Danusia FrancisDanusia Francis
UCLA Athletics

Bruins Shine on World Stage

Gymnastics

Danusia Francis and Madison Kocian had strong performances at Worlds.

UCLA senior Danusia Francis and future Bruin Madison Kocian had strong performances at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, with Francis earning a qualifying spot for Jamaica at the Olympic test event and Kocian qualifying for event finals on uneven bars.

Francis hit all four of her routines and earned Jamaica's highest all-around score of the competition, 51.999, to finish 66th overall in qualifying. Her placement was high enough to earn Jamaica's first-ever qualifying spot in the Olympic test event in Rio in April. Francis scored 13.000 on her James Bond-themed floor exercise that she brought over from NCAA competition, then earned her highest score of the night on vault with a 13.866 on her Yurchenko layout full. On uneven bars, she hit a solid routine for a score of 12.200, and she finished the night with a stuck back-handspring/back-handspring/double full dismount on beam to score 12.933.

"It felt amazing to be on the world stage," Francis said. "I was so relaxed with all the lights and screens; I am used to it from college, so I made sure to just keep the same mindset. The atmosphere was amazing in there!"

Kocian, who will be Westwood-bound in 2016-17, earned the third-highest overall qualifying score on uneven bars with a 15.233. She also had Team USA's fourth-best mark on balance beam, scoring 14.000 in the leadoff position. The U.S. earned the top qualifying team score with a total of 236.611, automatically qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The team finals of the World Championships will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 11:45am PT and will be televised live on Universal Sport. Kocian will also compete in the event finals on uneven bars, which will take place on Oct. 31 at 6:30am PT, also televised live on Universal Sports.

Watch Kocian's uneven bars routine: