Bruins have several season-best scores in victory over Arizona
Nya Reed danced in front of an imaginary audience to Taylor Swift's “22” wearing the UCLA gymnastics team's latest meet-day accessory — a glittering UCLA Bruin logo the size of a dinner plate hanging from a thick, gold-colored chain.
Her celebration was merited after a breakout performance on vault at Pauley Pavilion and especially after the week of tough love that the Bruins had given each other.
Reed was one of multiple Bruins to reach one or more season-best scores against Arizona on Sunday afternoon as UCLA continued on its path of steady improvement to surpass a 198 team score and beat the Wildcats 198.075-196.525.
“I wasn't mean,” Selena Harris, whose 39.775 allaround score is third-highest in the nation, said, “but I was just like, we need to hit these goals. Some of the goals we were setting weren't ambitious enough.”
Surpassing a 198 team score is something that only three other teams in the country had done heading into Sunday. No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 LSU and No. 22 Ball State had each reached that mark or higher.
The Bruins' 49.750 in floor exercise was the sixthhighest in program history. They closed out the meet with back-to-back 9.975s from Reed and Harris, while freshman Katelyn Harris scored a 9.950 to claim second place in the event.
Chae Campbell was a late scratch in the event due to a minor injury that flared up, but Emma Andres stepped in for a 9.925 in her competitive debut on floor.
Reed said she was feeling about 70% healthy just before her floor routine and was applying heat to her knee before stepping onto the mat.
“If I can do that when I'm at 70,” Reed said, I'm pretty sure my 100% is going to
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be…”
“A 10,” Harris said, finishing the sentence.
Reed, a graduate transfer from Florida, had a breakout performance on vault, scoring a season-high 9.950. It was a dramatic improvement from her previous high of 9.850 and prompted the chain-laden celebration.
The Bruins had the top scores on vault with Reed leading the way. Rosen, Chae Campbell and Harris each recorded a 9.875 to tie for second place.
UCLA held an average vault score of 49.325 heading into the meet, which ranked sixth in the country. Kentucky holds the No. 1 average score with a 49.400.
Harris and Rosen earned the top two scores in uneven parallel bars. Harris' 9.950 was her best since the Bruins' season-opening Super 16 quad meet on Jan. 6. Rosen recorded a careerbest 9.925.
UCLA was without balance beam coach Autumn Grable, who missed the meet due to illness, but the Bruins still saw success with a 49.525 event score. Harris placed first with a 9.975 and Emily Lee, Emma Malabuyo and Ciena Alipio followed with 9.925s.
“One of the things that we talk about is things are going to get thrown at you that are out of your control,” coach Janelle McDonald said. “How you respond to different changes throughout each meet is really a testament to how strong our team is.”
The Bruins are on the road for their next meet on Friday at No. 16 Oregon State, then return home to face rival No. 4 Utah on Monday, Feb. 19.
Harris and Reed agreed that the tough love is ongoing as the gymnasts continue to hold each other accountable.
“Team over self, to a certain extent, and it's working,” Reed said. “So you need to keep on going at it. A 198 is going to win nationals, so that's what we need. The bar is set high already.”