UCLA
Washington
Bruins Travel to Washington for Sunday Dual Meet
February 13, 2021 | Gymnastics
No. 10 UCLA at Washington
Date/Time: Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021 โ 1 p.m. PT
Location: Seattle, Wash. (Alaska Airlines Arena)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: Jim Watson, Alisa Mowe
Live Stats: gohuskies.com
BRUINS TRAVEL TO SEATTLE FOR PAC-12 MATCHUP
UCLA will compete for the second time this week, traveling to Seattle to take on Washington on Sunday, Feb. 14. The meet will be televised live on Pac-12 Network at 1pm PT.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 10 UCLA utilized a strong floor exercise set in the final rotation to beat No. 11 BYU in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom, 196.600-196.325. The Bruins (3-0) led the Cougars (4-4) by just .075 going into the final event but scored a season-high 49.425 to secure the victory. Senior Nia Dennis made a successful return to all-around competition, her first in over two years, taking first place with a 39.475. Dennis also tied for first place on vault (9.85, tied with Chae Campbell and BYU's Abbey Miner Alder), beam (9.9, tied with BYU's Abby Stainton) and floor exercise (9.925, tied with Margzetta Frazier and Miner Alder). Also taking an event title was freshman Frida Esparza on uneven bars with a 9.9.
ALL-AROUND RETURN
Senior Nia Dennis made her first all-around appearance since January 2019 and earned a career-high 39.475 to win the all-around against BYU on Feb. 10. Dennis also tied for first place on vault, balance beam and floor exercise, recording a season-high on beam and receiving one perfect 10 score on floor from the two judges. Dennis had not competed on uneven bars for two years due to a shoulder injury, which she had repaired in June. She scored 9.8 in her return to the event. Dennis was a first-team All-American on bars in 2019.
DENNIS BREAKS THE INTERNET ... AGAIN
For the second time in as many years, and after her first performance of her new floor exercise routine, Nia Dennis has gone viral. Dennis' routine celebrating black culture picked up steam in a hurry after it was posted to social media the day after the Bruins' season opener. Within an hour, it went viral, and the video currently has nearly 11M views on Twitter alone. Her routine was shared by the likes of Michelle Obama, Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Common and Kerry Washington. Dennis made a repeat visit to The Ellen Show and appeared on the Today Show and the NBA on TNT. Last season, Dennis' Beyonce routine went viral as well, as did a TikTok compilation video of her hitting the woah.
FRAZIER JOINS VIRAL PARTY
Just two and a half weeks after Nia Dennis went viral, her teammate Margzetta Frazier also shot to internet stardom after debuting her new Janet Jackson routine on Feb. 10. Video of Frazier's routine was shared by Jackson herself, and the routine was also featured on Good Morning America. Frazier scored a season-high 9.925 on the routine, tying for first place with Dennis.
FRESH STARS
Although more than half of UCLA's expected freshman class did not make it to campus this year as they pursued Olympic berths, the three freshmen who are in Westwood are making a huge impression on the Bruin team. Chae Campbell has become an all-around force, recording 39.425 in just her second collegiate meet and receiving Pac-12 Freshman of the Week acclaim. She already has career-bests of 9.9 or better on vault, beam and floor, along with a 9.85 on bars. Frida Esparza has two uneven bars victories in three meets and won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors after her first meet, during which she won bars with a 9.9 and scored 9.8 on beam. Esparza improved upon her beam score the following week, scoring 9.9. Sara Ulias made her competitive debut on Feb. 10 against BYU, scoring 9.725 on uneven bars. Her floor exercise performances have also scored well with lower start values, and she recorded a 9.575 at Arizona.
POWER VAULTERS
UCLA's highest-ranked event this season is vault, where the Bruins rank No. 5 nationally. This is all the more impressive considering UCLA had only competed five vaulters in the first two meets, with just one 10.0 start value vault. Both Chae Campbell and Nia Dennis have scored 9.9 this season, and Kendal Poston has a high of 9.875. The Bruins competed six vaulters for the first time on Feb. 10 against BYU, adding Sekai Wright, who competed a 10.0 start-value Yurchenko 1.5 vault. The Bruins have scored 49.1 or higher on vault in each meet.
SENIORS SHINING
Bruin seniors Nia Dennis, Savannah Kooyman, Kendal Poston and Pauline Tratz have been rock solid this season, hitting a combined 27-for-27. Dennis has scored 9.8 or higher on every routine and leads the Bruins with five 9.9+ scores. Kooyman is averaging 9.783 on bars with a high of 9.825. Poston averages 9.842 on vault, with a high of 9.875, and 9.767 on beam, with a best of 9.8. And while Tratz has been strong on her usual events - vault and floor - with highs of 9.85 and 9.9, respectively, she also provided clutch uneven bars routines the first two meets, hitting under pressure situations despite having not competed at all on bars as a Bruin prior to this year.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA entered the week ranked No. 10 in the national rankings, which are currently determined by season average. The Bruins rank No. 5 on vault, No. 6 on beam, No. 11 on floor, and No. 20 on bars. Individually, Nia Dennis ranks second on floor and 11th on vault. Samantha Sakti ranks third on beam. Margzetta Frazier is tied for ninth on floor and 24th in the all-around, and Chae Campbell is 13th on vault and 25th on floor.
Players Mentioned
