Bruins still looking to `floor' the competition
Ninth-ranked UCLA isn't letting a dip in its floor exercise score hurt the overall confidence of the team.
“We are a floor team and we cannot let just an uncharacteristic competition dull our sparkle,” sixth-year Bruin Margzetta Frazier said. “We can never do that. We will always be the best floor team in the nation, period. And I will stand on that forever.”
UCLA is coming off its first Pac12 loss of the season, to Utah, and its second-lowest floor exercise score of the season. A few minor adjustments and reminders in the event have the Bruins refocused ahead of today's meet against No. 3 Cal at Pauley Pavilion.
The team is ranked fourth in the nation on floor with an average event score of 49.517 after being the third-ranked team in the event prior to the loss against Utah. Kentucky has the No. 3 spot with 49.518, meaning UCLA is on the cusp of reclaiming a top-three position.
Two Bruins stepped out of bounds in their routines, which contributed to a 49.275 score in the loss to Utah.
“We had a really good floor practice today,” UCLA coach Janelle McDonald told reporters Wednesday. “They were really intentional about the details and landings, which was a huge thing. We call them `natty landings,' where it's landings with no deduction that you want to be competing at the national championships.”
Chae Campbell and Emma Malabuyo, two key contributors on floor, missed the Utah meet. Malabuyo will be absent for the Cal meet due to elite gymnastics obligations and it's unclear if Campbell will be back in the lineup.
McDonald chose to rest Campbell the last two meets in floor exercise, but she has competed on vault and uneven bars. She trained this week on floor and McDonald said she is feeling good.
“We're kind of building it back up because it's not an event you can just go out and be full routine-ready after a couple weeks' break,” McDonald said.
Frazier, who has yet to make her competitive debut on floor this season, has been dealing with an ankle injury since the start of the season. She is able to perform a full-out routine in practice but is being cautious about the number of times she does the routine and the hard landings she takes.
She said the pain in her ankle is minimal and hopes to be fully ready to perform against Cal. The anticipation from fans and her fellow Bruins, as well as other teams, has been a driving force ahead of her return.
UP NEXT Today: No. 3Cal at No. 9UCLA, 2 p.m., Pac-12 Network
“It means the world to me that everyone's so excited and that they like how I dance,” Frazier said. “That's what I've always been about. Just something fun, something memorable, something that just takes that edge off of gymnastics being so serious.”
The Bruins have a lot to look forward today aside from the chance to improve its floor scores. They're coming off their best vault performance of the season after reaching a season-best 49.525 team score – which included a perfect 10 from Selena Harris – and have multiple connections with the Golden Bears.
McDonald was an assistant coach at Cal prior to being hired as UCLA's head coach in May 2022. Frazier's sister, eMjae is as sophomore at Cal and was an NCAA All-American second-team gymnast on vault, floor and in the all-around her freshman season.
“I'm friends with everyone on the team. Not my sister though, I'm not friends with her,” Frazier joked. “They've always been big supporters of our team and so it doesn't even feel like a rivalry. It feels like just bears competing against bears.”