Roster turnover can cause a once top-seeded team to lose its footing.
And last year, the Bruins earned their highest finish in seven years, bolstered by veteran-stacked lineups.
Despite the graduation of seven athletes, the squad managed to secure a top-five seed in the NCAA gymnastics tournament for the second year in a row.
No. 4 seed UCLA gymnastics will take on No. 13 seed Minnesota, Iowa and Washington on April 3 in Corvallis, Oregon. The two highest-scoring squads will move on to the April 5 regional final to compete against two teams from the No. 5 seed Alabama, No. 12 seed Utah, Denver and Oregon State pool.
Freshmen Ashlee Sullivan, Nola Matthews and Tiana Sumanasekera will likely make their postseason debuts Friday. The trio has become a lineup staple, with Matthews competing on bars, Sullivan competing in all but one event and Sumanasekera earning one of UCLA’s three all-around spots at the Big Ten championship March 21.
The Bruins swept all four events at the conference championship, putting up a 198.100 mark. Senior Jordan Chiles secured the all-around title, cemented by a perfect 10 on floor – her seventh this season and 18th overall.
“Big Tens was a really great showing of what we had been doing in the gym consistently,” Sumanasekera said. “It gives us the right amount of confidence going into regionals.”
Chiles and senior Ciena Alipio have also been key to the Bruins’ ability to bounce back from roster turnover, with both peaking in their final collegiate seasons.
But one of the Bruins’ few slips at the Big Ten Championship came when Alipio, the Bruins’ beam anchor, fell off the apparatus, earning a 9.050 – her first score below 9.900 this year. The senior also took a step out of bounds on floor, where she notched a team-low 9.725.
Sumanasekera stepped up for the Bruins, notching a 9.875, when Alipio pulled out of the bars lineup after UCLA’s floor and beam rotations. The bars lineup is not yet set, but Alipio has been practicing well, McDonald said.
“She’s had a great week of training. She’s looked phenomenal and really dialed in and put those mistakes behind,” McDonald said. “She’s really turned the page.”
Scores alone are not enough in the postseason – teams must outperform the field. Only the top two teams advance in each round, and if the Bruins make it past the second round of regionals, they will compete in the regional final just two days later.
But sophomore Mika Webster-Longin said UCLA’s preseason sets its athletes up well to participate in back-to-back competitions.
“If I know I can get through the routines I did during preseason, doing a back-to-back weekend is nothing,” Webster-Longin said. “That experience throughout preseason really helps me have a lot more confidence in myself and the team.”
Sumanasekera said she believes the postseason is about being ready for any scenario, and the Bruins’ depth and preparedness will take them far.
“We all worked so hard in the gym and are ready for whenever we need to be ready for the team,” Sumanasekera said.
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