No. 5 UCLA at No. 4 Utah
Date: Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 – 7pm MT / 6pm PT
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center)
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke, Samantha Peszek
Live Stats: utahutes.com
BRUINS, UTES FACE OFF ON FRIDAY NIGHT HEIGHTS
No. 5 UCLA (4-3-1, 1-0-1 in the Pac-12) will travel to No. 4 Utah (5-1, 1-0) in a Friday night Top 5 matchup at the Huntsman Center. The dual meet will take place at 7pm MT / 6pm PT and air live on ESPN2, with Olympic medalists Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke and Samantha Peszek on the call.
LEADERS OF THE PAC
UCLA and Utah have combined to win nine of the 10 contested Pac-12 Championships, with UCLA taking the titles in 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2012, and Utah winning in 2022, 2021, 2017, 2015, and 2014. The Utes also won the 2020 regular season Pac-12 title. At the national level, the teams have won a total of 16 NCAA Championships, with UCLA taking seven (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2018) and Utah winning nine (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995).
DYNAMITE DUAL
The UCLA-Utah dual meet has been hotly contested in recent years. In each of the last three seasons, the meets have come down to the wire and decided by 0.050 or less. Utah won by one-tenth in 2022 (197.750-197.650), 0.125 in 2021 (197.225-197.100), 0.050 in 2020 (198.075-198.025) and 0.125 in 2018 (197.550-197.425). UCLA's dual meet win in 2019 was won by 0.425 (198.025-197.625).
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA moved up one spot to No. 5 in the national rankings with a season average of 197.325. The Bruins are ranked in the Top 20 on all four events, checking in at second on floor exercise, third on uneven bars, seventh on vault and 20th on balance beam. Selena Harris ranks in the Top 11 on three events and the all-around, checking in at fourth in the all-around, sixth on uneven bars, seventh on vault and 11th on floor. Jordan Chiles is eighth in the all-around, first on bars and sixth on floor. Chae Campbell ranks second on floor and 12th on vault.
LAST TIME OUT
After a late score inquiry, No. 6 UCLA and No. 16 Oregon State finished in a tie with matching scores of 197.275 during UCLA's home opener Jan. 29. The Bruins did just enough on floor exercise to erase a 0.225 deficit, but what was initially announced as an unofficial UCLA win was adjusted later to a tie after judges conferred on the start value of a Beaver gymnast, increasing her beam score half a tenth to 9.900. A UCLA home opener record crowd of 7,702 fans were treated to top-notch performances from Olympic and World medalists Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey, who combined to win all four events and the all-around. UCLA posted season-high totals on vault (49.400) and floor (49.625).
A LOOK AT THE UTES
Utah is coming off its best performance of the season, scoring 197.975 in a dual meet win against Washington. That score ranks as the highest in the Pac-12 this season and the third-best in the nation. The Utes enter the week ranked fourth nationally and are the nation's top-ranked beam squad with an average of 49.544 and a season-high total of 49.675. Maile O'Keefe ranks No. 1 on beam with a 9.963 average, and Kara Eaker ranks close behind at fourth with a 9.925 average.
ANOTHER OLYMPIC-SIZED MATCHUP
For the second-straight week, Jordan Chiles will be facing a 2020 U.S. Olympian, matching up with her Olympic teammate and fellow silver medalist Grace McCallum of Utah. Chiles and McCallum are two of six 2020 Olympians who will be on the floor on Friday. UCLA also has Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors and U.S. alternate Emma Malabuyo, while Utah also has British Olympian and bronze medalist Amelie Morgan and U.S. alternate Kara Eaker.
SUPER START
First-year head coach Janelle McDonald is off to a super start, with the Bruins ranking in the Top 6 each of the first four weeks of competition. The Bruins are ranked in the Top 20 on all four events, and their 197.850 at the Wasatch Classic Jan. 14 ranks as their highest away score since the 2019 season. Additionally, UCLA's season-opening total of 197.725 at the Super 16 was the highest by a UCLA team in a season opener since the 2005 team scored 197.300 in a dual meet at Utah. It was also just the fourth time in school history that a UCLA team has scored 197 in the first meet of the year.
HARRIS 4-FOR-4 AS PAC-12 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF WEEK
For the fourth time in as many weeks, Selena Harris has been named the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week. The Las Vegas native continued her hot start to the 2023, season, scoring 39.650 in the all-around to help UCLA rally in the final rotation to tie with Oregon State, 197.275-197.275. Harris posted three 9.925s and a 9.875, contributing to season-high team totals for the Bruins on vault (49.400) and floor (49.625). She placed second on vault and bars, third in the all-around and fourth on beam and floor. Harris is averaging 39.650 in the all-around this season, good for No. 4 in the nation, behind only the reigning NCAA all-around champion and a pair of Olympic gold medalists. She is averaging over 9.9 on vault, bars and floor and over 9.875 on beam and ranks seventh on vault, sixth on bars and 11th on floor, the highest-ranked freshman on those three events.
CENTURY MARK
Redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier hit the century mark for consecutive routines without a fall after landing her vault at Washington and has since extended her streak to 103 consecutive routines and counting. The three-time All-American has not had a single score dip below 9.500 in her 40 meets. Frazier has career averages of 9.886 on bars, 9.867 on floor, 9.800 on beam and 9.798 on vault. Another Bruin also hit the 100 mark for consecutive hit routines last weekend. Junior Chae Campbell's 9.925 vault and 9.825 uneven bars gave her 99 and 100 straight hits without a fall. Her streak ended there, however, after a fall on beam, just her second fall in 28 meets.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
After competing a combined total of just three routines a year ago due to injuries, the 2023 senior class is back with a vengeance. Margzetta Frazier, who fractured her foot in the season opener a year ago, has returned to compete on at least two events in each of the first four meets. She already has season highs of 9.950 on uneven bars and 9.925 on floor exercise. The three-time All-American has now hit all 103 of her collegiate routines without a fall. Chloe Lashbrooke, who ruptured her Achilles in January 2021, returned to the floor lineup at Washington on Jan. 21 for the first time since Feb. 29, 2020 and scored 9.850. Kalyany Steele hit a 9.825 on bars at Washington in just her third competitive routine since the start of the 2022 season and improved her mark to 9.850 the following week against Oregon State. Emma Andres performed an exhibition on beam at Washington and scored 9.7. It was her first routine since the 2021 NCAA Regional Final and her first time on beam since Feb. 9, 2020.
CHILES CONTINUES SUCCESS
After spending the summer and fall winning multiple medals in national and international competition, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles has continued her success in NCAA competition, scoring 39.650 in the season opener, 39.725 in week two at the Wasatch Classic and 39.700 with a pair of 9.975s in week four against Oregon State. Her season all-around average of 39.575 puts her in eighth in the national rankings, and she ranks first on uneven bars and sixth on floor exercise.
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.
LEE-DOFF STRENGTH
Sophomore Emily Lee came up big in the leadoff position on both balance beam and floor exercise last week against Oregon State. She started the beam rotation with a huge career-high of 9.900, and she got the floor party started with a 9.850 on her first-ever floor routine. In her last three meets leading off on beam, Lee is averaging 9.842. She has also been strong in the middle of the vault lineup, averaging 9.831, with a pair of 9.85s. This season marks the first time Lee has competed since 2021, as she missed all of 2022 recovering from a ruptured Achilles at the Olympic Trials.
CAMPBELL CONSISTENCY
Four-time All-American Chae Campbell has scored 9.925 or higher on floor exercise in all four meets this year, averaging 9.944 to rank second nationally. She has scored 9.925 or higher in nine of her last 10 floor routines, including two perfect 10s. Campbell also ranks 12th on vault with an average of 9.906. She had a streak of 10 consecutive 9.9+ vaults snapped with a 9.875 at the Wasatch Classic but has 17 9.9+ vaults in her career, averaging 9.893. On floor, her career average is 9.914, and she has posted 19 total scores of 9.9 or higher.
UCLA TO HOST NCAA REGIONALS
For the first time in 13 years, UCLA will host the NCAA Regionals in Pauley Pavilion. The three-day, nine-team competition will begin on March 29 with a first round dual meet between the two lowest-seeded teams. The winner will advance to the second round, which will take place on March 30 with two quad meets. The top two teams from each of the two quad meets will meet in the regional final on April 1, with the top two finishers advancing to the NCAA Championships. Tickets for the NCAA Regionals are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets. The complete field for the Regional will be announced on March 20. UCLA had been scheduled to host the Regionals in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will host Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2pm. The meet will be streamed on Pac-12 Insider. Tickets are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets. UCLA Faculty/Staff can receive four free tickets to the meet by showing their Bruin Card at the box office.
Date: Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 – 7pm MT / 6pm PT
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center)
TV: ESPN2
TV Talent: Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke, Samantha Peszek
Live Stats: utahutes.com
BRUINS, UTES FACE OFF ON FRIDAY NIGHT HEIGHTS
No. 5 UCLA (4-3-1, 1-0-1 in the Pac-12) will travel to No. 4 Utah (5-1, 1-0) in a Friday night Top 5 matchup at the Huntsman Center. The dual meet will take place at 7pm MT / 6pm PT and air live on ESPN2, with Olympic medalists Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke and Samantha Peszek on the call.
LEADERS OF THE PAC
UCLA and Utah have combined to win nine of the 10 contested Pac-12 Championships, with UCLA taking the titles in 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2012, and Utah winning in 2022, 2021, 2017, 2015, and 2014. The Utes also won the 2020 regular season Pac-12 title. At the national level, the teams have won a total of 16 NCAA Championships, with UCLA taking seven (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2018) and Utah winning nine (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995).
DYNAMITE DUAL
The UCLA-Utah dual meet has been hotly contested in recent years. In each of the last three seasons, the meets have come down to the wire and decided by 0.050 or less. Utah won by one-tenth in 2022 (197.750-197.650), 0.125 in 2021 (197.225-197.100), 0.050 in 2020 (198.075-198.025) and 0.125 in 2018 (197.550-197.425). UCLA's dual meet win in 2019 was won by 0.425 (198.025-197.625).
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA moved up one spot to No. 5 in the national rankings with a season average of 197.325. The Bruins are ranked in the Top 20 on all four events, checking in at second on floor exercise, third on uneven bars, seventh on vault and 20th on balance beam. Selena Harris ranks in the Top 11 on three events and the all-around, checking in at fourth in the all-around, sixth on uneven bars, seventh on vault and 11th on floor. Jordan Chiles is eighth in the all-around, first on bars and sixth on floor. Chae Campbell ranks second on floor and 12th on vault.
LAST TIME OUT
After a late score inquiry, No. 6 UCLA and No. 16 Oregon State finished in a tie with matching scores of 197.275 during UCLA's home opener Jan. 29. The Bruins did just enough on floor exercise to erase a 0.225 deficit, but what was initially announced as an unofficial UCLA win was adjusted later to a tie after judges conferred on the start value of a Beaver gymnast, increasing her beam score half a tenth to 9.900. A UCLA home opener record crowd of 7,702 fans were treated to top-notch performances from Olympic and World medalists Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey, who combined to win all four events and the all-around. UCLA posted season-high totals on vault (49.400) and floor (49.625).
A LOOK AT THE UTES
Utah is coming off its best performance of the season, scoring 197.975 in a dual meet win against Washington. That score ranks as the highest in the Pac-12 this season and the third-best in the nation. The Utes enter the week ranked fourth nationally and are the nation's top-ranked beam squad with an average of 49.544 and a season-high total of 49.675. Maile O'Keefe ranks No. 1 on beam with a 9.963 average, and Kara Eaker ranks close behind at fourth with a 9.925 average.
ANOTHER OLYMPIC-SIZED MATCHUP
For the second-straight week, Jordan Chiles will be facing a 2020 U.S. Olympian, matching up with her Olympic teammate and fellow silver medalist Grace McCallum of Utah. Chiles and McCallum are two of six 2020 Olympians who will be on the floor on Friday. UCLA also has Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors and U.S. alternate Emma Malabuyo, while Utah also has British Olympian and bronze medalist Amelie Morgan and U.S. alternate Kara Eaker.
SUPER START
First-year head coach Janelle McDonald is off to a super start, with the Bruins ranking in the Top 6 each of the first four weeks of competition. The Bruins are ranked in the Top 20 on all four events, and their 197.850 at the Wasatch Classic Jan. 14 ranks as their highest away score since the 2019 season. Additionally, UCLA's season-opening total of 197.725 at the Super 16 was the highest by a UCLA team in a season opener since the 2005 team scored 197.300 in a dual meet at Utah. It was also just the fourth time in school history that a UCLA team has scored 197 in the first meet of the year.
HARRIS 4-FOR-4 AS PAC-12 FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF WEEK
For the fourth time in as many weeks, Selena Harris has been named the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week. The Las Vegas native continued her hot start to the 2023, season, scoring 39.650 in the all-around to help UCLA rally in the final rotation to tie with Oregon State, 197.275-197.275. Harris posted three 9.925s and a 9.875, contributing to season-high team totals for the Bruins on vault (49.400) and floor (49.625). She placed second on vault and bars, third in the all-around and fourth on beam and floor. Harris is averaging 39.650 in the all-around this season, good for No. 4 in the nation, behind only the reigning NCAA all-around champion and a pair of Olympic gold medalists. She is averaging over 9.9 on vault, bars and floor and over 9.875 on beam and ranks seventh on vault, sixth on bars and 11th on floor, the highest-ranked freshman on those three events.
CENTURY MARK
Redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier hit the century mark for consecutive routines without a fall after landing her vault at Washington and has since extended her streak to 103 consecutive routines and counting. The three-time All-American has not had a single score dip below 9.500 in her 40 meets. Frazier has career averages of 9.886 on bars, 9.867 on floor, 9.800 on beam and 9.798 on vault. Another Bruin also hit the 100 mark for consecutive hit routines last weekend. Junior Chae Campbell's 9.925 vault and 9.825 uneven bars gave her 99 and 100 straight hits without a fall. Her streak ended there, however, after a fall on beam, just her second fall in 28 meets.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
After competing a combined total of just three routines a year ago due to injuries, the 2023 senior class is back with a vengeance. Margzetta Frazier, who fractured her foot in the season opener a year ago, has returned to compete on at least two events in each of the first four meets. She already has season highs of 9.950 on uneven bars and 9.925 on floor exercise. The three-time All-American has now hit all 103 of her collegiate routines without a fall. Chloe Lashbrooke, who ruptured her Achilles in January 2021, returned to the floor lineup at Washington on Jan. 21 for the first time since Feb. 29, 2020 and scored 9.850. Kalyany Steele hit a 9.825 on bars at Washington in just her third competitive routine since the start of the 2022 season and improved her mark to 9.850 the following week against Oregon State. Emma Andres performed an exhibition on beam at Washington and scored 9.7. It was her first routine since the 2021 NCAA Regional Final and her first time on beam since Feb. 9, 2020.
CHILES CONTINUES SUCCESS
After spending the summer and fall winning multiple medals in national and international competition, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles has continued her success in NCAA competition, scoring 39.650 in the season opener, 39.725 in week two at the Wasatch Classic and 39.700 with a pair of 9.975s in week four against Oregon State. Her season all-around average of 39.575 puts her in eighth in the national rankings, and she ranks first on uneven bars and sixth on floor exercise.
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.
LEE-DOFF STRENGTH
Sophomore Emily Lee came up big in the leadoff position on both balance beam and floor exercise last week against Oregon State. She started the beam rotation with a huge career-high of 9.900, and she got the floor party started with a 9.850 on her first-ever floor routine. In her last three meets leading off on beam, Lee is averaging 9.842. She has also been strong in the middle of the vault lineup, averaging 9.831, with a pair of 9.85s. This season marks the first time Lee has competed since 2021, as she missed all of 2022 recovering from a ruptured Achilles at the Olympic Trials.
CAMPBELL CONSISTENCY
Four-time All-American Chae Campbell has scored 9.925 or higher on floor exercise in all four meets this year, averaging 9.944 to rank second nationally. She has scored 9.925 or higher in nine of her last 10 floor routines, including two perfect 10s. Campbell also ranks 12th on vault with an average of 9.906. She had a streak of 10 consecutive 9.9+ vaults snapped with a 9.875 at the Wasatch Classic but has 17 9.9+ vaults in her career, averaging 9.893. On floor, her career average is 9.914, and she has posted 19 total scores of 9.9 or higher.
UCLA TO HOST NCAA REGIONALS
For the first time in 13 years, UCLA will host the NCAA Regionals in Pauley Pavilion. The three-day, nine-team competition will begin on March 29 with a first round dual meet between the two lowest-seeded teams. The winner will advance to the second round, which will take place on March 30 with two quad meets. The top two teams from each of the two quad meets will meet in the regional final on April 1, with the top two finishers advancing to the NCAA Championships. Tickets for the NCAA Regionals are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets. The complete field for the Regional will be announced on March 20. UCLA had been scheduled to host the Regionals in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will host Arizona State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2pm. The meet will be streamed on Pac-12 Insider. Tickets are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets. UCLA Faculty/Staff can receive four free tickets to the meet by showing their Bruin Card at the box office.