perfect score.
Freshman Tiana Sumanasekera earned a career-high 9.950 in her first beam routine of the season. Although she has yet to replicate the feat, all it takes is one more routine where everything falls into place to earn that perfect 10 mark.
Vault lineup.
With the event consisting of just a single skill, 10.00 start-value vaults can be a key differentiator for success.
UCLA has instead opted for consistency, sacrificing maximum scoring potential for stuck landings.
Throughout conference play, Sumanasekera and senior Madisyn Anyimi have led off the lineup with a pair of 9.95 start-value Yurchenko fulls. Despite this cap on their scores, Sumanasekera’s 9.880 NQS is second only to Chiles, potentially a lesson learned from former Bruin Chae Campbell, who competed the same vault and owned the team’s second-highest vault NQS in 2025.
Similar to the consistency struggles exhibited on floor, UCLA’s vault scores have fluctuated between 49.225 and 49.450 over its last four meets. With 10.00 start-values offering higher rewards at a higher risk, playing it safe may be the best route forward for the Bruins. Their vault average of 49.300 already sits higher than the one that brought them to a No. 2 finish in 2025.
Quad meet worries.
Regular-season quad meets are the closest replication of postseason competition.
And the Bruins’ three quad meets in 2026 have accompanied their three lowest scores.
While they only own a pair of losses to No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 LSU from the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad on Jan. 10, those kinds of opponents set the standard for postseason competition. And a 196.975 – which was enough to beat Washington, No. 15 California and No. 25 Oregon State – will not be sufficient when postseason scores often eclipse the 198.000 mark.
Whether it is the result of a relatively young squad or just a coincidence, UCLA will need to put its regular season quad meet woes behind it in order to succeed in post-conference play.
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