Sixth-ranked Bruins head to Cal with plenty of connections
Janelle McDonald is about halfway through her first season as the UCLA gymnastics head coach. She's become a Bruin easily, but this weekend she'll get back to her Golden Bears roots as the team heads to Cal for today's Pac-12 dual meet.
The event could have implications in the national rankings. Both schools are ranked in the top 10 nationally. No. 6 UCLA's 197.425 average score is just a smidge ahead of No. 7 Cal's 197.317.
McDonald served as an assistant coach at Cal for four seasons, when she helped see the Golden Bears to their first Pac-12 regularseason title in 2022 and first individual championship in uneven bars in 2021. She said she'll embrace old connections and maybe her old coffee shop, but the mindset is new.
“When I was working there, I always went to Peet's,” she said of the coffee shop. “I think it might be the first Peet's that ever opened. But it's a business trip, so we're going up there and we have a job to do and supporting the team is my No. 1 priority.”
The meet will bring together sisters Margzetta and eMjae Frazier, the latter of whom is a freshman with the Golden Bears (9-01, 3-0-1).
Margzetta is a fifth-year senior, and the extra year of eligibility gave her the opportunity to compete against eMjae. The older Frazier sister likened it to NFL brothers Jason and Travis Kelce being on opposing teams in last Sunday's
Super Bowl.
“Of course, I'm going to hug my sister, talk to her and give her some glitter, some lip gloss,” Margzetta said. “Some body sprays. Check her out, approve it and I'm going to be stalking her the whole competition, watching for sure. But at the end of the day, we both mean business.”
Margzetta is still producing results for the Bruins (5-4-1, 2-1-1),
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Today: UCLA at Cal, 2p.m., Pac-12 Network
despite the wear and tear from nearly a lifetime of gymnastics. She scored a 9.90 on uneven bars and a 9.950 on floor exercise in last week's win over Arizona State.
She brings knowledge and experience as one of the most seasoned college gymnasts on the team. During film sessions, she doles out knowledge about details that can be overlooked.
“The judges know if you mess up by your facial expression,” she said as an example. “Like, you could've played a balance check off as a dance move. Because you gave a sour face, the judge said, `Oh, she messed up.' ”
The Bruins had their first win at Pauley Pavilion last week, meaning few sour faces. Jordan Chiles' 10.0 on the floor helped her reach a 39.825 all-around score, which tied for the highest in the country. As a result, Chiles won her third Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week award.
Teammate Chae Campbell won the Pac-12 Coach's Choice award after missing the prior meet due to a difficult week personally, according to a UCLA press release. That marks six weeks in a row that a UCLA gymnast has been honored by the conference.
The Bruins have the chance to hand Cal its first loss of the season. The Golden Bears are a topfive team in uneven bars and balance beam and Andi Li is the No. 5 bars gymnast in the nation. Li's sister, Anna, was an eight-time NCAA All-American at UCLA and was part of the Bruins' 2010 NCAA championship squad. Floor exercise could be the Bruins' biggest advantage today. They outrank the Golden Bears nationally in the event, No. 2 to No. 15. Cal has the advantage in beam scores, although UCLA has been steadily improving in that event this season.
McDonald has mentioned attention to detail as a reason for the improvement, and not just on the beam. This weekend's focus continues to be on steady advances, a philosophy she picked up from her time at Cal.
“Gymnastics can get monotonous if you don't play and you don't try to continue to learn and grow,” McDonald said. “And so definitely having that mentality of always wanting to become the best that you're capable of being is really important.”