UCLA at Super 16
vs. No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 – 6 pm PT
Las Vegas, Nev. (Orleans Arena)
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 6
Session 1 - 2pm (Fisk, North Carolina, Southern Utah, Washington)
Session 2 - 8pm (Georgia, Oregon State, Rutgers, Stanford)
Saturday, Jan. 7
Session 3 - 12pm (Arizona, BYU, California, Iowa)
Session 4 - 6pm (Auburn, Michigan, Oklahoma, UCLA)
SEASON OPENER
UCLA's season officially begins on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the Super 16 presented by Ozone in Las Vegas, Nev. The largest women's collegiate invitational in the nation will feature 16 teams, including three teams that have won the last six NCAA Championships (Oklahoma, Michigan and UCLA) and half of the teams ranked in the preseason Top 10 (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn, No. 8 California and No. 10 UCLA). The two-day, four-session competition will be held at the Orleans Arena from Jan. 6-7. UCLA will compete in the fourth session on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 6pm against Oklahoma, Michigan and Auburn. Sessions 1, 2 and 4 will be televised live on Big Ten Network. Session 3 will be streamed on BTN+ and broadcast tape-delayed on Sunday.
VIVA LAS VEGAS
This is just the second time the Bruins have competed in Las Vegas. UCLA opened the 2008 season at the Lady Luck Invitational, taking first place in a tri-meet against Oregon State and Arizona State.
HARRIS HOMETOWN DEBUT
UCLA freshman Selena Harris will make her collegiate debut in her hometown of Las Vegas this weekend. The Green Valley HS graduate and No. 1-rated recruit by College Gym News, Harris was an eight-time Level 10 national champion while training at GymCats, capturing the all-around in 2022 and 2021 all-around, vault in 2022 and 2017, uneven bars in 2022 and 2021, balance beam in 2021, and floor exercise in 2022. She also won 19 State championships, including the 2021 vault title with a perfect 10. In 2022, Harris won the uneven bars at the Nastia Liukin Cup and placed fourth in the all-around and on beam.
CHILES SHINES ON WORLD STAGE
Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles spent the offseason winning even more hardware, capturing three medals at the World Championships, two at the Paris World Challenge Cup and three at the U.S. Championships. Chiles competed at her first-ever World Championship in the fall and helped lead the U.S. to the team gold medal with a strong all-around performance before adding two silver medals in the individual event finals, on vault and floor exercise. The Bruin sophomore also won the floor exercise title and finished second on vault at the Paris World Challenge Cup in the summer and was a three-time bronze medalist (all-around, uneven bars and floor exercise) at the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. During her freshman season in 2022, Chiles qualified to the NCAA Championships on uneven bars and floor exercise and earned All-America honors on floor. She also received first-team All-Pac-12 honors on bars and floor and was an honorable mention selection on vault. Chiles recorded three perfect 10s in 2022 – two on floor and one on bars – and became only the third freshman in school history to score 39.8 or higher in the all-around.
COMEBACK SEASON
The Bruins return the services of three key gymnasts who missed the 2022 season with injuries. Three-time All-American Margzetta Frazier is back after a foot fracture in the season opener kept her out of competition for the remainder of the year. The 2021 Pac-12 uneven bars co-champion enters her redshirt senior season having hit all 92 of her routines in her collegiate career without a fall. Two other Bruins are coming back from Achilles injuries suffered in 2021. Senior Chloe Lashbrooke missed all of 2021 and was able to return in time for one exhibition floor exercise late in the 2022 season. Lashbrooke competed on floor six times as a freshman in 2020, averaging 9.867 with a career-high of 9.900. Sophomore Emily Lee injured her Achilles at the Olympic Trials in 2021 and was unable to compete in 2022 but has recovered and is training as an all-around competitor. Lee was a three-time U.S. National Team member who placed third in the all-around at the 2021 Winter Cup and won the all-around at the 2020 Gymnix in her first international assignment.
NEW ERA BEGINS UNDER MCDONALD
First-year head coach Janelle McDonald kicks off her first season leading the Bruins. McDonald came to UCLA in May 2022 with two decades of coaching experience under her belt, including four successful seasons as an assistant coach at California (2019-22), where she helped coach California to its first-ever Pac-12 regular season title in 2022 and a program-best seventh-place NCAA finish in 2021. Serving as the team's uneven bars head coach, McDonald coached Maya Bordas to California's first-ever NCAA individual championship in 2021, while the uneven bars squad finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation and tied a NCAA record with a team score of 49.825. McDonald was honored in 2020 and 2021 as the WCGA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year and was part of the 2021 College Gym News Coaching Staff of the Year. She began her coaching career in 1999 while in high school and has extensive coaching experience at the club level, including a six-year (2012-18) tenure at WOGA.
McDonald also brought in two new coaches in assistant coach Kyle Grable and volunteer assistant Autumn Grable. The Grables came to UCLA from Jaycie Phelps Athletic Center (JPAC) in Indianapolis, where they served as co-head coach for elite development the last five years. Under their guidance, JPAC was awarded J.O. Club of the Year honors nationally in 2019 and in Region 5 in 2021. Kyle coached uneven bars for Levels 6-10, while Autumn coached balance beam and floor exercise. Together, they coached a Level 10 national all-around champion in 2019, three Level 10 uneven bars national champions, a 2021 Level 10 National beam champion, two Level 10 national all-around runners-up and qualified athletes to the Nastia Liukin Cup the past four years.
One previous coached remained on staff. BJ Das returned to the Bruins in a full-time role after serving three seasons as a volunteer assistant from 2020-22. Each year as the Bruins' choreographer, Das created floor exercise routines that went viral, including two routines from Nia Dennis that each amassed over 11 million views just on Twitter alone. Das also put together two routines that won Pac-12 floor exercise championships (Chae Campbell and Pauline Tratz in 2021) and three routines that scored perfect 10s (Gracie Kramer in 2020, Campbell twice in 2022 and Jordan Chiles twice in 2022). UCLA's floor exercise squad ranked first in the nation at the conclusion of the 2020 season.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA returns a star-studded lineup, led by 2020 Olympic silver medalist and three-time 2022 World Championships medalist Jordan Chiles. She is one of three returning All-Americans on the Bruin squad, along with four-time All-American Chae Campbell and three-time All-American Margzetta Frazier. Also back are 2020 U.S. Olympic team alternate and All-Pac-12 beamer Emma Malabuyo, 2020 Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors, 2018 World beam silver medalist Ana Padurariu and 2020 Olympic Trials competitor Emily Lee, who will be making her UCLA debut after sitting out the 2022 season due to injury. Leading the four-person freshman class are eight-time Level 10 national champion Selena Harris and 2022 U.S. beam silver medalist Ciena Alipio.
PRESEASON POLLS AND LISTS
UCLA enters the 2023 season ranked No. 10 in the preseason rankings, as voted upon by the coaches of the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA). The Bruins have received a Top 10 preseason ranking in every preseason poll of record since 1997. The Pac-12 Conference also announced its preseason poll and Watch List. UCLA was picked to finish second in the preseason Pac-12 Coaches' poll, and Jordan Chiles was named to the Preseason Watch List, while Selena Harris was selected to the Newcomer Watch List.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Six returners, including five members of this year's sophomore class, earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors in 2022. Katie McNamara (Labor Studies) earned her second career honor, having been selected in 2021 as a freshman at the University of Washington. Sophomore Mia Erdoes, Emily Lee, Emma Malabuyo, Brooklyn Moors and Ana Padurariu all earned their first career honor. The WCGA Scholastic All-America team recognizes gymnasts who carry a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade point average or a 3.5 grade point average for the academic year. UCLA had a total of 10 athletes earn Scholastic All-America honors in 2022, the second-largest ever by a Bruin team in a single season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will have another opportunity to compete on podium on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Wasatch Classic in West Valley City, Utah. UCLA, Boise State, Minnesota and Washington will meet in the first session at 3pm MT/2pm PT, while California, Iowa, Oregon State and Pittsburgh compete in the second session at 8pm MT/7pm PT.
vs. No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 – 6 pm PT
Las Vegas, Nev. (Orleans Arena)
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 6
Session 1 - 2pm (Fisk, North Carolina, Southern Utah, Washington)
Session 2 - 8pm (Georgia, Oregon State, Rutgers, Stanford)
Saturday, Jan. 7
Session 3 - 12pm (Arizona, BYU, California, Iowa)
Session 4 - 6pm (Auburn, Michigan, Oklahoma, UCLA)
SEASON OPENER
UCLA's season officially begins on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the Super 16 presented by Ozone in Las Vegas, Nev. The largest women's collegiate invitational in the nation will feature 16 teams, including three teams that have won the last six NCAA Championships (Oklahoma, Michigan and UCLA) and half of the teams ranked in the preseason Top 10 (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Auburn, No. 8 California and No. 10 UCLA). The two-day, four-session competition will be held at the Orleans Arena from Jan. 6-7. UCLA will compete in the fourth session on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 6pm against Oklahoma, Michigan and Auburn. Sessions 1, 2 and 4 will be televised live on Big Ten Network. Session 3 will be streamed on BTN+ and broadcast tape-delayed on Sunday.
VIVA LAS VEGAS
This is just the second time the Bruins have competed in Las Vegas. UCLA opened the 2008 season at the Lady Luck Invitational, taking first place in a tri-meet against Oregon State and Arizona State.
HARRIS HOMETOWN DEBUT
UCLA freshman Selena Harris will make her collegiate debut in her hometown of Las Vegas this weekend. The Green Valley HS graduate and No. 1-rated recruit by College Gym News, Harris was an eight-time Level 10 national champion while training at GymCats, capturing the all-around in 2022 and 2021 all-around, vault in 2022 and 2017, uneven bars in 2022 and 2021, balance beam in 2021, and floor exercise in 2022. She also won 19 State championships, including the 2021 vault title with a perfect 10. In 2022, Harris won the uneven bars at the Nastia Liukin Cup and placed fourth in the all-around and on beam.
CHILES SHINES ON WORLD STAGE
Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles spent the offseason winning even more hardware, capturing three medals at the World Championships, two at the Paris World Challenge Cup and three at the U.S. Championships. Chiles competed at her first-ever World Championship in the fall and helped lead the U.S. to the team gold medal with a strong all-around performance before adding two silver medals in the individual event finals, on vault and floor exercise. The Bruin sophomore also won the floor exercise title and finished second on vault at the Paris World Challenge Cup in the summer and was a three-time bronze medalist (all-around, uneven bars and floor exercise) at the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. During her freshman season in 2022, Chiles qualified to the NCAA Championships on uneven bars and floor exercise and earned All-America honors on floor. She also received first-team All-Pac-12 honors on bars and floor and was an honorable mention selection on vault. Chiles recorded three perfect 10s in 2022 – two on floor and one on bars – and became only the third freshman in school history to score 39.8 or higher in the all-around.
COMEBACK SEASON
The Bruins return the services of three key gymnasts who missed the 2022 season with injuries. Three-time All-American Margzetta Frazier is back after a foot fracture in the season opener kept her out of competition for the remainder of the year. The 2021 Pac-12 uneven bars co-champion enters her redshirt senior season having hit all 92 of her routines in her collegiate career without a fall. Two other Bruins are coming back from Achilles injuries suffered in 2021. Senior Chloe Lashbrooke missed all of 2021 and was able to return in time for one exhibition floor exercise late in the 2022 season. Lashbrooke competed on floor six times as a freshman in 2020, averaging 9.867 with a career-high of 9.900. Sophomore Emily Lee injured her Achilles at the Olympic Trials in 2021 and was unable to compete in 2022 but has recovered and is training as an all-around competitor. Lee was a three-time U.S. National Team member who placed third in the all-around at the 2021 Winter Cup and won the all-around at the 2020 Gymnix in her first international assignment.
NEW ERA BEGINS UNDER MCDONALD
First-year head coach Janelle McDonald kicks off her first season leading the Bruins. McDonald came to UCLA in May 2022 with two decades of coaching experience under her belt, including four successful seasons as an assistant coach at California (2019-22), where she helped coach California to its first-ever Pac-12 regular season title in 2022 and a program-best seventh-place NCAA finish in 2021. Serving as the team's uneven bars head coach, McDonald coached Maya Bordas to California's first-ever NCAA individual championship in 2021, while the uneven bars squad finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation and tied a NCAA record with a team score of 49.825. McDonald was honored in 2020 and 2021 as the WCGA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year and was part of the 2021 College Gym News Coaching Staff of the Year. She began her coaching career in 1999 while in high school and has extensive coaching experience at the club level, including a six-year (2012-18) tenure at WOGA.
McDonald also brought in two new coaches in assistant coach Kyle Grable and volunteer assistant Autumn Grable. The Grables came to UCLA from Jaycie Phelps Athletic Center (JPAC) in Indianapolis, where they served as co-head coach for elite development the last five years. Under their guidance, JPAC was awarded J.O. Club of the Year honors nationally in 2019 and in Region 5 in 2021. Kyle coached uneven bars for Levels 6-10, while Autumn coached balance beam and floor exercise. Together, they coached a Level 10 national all-around champion in 2019, three Level 10 uneven bars national champions, a 2021 Level 10 National beam champion, two Level 10 national all-around runners-up and qualified athletes to the Nastia Liukin Cup the past four years.
One previous coached remained on staff. BJ Das returned to the Bruins in a full-time role after serving three seasons as a volunteer assistant from 2020-22. Each year as the Bruins' choreographer, Das created floor exercise routines that went viral, including two routines from Nia Dennis that each amassed over 11 million views just on Twitter alone. Das also put together two routines that won Pac-12 floor exercise championships (Chae Campbell and Pauline Tratz in 2021) and three routines that scored perfect 10s (Gracie Kramer in 2020, Campbell twice in 2022 and Jordan Chiles twice in 2022). UCLA's floor exercise squad ranked first in the nation at the conclusion of the 2020 season.
ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA returns a star-studded lineup, led by 2020 Olympic silver medalist and three-time 2022 World Championships medalist Jordan Chiles. She is one of three returning All-Americans on the Bruin squad, along with four-time All-American Chae Campbell and three-time All-American Margzetta Frazier. Also back are 2020 U.S. Olympic team alternate and All-Pac-12 beamer Emma Malabuyo, 2020 Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors, 2018 World beam silver medalist Ana Padurariu and 2020 Olympic Trials competitor Emily Lee, who will be making her UCLA debut after sitting out the 2022 season due to injury. Leading the four-person freshman class are eight-time Level 10 national champion Selena Harris and 2022 U.S. beam silver medalist Ciena Alipio.
PRESEASON POLLS AND LISTS
UCLA enters the 2023 season ranked No. 10 in the preseason rankings, as voted upon by the coaches of the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA). The Bruins have received a Top 10 preseason ranking in every preseason poll of record since 1997. The Pac-12 Conference also announced its preseason poll and Watch List. UCLA was picked to finish second in the preseason Pac-12 Coaches' poll, and Jordan Chiles was named to the Preseason Watch List, while Selena Harris was selected to the Newcomer Watch List.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Six returners, including five members of this year's sophomore class, earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors in 2022. Katie McNamara (Labor Studies) earned her second career honor, having been selected in 2021 as a freshman at the University of Washington. Sophomore Mia Erdoes, Emily Lee, Emma Malabuyo, Brooklyn Moors and Ana Padurariu all earned their first career honor. The WCGA Scholastic All-America team recognizes gymnasts who carry a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade point average or a 3.5 grade point average for the academic year. UCLA had a total of 10 athletes earn Scholastic All-America honors in 2022, the second-largest ever by a Bruin team in a single season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will have another opportunity to compete on podium on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Wasatch Classic in West Valley City, Utah. UCLA, Boise State, Minnesota and Washington will meet in the first session at 3pm MT/2pm PT, while California, Iowa, Oregon State and Pittsburgh compete in the second session at 8pm MT/7pm PT.