UCLA at Mean Girls Super 16 Gymnastics Championships
vs. No. 7 California, No. 8 Alabama, No. 17 Auburn
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024 – 6 pm PT
Las Vegas, Nev. (Orleans Arena)
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 5
Session 1 - 1pm (Washington, Denver, Illinois, San Jose State)
Session 2 - 7pm (Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State)
Saturday, Jan. 6
Session 3 - 12pm (Oregon State, Minnesota, Southern Utah, BYU)
Session 4 - 6pm (UCLA, California, Auburn, Alabama)
SEASON OPENER
UCLA's 2024 season officially begins on Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Mean Girls Super 16 Gymnastics Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. The largest women's collegiate invitational in the nation will feature 16 teams, including four teams that have won NCAA Championships (seven-time champion UCLA, six-time champion Alabama, six-time champion Oklahoma and 2022 champion Michigan) and seven of the nation's Top 10 teams (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 California, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 10 Denver). The two-day, four-session competition will be held at the Orleans Arena from Jan. 5-6. UCLA will compete in the fourth session on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 6pm against California, Alabama and Auburn.
VIVA LAS VEGAS
This is the second year in a row that UCLA has competed in Las Vegas and the third time overall. The Bruins competed in the inaugural Super 16 in 2023, placing fourth in session 4 against Oklahoma, Michigan and Auburn, and also opened the season in 2008 at the Lady Luck Invitational, taking first over Oregon State and Arizona State.
HARRIS HOMECOMING
UCLA sophomore Selena Harris returns to her Las Vegas home for her 2024 season opener. The Green Valley HS graduate had a stellar freshman campaign, earning seven All-America honors and competing in 55 of 56 possible routines for a 100% hit percentage. She was named the 2023 College Gym News Freshman of the Year and the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and recorded highs of 10.0 on vault, 9.975 on bars and beam and 9.950 on floor. 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.
BACK FOR MORE
The Bruins return the services of three 2023 seniors - Emma Andres, Margzetta Frazier and Chloe Lashbrooke - for their extra year of Covid-19 eligibility. Andres competed in three meets as a freshman in 2020 and in every meet in 2021 before an injury derailed her 2022 season. She came back in 2023 to perform a total of three exhibition routines, scoring highs of 9.850 on beam and 9.700 on floor in the regular season finale. Frazier is back in her sixth year with the program after redshirting in 2022 with a foot fracture. She enters her final year having hit all 131 routines in her career without a fall. Last year, she earned first-team All-America honors on floor after finishing fourth overall at the NCAA Championships with a career-best 9.9500. Frazier is also a three-time All-American on uneven bars and the 2021 Pac-12 bars champion. After missing all of the 2021 season and most of 2022 with an Achilles injury, Lashbrooke came back in 2023 to compete on floor in three meets and exhibition in two others, posting a high of 9.875 against Iowa State. She holds a career average of 9.839 on the event.
NEW FACES
UCLA welcomes a graduate transfer and four freshmen and a graduate transfer onto the squad in 2024. Nya Reed brings four years of experience at the University of Florida, where she was a six-time All-American with career-high scores of 9.975 on vault and 10.0 on floor. The freshman class is a mix of national team members in Sydney Barros and Katelyn Rosen and Level 10 standouts in Paige Anastasi and Alex Irvine. Barros is a three-time U.S. national team member and current Puerto Rican all-around champion. Rosen was a member of the 2020 U.S. National Team and the 2022 U.S. Classic floor champion. Anastasi is a four-time Level 10 nationals competitor and the 2023 Region 6 all-around, vault and bars champion. Irvine won a bronze medal on vault at the 2022 Level 10 nationals.
OLYMPIC YEAR DEFERRALS
The Bruins will be without the services of Jordan Chiles and Ana Padurariu in 2024 as they pursue their Olympic dreams. Chiles is training for her second Olympic spot after winning team silver at the 2020 Olympics and team gold and vault and floor silver at the 2022 World Championships. She also recently won team gold, vault silver and all-around bronze at the Pan American Games. The nine-time All-American had a banner 2023 season, winning the NCAA and Pac-12 bars and floor titles and scoring five perfect 10s (three on bars, two on floor). She was also named the WCGA West Region Gymnast of the Year and College Gym News Sportswoman of the Year. Padurariu is training in hopes of qualifying for her first Olympic berth with Team Canada. A member of Canada's national team from 2015-20 and a World silver medalist on beam in 2018, Padurariu was on the 2020 Olympic path before an ankle injury changed her course. After a successful 2023 collegiate campaign, during which she scored career-highs of 9.95 on bars and beam, Padurariu returned to the elite scene, demoing at the 2023 Canadian National Championships in May and participating in national team training camps in Canada.
MALABUYO MAKES HISTORY FOR PHILIPPINES
Junior Emma Malabuyo made history for the Philippines this past summer at the Asian Championships, recording the highest-ever placement by a Filipina gymnast with her silver medal-winning performance on floor exercise. Malabuyo scored 13.166 in the event finals, just 0.067 off first place. She also competed in the balance beam final, placing fifth overall with a score of 12.166. The Asian Championships were Malabuyo's first elite competition since the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, after which she was selected as an alternate for the Olympic Games. Her silver medal was her first international medal since winning silver on balance beam and floor exercise at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
The Bruin roster is filled with gymnasts who have represented their countries in international competition. Emma Malabuyo now represents the Philippines but was a U.S. national team member for five years and an alternate for the U.S. at the 2020 Olympics. Brooklyn Moors competed at the 2020 Olympics for Canada and was an all-around and floor finalist at three World Championships. Frida Esparza competed for Mexico at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships. Sydney Barros qualified for the 2023 World Championships for Puerto Rico and was previously a three-time U.S. National Team member. Other U.S. National Team competitors were Ciena Alipio, Margzetta Frazier, Emily Lee and Katelyn Rosen.
LATEST VIRAL STAR
It took just one preseason meet for a Bruin to go viral. Graduate transfer Nya Reed has the honors this season, with a partial video of her Meet the Bruins floor exercise routine, which pays tribute to her sorority Delta Sigma Theta, surpassing three million views on social media. She has been featured on ESPN, BET, Essence and more. Reed's floor music features music by 2 Chainz ("Money Maker", Too Short ("Blow the Whistle"), CeeLo Green ("I'll Be Around"), Cameo ("Candy") and Cheryl Lynn ("Got To Be Real").
ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA returns four All-Americans from a 2023 team that finished fifth in the nation and won a share of the regular season Pac-12 title. Chae Campbell, Margzetta Frazier, Selena Harris and Emma Malabuyo each earned first-team All-America acclaim at the NCAA Championships last season, with Campbell placing fifth on vault, Frazier and Harris tying for fourth on floor, Harris finishing sixth in the all-around and Malabuyo placing fourth on beam. The Bruins are coming off a record-setting 2023 season that saw the team set a new school record for most meets in a season without a fall (12). UCLA had an incredible hit rate of 98.81%, the highest in the NCAA over the last 15 years. Eleven Bruin gymnasts hit every competitive routine without a fall during the year, including Selena Harris with 55 hit routines, Emily Lee with 43, Margzetta Frazier with 39, Ciena Alipio with 14 and Maddie Anyimi with 12, and no one had more than one fall on the year.
PRESEASON POLLS AND LISTS
UCLA enters the 2024 season ranked No. 5 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 Coaches' poll, and Chae Campbell was named to the Preseason Watch List, while Katelyn Rosen was selected to the Newcomer Watch List.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Seven returners and eight Bruins overall earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors in 2023. Current senior Katie McNamara (labor studies) earned her third career honor. Juniors Mia Erdoes (business economics), Emily Lee (physiological science), Emma Malabuyo (communication), Brooklyn Moors (sociology) and Ana Padurariu (psychology) all earned their second-straight honor. Sophomore Maddie Anyimi (applied mathematics) and senior Chae Campbell (communication) each received their first Scholastic All-America distinction. 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. Additionally, senior Sara Ulias (molecular, cellular, & development biology) was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll, one of a program-best 10 Bruins to earn that distinction in 2023.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will have another opportunity to compete on podium on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad in West Valley City, Utah in a meet featuring four of the Top 5 teams in the nation in No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Utah and No. 5 UCLA. The meet will be televised live on ABC at 1pm PT. This will be UCLA's first-ever appearance on ABC.
vs. No. 7 California, No. 8 Alabama, No. 17 Auburn
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024 – 6 pm PT
Las Vegas, Nev. (Orleans Arena)
COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 5
Session 1 - 1pm (Washington, Denver, Illinois, San Jose State)
Session 2 - 7pm (Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State)
Saturday, Jan. 6
Session 3 - 12pm (Oregon State, Minnesota, Southern Utah, BYU)
Session 4 - 6pm (UCLA, California, Auburn, Alabama)
SEASON OPENER
UCLA's 2024 season officially begins on Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Mean Girls Super 16 Gymnastics Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. The largest women's collegiate invitational in the nation will feature 16 teams, including four teams that have won NCAA Championships (seven-time champion UCLA, six-time champion Alabama, six-time champion Oklahoma and 2022 champion Michigan) and seven of the nation's Top 10 teams (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 California, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 10 Denver). The two-day, four-session competition will be held at the Orleans Arena from Jan. 5-6. UCLA will compete in the fourth session on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 6pm against California, Alabama and Auburn.
VIVA LAS VEGAS
This is the second year in a row that UCLA has competed in Las Vegas and the third time overall. The Bruins competed in the inaugural Super 16 in 2023, placing fourth in session 4 against Oklahoma, Michigan and Auburn, and also opened the season in 2008 at the Lady Luck Invitational, taking first over Oregon State and Arizona State.
HARRIS HOMECOMING
UCLA sophomore Selena Harris returns to her Las Vegas home for her 2024 season opener. The Green Valley HS graduate had a stellar freshman campaign, earning seven All-America honors and competing in 55 of 56 possible routines for a 100% hit percentage. She was named the 2023 College Gym News Freshman of the Year and the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and recorded highs of 10.0 on vault, 9.975 on bars and beam and 9.950 on floor. 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.
BACK FOR MORE
The Bruins return the services of three 2023 seniors - Emma Andres, Margzetta Frazier and Chloe Lashbrooke - for their extra year of Covid-19 eligibility. Andres competed in three meets as a freshman in 2020 and in every meet in 2021 before an injury derailed her 2022 season. She came back in 2023 to perform a total of three exhibition routines, scoring highs of 9.850 on beam and 9.700 on floor in the regular season finale. Frazier is back in her sixth year with the program after redshirting in 2022 with a foot fracture. She enters her final year having hit all 131 routines in her career without a fall. Last year, she earned first-team All-America honors on floor after finishing fourth overall at the NCAA Championships with a career-best 9.9500. Frazier is also a three-time All-American on uneven bars and the 2021 Pac-12 bars champion. After missing all of the 2021 season and most of 2022 with an Achilles injury, Lashbrooke came back in 2023 to compete on floor in three meets and exhibition in two others, posting a high of 9.875 against Iowa State. She holds a career average of 9.839 on the event.
NEW FACES
UCLA welcomes a graduate transfer and four freshmen and a graduate transfer onto the squad in 2024. Nya Reed brings four years of experience at the University of Florida, where she was a six-time All-American with career-high scores of 9.975 on vault and 10.0 on floor. The freshman class is a mix of national team members in Sydney Barros and Katelyn Rosen and Level 10 standouts in Paige Anastasi and Alex Irvine. Barros is a three-time U.S. national team member and current Puerto Rican all-around champion. Rosen was a member of the 2020 U.S. National Team and the 2022 U.S. Classic floor champion. Anastasi is a four-time Level 10 nationals competitor and the 2023 Region 6 all-around, vault and bars champion. Irvine won a bronze medal on vault at the 2022 Level 10 nationals.
OLYMPIC YEAR DEFERRALS
The Bruins will be without the services of Jordan Chiles and Ana Padurariu in 2024 as they pursue their Olympic dreams. Chiles is training for her second Olympic spot after winning team silver at the 2020 Olympics and team gold and vault and floor silver at the 2022 World Championships. She also recently won team gold, vault silver and all-around bronze at the Pan American Games. The nine-time All-American had a banner 2023 season, winning the NCAA and Pac-12 bars and floor titles and scoring five perfect 10s (three on bars, two on floor). She was also named the WCGA West Region Gymnast of the Year and College Gym News Sportswoman of the Year. Padurariu is training in hopes of qualifying for her first Olympic berth with Team Canada. A member of Canada's national team from 2015-20 and a World silver medalist on beam in 2018, Padurariu was on the 2020 Olympic path before an ankle injury changed her course. After a successful 2023 collegiate campaign, during which she scored career-highs of 9.95 on bars and beam, Padurariu returned to the elite scene, demoing at the 2023 Canadian National Championships in May and participating in national team training camps in Canada.
MALABUYO MAKES HISTORY FOR PHILIPPINES
Junior Emma Malabuyo made history for the Philippines this past summer at the Asian Championships, recording the highest-ever placement by a Filipina gymnast with her silver medal-winning performance on floor exercise. Malabuyo scored 13.166 in the event finals, just 0.067 off first place. She also competed in the balance beam final, placing fifth overall with a score of 12.166. The Asian Championships were Malabuyo's first elite competition since the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, after which she was selected as an alternate for the Olympic Games. Her silver medal was her first international medal since winning silver on balance beam and floor exercise at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
The Bruin roster is filled with gymnasts who have represented their countries in international competition. Emma Malabuyo now represents the Philippines but was a U.S. national team member for five years and an alternate for the U.S. at the 2020 Olympics. Brooklyn Moors competed at the 2020 Olympics for Canada and was an all-around and floor finalist at three World Championships. Frida Esparza competed for Mexico at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships. Sydney Barros qualified for the 2023 World Championships for Puerto Rico and was previously a three-time U.S. National Team member. Other U.S. National Team competitors were Ciena Alipio, Margzetta Frazier, Emily Lee and Katelyn Rosen.
LATEST VIRAL STAR
It took just one preseason meet for a Bruin to go viral. Graduate transfer Nya Reed has the honors this season, with a partial video of her Meet the Bruins floor exercise routine, which pays tribute to her sorority Delta Sigma Theta, surpassing three million views on social media. She has been featured on ESPN, BET, Essence and more. Reed's floor music features music by 2 Chainz ("Money Maker", Too Short ("Blow the Whistle"), CeeLo Green ("I'll Be Around"), Cameo ("Candy") and Cheryl Lynn ("Got To Be Real").
ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA returns four All-Americans from a 2023 team that finished fifth in the nation and won a share of the regular season Pac-12 title. Chae Campbell, Margzetta Frazier, Selena Harris and Emma Malabuyo each earned first-team All-America acclaim at the NCAA Championships last season, with Campbell placing fifth on vault, Frazier and Harris tying for fourth on floor, Harris finishing sixth in the all-around and Malabuyo placing fourth on beam. The Bruins are coming off a record-setting 2023 season that saw the team set a new school record for most meets in a season without a fall (12). UCLA had an incredible hit rate of 98.81%, the highest in the NCAA over the last 15 years. Eleven Bruin gymnasts hit every competitive routine without a fall during the year, including Selena Harris with 55 hit routines, Emily Lee with 43, Margzetta Frazier with 39, Ciena Alipio with 14 and Maddie Anyimi with 12, and no one had more than one fall on the year.
PRESEASON POLLS AND LISTS
UCLA enters the 2024 season ranked No. 5 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 Coaches' poll, and Chae Campbell was named to the Preseason Watch List, while Katelyn Rosen was selected to the Newcomer Watch List.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
Seven returners and eight Bruins overall earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors in 2023. Current senior Katie McNamara (labor studies) earned her third career honor. Juniors Mia Erdoes (business economics), Emily Lee (physiological science), Emma Malabuyo (communication), Brooklyn Moors (sociology) and Ana Padurariu (psychology) all earned their second-straight honor. Sophomore Maddie Anyimi (applied mathematics) and senior Chae Campbell (communication) each received their first Scholastic All-America distinction. 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. Additionally, senior Sara Ulias (molecular, cellular, & development biology) was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll, one of a program-best 10 Bruins to earn that distinction in 2023.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins will have another opportunity to compete on podium on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad in West Valley City, Utah in a meet featuring four of the Top 5 teams in the nation in No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Utah and No. 5 UCLA. The meet will be televised live on ABC at 1pm PT. This will be UCLA's first-ever appearance on ABC.