Kyla Ross Wins NCAA Vault, Floor Titles
April 19, 2019 | Gymnastics
Fort Worth, Texas - UCLA junior Kyla Ross became the first UCLA gymnast ever to win NCAA titles on all four individual events in her career after capturing a share of the 2019 vault and floor exercise titles with scores of 9.9500. Ross, who won the uneven bars and balance beam titles as a freshman in 2017, joins Georgia's Courtney Kupets (2006-09) as the only NCAA gymnasts ever to win all four apparatus titles. Ross also tied Kim Hamilton and Jamie Dantzscher's school record with four career NCAA individual titles.
Ross, who finished tied for second place in the all-around with a score of 39.6625, started her meet in rotation one with a stuck Yurchenko 1.5 vault for a 9.9500. She earned a 10.0 from one of the six judges and 9.95s from the other five. Sharing the title with Ross were Kennedi Edney from LSU out of session one, and Maggie Nichols (Oklahoma) and Derrian Gobourne (Auburn) out of session two. Ross is the seventh Bruin gymnast to win the vault title and first since Vanessa Zamarripa in 2010.
On floor exercise, Ross had the top mark in the first semifinal, with her 9.9500 overtaking teammate Gracie Kramer's 9.9375. Ross's routine included a gigantic whip to immediate double back first pass and a double pike to close. Three others matched Ross' score in the second semifinal - Florida's Alicia Boren, Denver's Lynnzee Brown and Oklahoma's Brenna Dowell. Ross won UCLA's 11th NCAA floor title and is the Bruins' second consecutive floor champion, following Katelyn Ohashi's 2018 win.
Ross was one of eight Bruins to earn All-America honors Friday. She received first-team acclaim in the all-around and on vault, balance beam and floor exercise. She now has 19 in her career, tying Vanessa Zamarripa for most in UCLA history.
Also earning All-America honors were Nia Dennis (first-team uneven bars), Margzetta Frazier (first-team uneven bars), Felicia Hano (second-team vault, floor exercise), Madison Kocian (first-team uneven bars, second-team balance beam), Gracie Kramer (first-team floor exercise), Brielle Nguyen (second-team balance beam), and Katelyn Ohashi (first-team balance beam, floor exercise).
Players Mentioned
