UCLA
California
No. 10 UCLA Travels North to Face No. 9 California
March 05, 2021 | Gymnastics
No. 10 UCLA at No. 9 California
Date/Time: Saturday, Mar. 6, 2021 โ 2 p.m. PT
Location: Berkeley, Calif. (Haas Pavilion)
Watch: pac-12.com/live
Live Stats: calbears.com
UCLA TRAVELS NORTH TO FACE CALIFORNIA
No. 10 UCLA (5-1, 4-1 in conference play) will travel north to face No. 9 California (4-1, 3-1) on Saturday, Mar. 6 at 2pm. The meet will be live streamed at pac-12.com/live.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA recorded its second-straight 197 score on Feb. 27 in a 197.025-196.500 victory over Oregon State. Fittingly, during the Bruins' Black Excellence Meet, Margzetta Frazier shined, winning the all-around with a career-high-tying 39.550. She and Nia Dennis tied for first place on uneven bars with career-best marks of 9.950. Chae Campbell won floor exercise for the second-straight meet, scoring 9.925. The Bruins recorded season-high team totals on vault (49.225) and uneven bars (49.550).
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
California enters the meet ranked No. 9 in the nation, No. 10 on balance beam, No. 11 on vault, No. 12 on uneven bars and No. 18 on floor exercise. Kyana George is the Bears' top all-arounder, checking in at No. 12, followed closely by Nevaeh DeSouza at No. 16. George has a season-high all-around score of 39.650, while DeSouza has scored 39.600. The Golden Bears have scored 197+ in their last three meets, with a season-high of 197.425 set at Oregon State on Feb. 21.
FRAZIER, ULIAS HONORED BY PAC-12
UCLA won two of the four weekly gymnastics honors awarded by the Pac-12, as Margzetta Frazier was named the Gymnast of the Week, and Sara Ulias received the Coaches Choice award.
Frazier earned her first Gymnast of the Week honor after her performance against Oregon State in which she won the all-around and uneven bars with career high scores of 39.550 and 9.950, respectively. Frazier has competed in the all-around in every meet this season and has two wins in the last three meets. Her uneven bars victory was her second of the season, and her 9.950 score helped the Bruins record their best team score on any event this year, a 49.550. Frazier also earned Top 3 finishes on balance beam (T-2nd with a 9.900) and floor exercise (T-3rd, 9.850) and helped UCLA earn a season-high-tying 49.225 on vault with a stuck vault and 9.850 score.
Ulias, a freshman walk-on, won the Coaches Choice award, which is voted upon by the conference head coaches. She scored a career-high 9.925 on uneven bars against Oregon State, helping the Bruins record a season-high 49.550, their highest bars score since Apr. 6, 2019. Ulias has earned Top 3 finishes on bars in each of the last two meets, tying for second at Utah with a 9.875 and placing third against the Beavers.
IT'S JANET, MISS JACKSON ...
Junior Margzetta Frazier received the call of a lifetime on Feb. 19 before the Bruins competed at Utah. On the line, on FaceTime, was none other than superstar Janet Jackson. A week earlier, Jackson had shared Frazier's new Janet Jackson floor routine to her social media, helping Frazier's routine go viral. Jackson also posted video of her call, where she told a tearful Frazier that she inspired her and that she would like her to teach her some gymnastics. Frazier has since been featured on Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood.
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 went 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 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, the NBA on TNT and Access Hollywood. Last season, Dennis' Beyonce routine also went viral, as did a TikTok video of her hitting the woah in her routines.
Dennis is not resting on her internet fame. She has recorded UCLA's second-best all-around score this season with a 39.475 and is the only Bruin to score 9.9 or higher on all four events, with a pair of 9.95s on floor. She also leads the team with 10 individual victories. Dennis is a nominee for this year's AAI Award, presented to the top senior in the nation.
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. All three freshmen have received a Pac-12 weekly honor this season, with Chae Campbell winning Freshman of the Week honors twice, Frida Esparza winning once, and Sara Ulias receiving the Coaches Choice award.
Campbell has become an all-around force, recording a high of 39.425 twice and ranking 22nd in the nation. She already has career-bests of 9.9 or better on vault, beam and floor, along with a 9.85 on bars, and has eight individual titles. Esparza has two uneven bars victories 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. Ulias made her competitive debut on Feb. 10 against BYU, scoring 9.725 on uneven bars and has improved her scores in the last two meets, scoring 9.875 to place second at Utah and 9.925 to place third against Oregon State. She also debuted on floor exercise on Feb. 14, scoring 9.725.
SENIORS SHINING
Bruin seniors Nia Dennis, Savannah Kooyman, Kendal Poston and Pauline Tratz have been rock solid this season, hitting a combined 48-for-49. Dennis has scored 9.8 or higher on all but two routines and leads the Bruins with three 9.95 scores. Kooyman is averaging 9.790 on bars with a high of 9.850 set last week. Poston averages 9.829 on vault, with a high of 9.875, and 9.808 on beam, with a best of 9.875, achieved while in the leadoff position at Utah Feb. 19. 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.
FLOORED BY FLOOR
UCLA's floor exercise lineup has turned heads in a big way, with not just one but two routines going viral, plus another one gaining attention from national media. The Bruins are ranked in the Top 10 nationally on floor and averaging 49.213, with a high of 49.425. All six of the floor regulars have career-highs of 9.875 or better, and four have career-bests of 9.950 or better. Nia Dennis, whose floor routines have gone viral in each of the last two years, has scored 9.95 twice this season with her routine she calls "The Culture", and she has a career-best of 9.975, set a year ago. Margzetta Frazier went viral with her Janet Jackson routine, scoring a season-high of 9.925 the first time she competed the new routine. She has a career-high of 9.950 and is currently averaging 9.888 this season. Chae Campbell averages 9.905 on floor, the only Bruin with a season average of 9.9 or better, and her career-best 9.95 routine at Utah was shared by SportsCenter. Pauline Tratz has scored 9.9 twice this season and has a career-high of 9.95. Sekai Wright's 90's Boy Band routine has become a fan favorite, and she has scored a career-best 9.875 on the routine. Emma Andres has scored as high as 9.825 this season and has a career-high of 9.875.
VAULTING UP
The Bruins had their best vault rotation of the season last weekend against Oregon State, sticking five of six vaults and scoring a season-high-tying 49.225. Nia Dennis earned a season-best 9.925 to win the event. Margzetta Frazier (9.850), Emma Andres (9.825), Pauline Tratz (9.800) and Chae Campbell (9.800) also stuck their Yurchenko layout fulls, and Kendal Poston had a small hop on her handspring pike front half, scoring 9.825. Andres' vault was her first one this season, and it set a new career-high for her. Her appearance on vault also gave UCLA six vaulters for just the second time this season. The Bruins have competed five in four meets, with all five scores needing to count. Dennis holds UCLA's highest season average on vault with a 9.858, followed closely by Campbell's 9.854 average. The Bruins have scored 49.1 or higher on vault in five of six meets.
RAISING THE BAR
The Bruins' uneven bars squad had a huge performance last weekend, scoring 49.550, the team's highest event score on any event this season and UCLA's highest bars score since Apr. 6, 2019. UCLA's bar team was boosted by the return of Nia Dennis on Feb. 10. The 2019 first-team All-American has won bars in the last two meets, and she tied her career-high of 9.950 last weekend against Oregon State. Also scoring 9.950 was Margzetta Frazier, who owns three 9.9+ scores on bars this season. Freshman Sara Ulias joined the 9.9 club with her career-high 9.925 last week. She has earned Top 3 finishes on bars in each of her last two meets. Frida Esparza has also excelled on the event, winning bars twice this season with scores of 9.9. Savannah Kooyman and Chae Campbell are both coming off season-high scores of 9.85 at the top of the lineup. The Bruins have scored 49.1 or higher in each of their last four meets.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA moved up to No. 10 in the nation rankings, which are now based on National Qualifying Score (NQS). The NQS this season is calculated by average of the four highest scores, two of which must be on the road. The Bruins rank No. 10 on floor, No. 12 on vault, No. 14 on bars and No. 15 on beam. Individually, Margzetta Frazier ranks 15th in the all-around, ninth on bars and 25th on floor. Chae Campbell is 22nd in the all-around and 25th on floor and Samantha Sakti ranks 15th on beam.
FRAZIER, STEELE JOIN PAC-12'S DIVERSITY & INCLUSION GROUP
Junior Margzetta Frazier and sophomore Kalyany Steele will serve as UCLA representatives on the newly-formed Gymnasts for Peace, Action, and Change" (G-PAC). This student-athlete driven organization has representatives from all eight Pac-12 gymnastics programs. Together, these gymnasts will work to share ideas, formulate meet themes, host webinars, welcome guest speakers to campus, and more. G-PAC's mission statement is as follows: G-PAC facilitates an environment where diversity and inclusion is both welcomed and encouraged. Strives to ignite lasting change by sharing experiences, providing others with education and outside resources, and creating an authentic safe space for fellow student-athletes. Inspires others to thrive at the edge of their comfort zone furthering the journey to true equality.
UCLA SIGNS TOP-RANKED RECRUITING CLASS
UCLA has inked the No. 1-ranked signing class in the nation, according to College Gym News. The Bruins' top-ranked class includes U.S. National Team members Jordan Chiles, Emily Lee and Emma Malabuyo, Canadian World medalist Ana Padurariu and U.S. senior elite Alexis Jeffrey. The rankings are based on a points system from the website's recruit ratings system and include gymnasts who signed during the 2020 early signing period (Lee, Jeffrey) and those who signed previously but have deferred enrollment (Chiles, Malabuyo, Padurariu). The ranking does not include Canadian National Team member Brooklyn Moors, who has enrolled this year but will redshirt the season. Chiles and Lee finished first and third, respectively, at last weekend's Winter Cup.
Players Mentioned
