Friday, February 7
Seattle, WA
6:30 PM (PT)
UCLA
at
Washington
Jordan Chiles and Macy McGowan return to Washington
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Gymnastics Travels to Washington for Friday Night Meet
February 05, 2025 | Gymnastics
No. 6 UCLA at Washingtonย
Date: Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 โ ย 6:30 pm PT
Location: Seattle, Wash. (Alaska Airlines Arena)
Broadcast: B1G+
Talent: Morgan Bowles, Deniz O'Rourke
Live Stats: virti.us
UCLA TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON FRIDAYย
No. 6 UCLA (6-2 overall, 3-0 in the Big Ten) will travel to Seattle to face Washington (1-5, 0-3) on Friday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. PT at Alaska Airlines Arena. The meet will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.ย
WELCOME HOME TO WASHINGTONย
The Bruins have several team members with Washington ties, including head coach Janelle McDonald, who is from the Seattle area. McDonald got her start in coaching while in high school, coaching at Gymnastics Unlimited in Federal Way. Assistant coach BJ Das is also from Seattle and competed in club gymnastics at Cascade Elite before joining the University of Washington team in 2003. Junior Jordan Chiles grew up in Vancouver, Wash. and graduated from Prairie HS. Freshman Macy McGowan calls Seattle home and graduated from Juanita HS. ย ย ย
IN THE RANKINGS ย
UCLA remains at No. 6 in the national rankings but has moved up to No. 1 on floor exercise. Graduate student Brooklyn Moors is also ranked No. 1 on floor. The Bruins have five gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 of the week four national rankings, which are based on average score. Chae Campbell is ranked on three events, checking in at 14th on floor, 18th in the all-around and 24th on vault. Jordan Chiles ranks in the Top 10 on two events, ranking third on floor and ninth on vault. Emma Malabuyo is fourth on beam, and Frida Esparza is 14th on bars. As a team, UCLA ranks sixth overall, first on floor, seventh on beam, eighth on vault and 17th on bars.
ABOUT THE HUSKIESย
Washington earned its season-high last week in a 196.825-195.425 loss at Minnesota. The Huskies are ranked No. 18 nationally on beam with an average of 48.994 and a season-best of 49.150. They are led by Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch Lana Navarro and Emily Innes and head coach Jessa Hansen Parker, who is in her first season with the program. Washington has four athletes ranked in the Top 20 in the conference on beam, led by Taylor Russon, who ranks 10th with a 9.844 average.
LAST TIME OUT
In front of a home crowd of 10,681 and a nationally-televised audience on FOX, No. 6 UCLA made an exhilarating comeback in the final rotation to defeat No. 5 Michigan State, 197.300-197.200. The Bruins trailed by seven-tenths of a point before scoring a national-best 49.800 on floor exercise, capped by a meet-clinching perfect 10.0 from Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles. Floor leadoff performer Emily Lee started with a 9.875 on her first floor routine of the year. Emma Malabuyo followed with a 9.900. Freshman Macy McGowan scored her first career 9.950. Brooklyn Moors and Chae Campbell went back-to-back with 9.975s, setting the stage for Chiles. Needing a 9.925 to win the meet for UCLA, the junior delivered with a 10.0 to give the Bruins the narrow victory.
CHILES WINS THIRD BIG TEN GYMNAST OF WEEK AWARD ย
For the third time this season, Jordan Chiles was selected the Big Ten Conference Gymnast of the Week. Chiles clinched UCLA's remarkable 197.300-197.200 comeback victory over Michigan State with a perfect 10 on floor on the last routine of the meet. Needing to score 9.925 to give UCLA the victory, she was perfect, recording her second 10 of the year and her fifth career 10 on floor. Her score elevated the Bruins to a national-best floor total of 49.800, the fourth-highest floor score in school history, allowing UCLA to overcome a seven-tenths of a point deficit in the final rotation. Chiles also contributed a season-high 9.925 on vault to help the Bruins earn a season-best vault total of 49.350 and topped her season-high on beam with a 9.850. ย
MOORS NUMBER ONE ON FLOOR ย
The No. 1-ranked gymnast in the nation on floor exercise is 2020 Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors. The UCLA graduate student is averaging 9.935, with three of her five routines scoring 9.950 or higher, including last weekend's career-best 9.975. Moors has placed in the Top 3 on floor in every meet and has captured two event titles. She has competed on three events in all five meets this season. The last season she competed in three events was 2022, as she has mostly served as a floor specialist the last two years while dealing with injuries. Moors won floor exercise at the season opener with a 9.900 and scored 9.825 on just her second beam routine in three years. At the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, she tied her career-high on floor with a 9.950 and added scores of 9.800 on vault and 9.775 on beam. She hit season-highs on all three events at Maryland, tying for first on floor with a 9.950, tying for second on vault with a 9.875 and placing fifth on beam with a 9.850. Against Illinois, she tied her career-best on beam with a 9.875.
GOLDEN GIRL RETURNS ย
Olympic gold medalist and two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles made her much-anticipated return to UCLA after a one-year absence to train for and ultimately compete in the Olympics. Chiles, who rejoined the team on Dec. 14 after the fall quarter ended, has jumped right in with the Bruin squad, competing in three events in three of four meets and in the all-around twice despite limited training time prior to the season. She earned her first victory of the year at the American Gold Classic in week one with a first-place score of 9.900 on vault and followed it up with a floor win at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad with a nearly-perfect 9.975. She scored her first perfect 10 of the year and ninth of her career at Maryland on Jan. 18, receiving a 10.0 on uneven bars, and she added another 10 on Feb. 1, this time on floor exercise, the fifth of her career. Chiles now ranks No. 5 all-time at UCLA with 10 career 10s and No. 3 on bars ย and floor with five 10s on each event. Only Kyla Ross (11) and Jamie Dantzscher (7) have scored more 10s on bars, and only Dantzscher (17) and Katelyn Ohashi (9) have more than Chiles on floor. During Chiles' last NCAA season in 2023, she captured the NCAA uneven bars and floor exercise titles and helped lead UCLA to a fifth-place NCAA finish and Pac-12 regular season co-championship.ย
BUYO BEAM QUEEN ย ย
Senior Emma Malabuyo has solidified her status as one of the best beam workers in the NCAA, ranking No. 4 in the nation with an average of 9.925. She has scored 9.900 or higher in all five meets this season, with a high of 9.975, and has earned Top 2 finishes in each meet, including three wins. The 2024 Philippines Olympian and two-time All-American averages 9.863 on beam in her career and has 10 scores of 9.950 or better, including one 10.0 and five 9.975s. She has also been strong on floor exercise, averaging 9.839 over her career, with a career-high of 9.950 and season-best of 9.925, which she achieved against Illinois for a second-place showing. ย ย ย ย ย ย
FOLLOW THE LEE-DER ย ย
In her usual No. 1 spot on balance beam, leadoff legend Emily Lee set the tone for two of the biggest team beam scores in the nation. At the Sprouts Collegiate Quad on Jan. 11, Lee kicked off the Bruins' competition with a 9.900 on beam, paving the way for a run of four additional scores of 9.875 or higher, including a meet-winning 9.925 from Emma Malabuyo. The Bruins' starting score of 49.475 gave the Bruins a lead that was never threatened. A week later, Lee improved on her season-best mark with a lead off 9.925 that was the second-highest beam score of the night, surpassed only by Malabuyo's 9.975. UCLA's team score of 49.550 was the highest in the nation on beam at the time and ranks as the ninth-highest beam score in school history. In her career as a leadoff performer on beam, Lee is averaging 9.845 and has scored 9.900 or higher 53% of the time (17 times in 32 meets). Her leadoff prowess is not confined to beam. As the vault leadoff this year, she is averaging 9.827 with a high of 9.900, and she made her floor season debut last week against Michigan State, scoring 9.875 to help the Bruins post a national-best 49.800 floor mark. A queen of consistency, Lee has hit all 90 of her routines in her career without a fall, with her only sub-9.6 score coming due to a start value deficiency. ย ย ย
ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE ย ย
Graduate student Chae Campbell has competed in the all-around in each of the last four meets, averaging 39.394 to rank No. 18 in the nation. Campbell has finished in the Top 3 in each meet and earned the victory in the Illinois meet Jan. 25 with a 39.400. Her season-best is 39.450, set at Maryland on Jan. 18. Campbell averages 9.900 on floor, with a high of 9.975 last week against Michigan State, and 9.826 on vault, with a high of 9.925 against Illinois. She also earned a season-high of 9.850 leading off on bars in the Michigan State win. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
FABULOUS FRESHMAN ย ย
Macy McGowan has been not just one of the standout freshmen on the team but one of the standouts overall, hitting all 15 of her routines this season. She earned career-bests of 9.900 on vault and 9.950 on floor exercise against Michigan State and scored a season-high of 9.875 on uneven bars twice. McGowan averages over 9.8 on each of the three events she competes, including 9.870 on floor. ย ย ย ย ย ย
BRUIN DEBUTS ย
Three Bruins made their collegiate debuts in the season opener, with sophomore Sydney Barros and freshmen Macy McGowan and Mika Webster-Longin seeing action for the first time. Barros, who had not competed in a year and a half after suffering a torn ACL in the summer of 2023, earned a spot in the lineup on uneven bars and contributed a 9.550. McGowan had a strong first meet, earning Top 10 finishes on all three events on which she competed, scoring 9.850 on vault, 9.800 on bars and 9.775 on floor. Webster-Longin showed all four events, competing on vault and floor and performing exhibition routines on bars and beam. She produced UCLA's second-highest mark on floor with a 9.825 and added a 9.775 on her exhibition bars. McGowan and Webster-Longin have competed in each meet thus far, with McGowan doing vault, bars and floor in every meet and Webster-Longin competing on vault and bars in three meets and on floor in two meets. Riley Jenkins made her debut on Feb. 1 after an early preseason injury. She hit for a 9.850 on her Yurchenko 1.5 to help the Bruins record a season-high vault score of 49.350.ย
BARROS IS BACK ย
Sophomore Sydney Barros is back in action for her first year of competition in collegiate gymnastics. The 2023 Puerto Rican all-around national champion and World Championships qualifier missed the 2024 NCAA season after tearing her ACL at the 2023 Central American Games and made her Bruin competitive debut at the American Gold Classic, scoring 9.550 on uneven bars, and has performed exhibitions on floor the last two meets, scoring 9.750 and 9.800. Barros is a former three-time U.S. National Team member and bronze medalist at the 2019 Junior World Championships. ย ย
SUPER SENIORS
The Bruins return the services of two fifth-year seniors in Chae Campbell and Frida Esparza for their extra year of Covid-19 eligibility. Campbell is an eight-time All-American, three-time perfect 10 scorer on floor exercise and the 2021 Pac-12 floor co-champion and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Esparza earned all-conference honors on uneven bars as a freshman and owns career-highs of 9.950 on bars and 9.900 on balance beam. Campbell currently ranks No. 18 in the nation in the all-around with an average of ย 39.394 and captured her first all-around win of the season against Illinois, scoring 39.400. Esparza has two event victories on uneven bars, winning the Sprouts Collegiate Quad and the dual meet against Illinois with season-best marks of 9.925. She ranks 14th in the nation and second in the Big Ten with an average of 9.880.
BABY BRUINSย
UCLA welcomes a five-member freshman class in 2025, led by three-time Level 10 National champions Macy McGowan and Mika Webster-Longin. McGowan won the all-around, vault and floor at both the 2024 Nationals and Region 1 Championships. Webster-Longin was the 2023 all-around, bars and floor Level 10 national champion. She spent her 2024 competing elite with the Belgian National Team, seeing action at the DtB Pokal Competition in Germany and at the European Championships in Italy. Sasha Fujisaka brings in four years of experience at Level 10 Nationals, as well as a perfect 10 score on uneven bars and four Region 1 titles, but will be sitting out this season due to injury. Bronwyn Hoffman is a two-time Level 10 Nationals competitor and 2023 Region 1 all-around medalist. Riley Jenkins is coming off a strong 2024 season, placing second in the all-around at the 2024 Level 10 All-Stars, second on vault and floor at the Region 1 Championships and winning the state all-around, vault and floor titles. ย ย ย ย ย
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR ย ย
The Bruin roster is filled with gymnasts who have represented their countries in international competition. Emma Malabuyo represented the Philippines at the 2024 Olympics and was the 2024 Asian Championships floor exercise champion and all-around bronze medalist and 2023 Asian Championships floor bronze medalist. 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. Freshman Mika Webster-Longin competed with Belgium at the 2024 European Championships. Other U.S. National Team competitors were Ciena Alipio, Emily Lee and Katelyn Rosen.ย
THE GRADUATESย
UCLA has four graduate students on the 2025 roster. Chae Campbell and Carissa Clay are enrolled in UCLA's Transformative Coaching and Leadership program in the School of Education. Frida Esparza is pursuing a postgraduate certificate in marketing, and Brooklyn Moors is pursuing a postgraduate certificate in project management. ย ย
NEW STAFF ย
Joining head coach Janelle McDonald and assistant coach BJ Das on the Bruin coaching staff in 2025 are assistant coaches Mark Freeman and Lacy Dagen. Freeman comes to UCLA from Stanford, where he served as an assistant coach of the four-time defending national championship men's team. He coached 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Brody Malone and Asher Hong, as well as 2020 Olympic alternates Akash Modi and Brandon Briones. Dagen was an assistant coach at Arizona State in 2024, helping guide the Sun Devils to the NCAA Regional final and No. 16 national finish. She also coached at her alma mater Oregon State in 2023, as well as at UC Davis in 2022.ย
ABOUT THE BRUINS ย
UCLA is led by three Olympians in Jordan Chiles, Emma Malabuyo and Brooklyn Moors, an eight-time All-American in Chae Campbell, and all-conference gymnasts Frida Esparza and Katelyn Rosen. The Bruins, who were affected by Olympic deferrals and absences, finished 17th last season but regain the services of Olympic champion Jordan Chiles, who missed all of 2024 while training for her second Olympic Games, and World Championships qualifier Sydney Barros, who redshirted in 2024 due to injury. UCLA also gains a strong freshman class, led by three-time Level 10 national champions Macy McGowan and Mika Webster-Longin.ย
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES ย
Seven returners and 10 Bruins overall earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors in 2024. Graduate Brooklyn Moors (sociology) and seniors Mia Erdoes (business economics), Emily Lee (physiological science) and Emma Malabuyo (communication) all earned their third-straight honor. Junior Maddie Anyimi (applied mathematics) and senior Chae Campbell (communication) received their second Scholastic All-America distinction, while sophomore Katelyn Rosen (undeclared) earned her first. 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, Malabuyo and Moors earned Academic All-District honors, and graduate Frida Esparza (political science) joined the aforementioned seven in receiving Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll acclaim.ย
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins return home next week to host Penn State on Valentine's Day, Friday, Feb. 14 at 8pm. The meet will be televised live on Big Ten Network.ย
ย
Date: Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 โ ย 6:30 pm PT
Location: Seattle, Wash. (Alaska Airlines Arena)
Broadcast: B1G+
Talent: Morgan Bowles, Deniz O'Rourke
Live Stats: virti.us
UCLA TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON FRIDAYย
No. 6 UCLA (6-2 overall, 3-0 in the Big Ten) will travel to Seattle to face Washington (1-5, 0-3) on Friday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. PT at Alaska Airlines Arena. The meet will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.ย
WELCOME HOME TO WASHINGTONย
The Bruins have several team members with Washington ties, including head coach Janelle McDonald, who is from the Seattle area. McDonald got her start in coaching while in high school, coaching at Gymnastics Unlimited in Federal Way. Assistant coach BJ Das is also from Seattle and competed in club gymnastics at Cascade Elite before joining the University of Washington team in 2003. Junior Jordan Chiles grew up in Vancouver, Wash. and graduated from Prairie HS. Freshman Macy McGowan calls Seattle home and graduated from Juanita HS. ย ย ย
IN THE RANKINGS ย
UCLA remains at No. 6 in the national rankings but has moved up to No. 1 on floor exercise. Graduate student Brooklyn Moors is also ranked No. 1 on floor. The Bruins have five gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 of the week four national rankings, which are based on average score. Chae Campbell is ranked on three events, checking in at 14th on floor, 18th in the all-around and 24th on vault. Jordan Chiles ranks in the Top 10 on two events, ranking third on floor and ninth on vault. Emma Malabuyo is fourth on beam, and Frida Esparza is 14th on bars. As a team, UCLA ranks sixth overall, first on floor, seventh on beam, eighth on vault and 17th on bars.
ABOUT THE HUSKIESย
Washington earned its season-high last week in a 196.825-195.425 loss at Minnesota. The Huskies are ranked No. 18 nationally on beam with an average of 48.994 and a season-best of 49.150. They are led by Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch Lana Navarro and Emily Innes and head coach Jessa Hansen Parker, who is in her first season with the program. Washington has four athletes ranked in the Top 20 in the conference on beam, led by Taylor Russon, who ranks 10th with a 9.844 average.
LAST TIME OUT
In front of a home crowd of 10,681 and a nationally-televised audience on FOX, No. 6 UCLA made an exhilarating comeback in the final rotation to defeat No. 5 Michigan State, 197.300-197.200. The Bruins trailed by seven-tenths of a point before scoring a national-best 49.800 on floor exercise, capped by a meet-clinching perfect 10.0 from Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles. Floor leadoff performer Emily Lee started with a 9.875 on her first floor routine of the year. Emma Malabuyo followed with a 9.900. Freshman Macy McGowan scored her first career 9.950. Brooklyn Moors and Chae Campbell went back-to-back with 9.975s, setting the stage for Chiles. Needing a 9.925 to win the meet for UCLA, the junior delivered with a 10.0 to give the Bruins the narrow victory.
CHILES WINS THIRD BIG TEN GYMNAST OF WEEK AWARD ย
For the third time this season, Jordan Chiles was selected the Big Ten Conference Gymnast of the Week. Chiles clinched UCLA's remarkable 197.300-197.200 comeback victory over Michigan State with a perfect 10 on floor on the last routine of the meet. Needing to score 9.925 to give UCLA the victory, she was perfect, recording her second 10 of the year and her fifth career 10 on floor. Her score elevated the Bruins to a national-best floor total of 49.800, the fourth-highest floor score in school history, allowing UCLA to overcome a seven-tenths of a point deficit in the final rotation. Chiles also contributed a season-high 9.925 on vault to help the Bruins earn a season-best vault total of 49.350 and topped her season-high on beam with a 9.850. ย
MOORS NUMBER ONE ON FLOOR ย
The No. 1-ranked gymnast in the nation on floor exercise is 2020 Canadian Olympian Brooklyn Moors. The UCLA graduate student is averaging 9.935, with three of her five routines scoring 9.950 or higher, including last weekend's career-best 9.975. Moors has placed in the Top 3 on floor in every meet and has captured two event titles. She has competed on three events in all five meets this season. The last season she competed in three events was 2022, as she has mostly served as a floor specialist the last two years while dealing with injuries. Moors won floor exercise at the season opener with a 9.900 and scored 9.825 on just her second beam routine in three years. At the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, she tied her career-high on floor with a 9.950 and added scores of 9.800 on vault and 9.775 on beam. She hit season-highs on all three events at Maryland, tying for first on floor with a 9.950, tying for second on vault with a 9.875 and placing fifth on beam with a 9.850. Against Illinois, she tied her career-best on beam with a 9.875.
GOLDEN GIRL RETURNS ย
Olympic gold medalist and two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles made her much-anticipated return to UCLA after a one-year absence to train for and ultimately compete in the Olympics. Chiles, who rejoined the team on Dec. 14 after the fall quarter ended, has jumped right in with the Bruin squad, competing in three events in three of four meets and in the all-around twice despite limited training time prior to the season. She earned her first victory of the year at the American Gold Classic in week one with a first-place score of 9.900 on vault and followed it up with a floor win at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad with a nearly-perfect 9.975. She scored her first perfect 10 of the year and ninth of her career at Maryland on Jan. 18, receiving a 10.0 on uneven bars, and she added another 10 on Feb. 1, this time on floor exercise, the fifth of her career. Chiles now ranks No. 5 all-time at UCLA with 10 career 10s and No. 3 on bars ย and floor with five 10s on each event. Only Kyla Ross (11) and Jamie Dantzscher (7) have scored more 10s on bars, and only Dantzscher (17) and Katelyn Ohashi (9) have more than Chiles on floor. During Chiles' last NCAA season in 2023, she captured the NCAA uneven bars and floor exercise titles and helped lead UCLA to a fifth-place NCAA finish and Pac-12 regular season co-championship.ย
BUYO BEAM QUEEN ย ย
Senior Emma Malabuyo has solidified her status as one of the best beam workers in the NCAA, ranking No. 4 in the nation with an average of 9.925. She has scored 9.900 or higher in all five meets this season, with a high of 9.975, and has earned Top 2 finishes in each meet, including three wins. The 2024 Philippines Olympian and two-time All-American averages 9.863 on beam in her career and has 10 scores of 9.950 or better, including one 10.0 and five 9.975s. She has also been strong on floor exercise, averaging 9.839 over her career, with a career-high of 9.950 and season-best of 9.925, which she achieved against Illinois for a second-place showing. ย ย ย ย ย ย
FOLLOW THE LEE-DER ย ย
In her usual No. 1 spot on balance beam, leadoff legend Emily Lee set the tone for two of the biggest team beam scores in the nation. At the Sprouts Collegiate Quad on Jan. 11, Lee kicked off the Bruins' competition with a 9.900 on beam, paving the way for a run of four additional scores of 9.875 or higher, including a meet-winning 9.925 from Emma Malabuyo. The Bruins' starting score of 49.475 gave the Bruins a lead that was never threatened. A week later, Lee improved on her season-best mark with a lead off 9.925 that was the second-highest beam score of the night, surpassed only by Malabuyo's 9.975. UCLA's team score of 49.550 was the highest in the nation on beam at the time and ranks as the ninth-highest beam score in school history. In her career as a leadoff performer on beam, Lee is averaging 9.845 and has scored 9.900 or higher 53% of the time (17 times in 32 meets). Her leadoff prowess is not confined to beam. As the vault leadoff this year, she is averaging 9.827 with a high of 9.900, and she made her floor season debut last week against Michigan State, scoring 9.875 to help the Bruins post a national-best 49.800 floor mark. A queen of consistency, Lee has hit all 90 of her routines in her career without a fall, with her only sub-9.6 score coming due to a start value deficiency. ย ย ย
ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE ย ย
Graduate student Chae Campbell has competed in the all-around in each of the last four meets, averaging 39.394 to rank No. 18 in the nation. Campbell has finished in the Top 3 in each meet and earned the victory in the Illinois meet Jan. 25 with a 39.400. Her season-best is 39.450, set at Maryland on Jan. 18. Campbell averages 9.900 on floor, with a high of 9.975 last week against Michigan State, and 9.826 on vault, with a high of 9.925 against Illinois. She also earned a season-high of 9.850 leading off on bars in the Michigan State win. ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
FABULOUS FRESHMAN ย ย
Macy McGowan has been not just one of the standout freshmen on the team but one of the standouts overall, hitting all 15 of her routines this season. She earned career-bests of 9.900 on vault and 9.950 on floor exercise against Michigan State and scored a season-high of 9.875 on uneven bars twice. McGowan averages over 9.8 on each of the three events she competes, including 9.870 on floor. ย ย ย ย ย ย
BRUIN DEBUTS ย
Three Bruins made their collegiate debuts in the season opener, with sophomore Sydney Barros and freshmen Macy McGowan and Mika Webster-Longin seeing action for the first time. Barros, who had not competed in a year and a half after suffering a torn ACL in the summer of 2023, earned a spot in the lineup on uneven bars and contributed a 9.550. McGowan had a strong first meet, earning Top 10 finishes on all three events on which she competed, scoring 9.850 on vault, 9.800 on bars and 9.775 on floor. Webster-Longin showed all four events, competing on vault and floor and performing exhibition routines on bars and beam. She produced UCLA's second-highest mark on floor with a 9.825 and added a 9.775 on her exhibition bars. McGowan and Webster-Longin have competed in each meet thus far, with McGowan doing vault, bars and floor in every meet and Webster-Longin competing on vault and bars in three meets and on floor in two meets. Riley Jenkins made her debut on Feb. 1 after an early preseason injury. She hit for a 9.850 on her Yurchenko 1.5 to help the Bruins record a season-high vault score of 49.350.ย
BARROS IS BACK ย
Sophomore Sydney Barros is back in action for her first year of competition in collegiate gymnastics. The 2023 Puerto Rican all-around national champion and World Championships qualifier missed the 2024 NCAA season after tearing her ACL at the 2023 Central American Games and made her Bruin competitive debut at the American Gold Classic, scoring 9.550 on uneven bars, and has performed exhibitions on floor the last two meets, scoring 9.750 and 9.800. Barros is a former three-time U.S. National Team member and bronze medalist at the 2019 Junior World Championships. ย ย
SUPER SENIORS
The Bruins return the services of two fifth-year seniors in Chae Campbell and Frida Esparza for their extra year of Covid-19 eligibility. Campbell is an eight-time All-American, three-time perfect 10 scorer on floor exercise and the 2021 Pac-12 floor co-champion and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Esparza earned all-conference honors on uneven bars as a freshman and owns career-highs of 9.950 on bars and 9.900 on balance beam. Campbell currently ranks No. 18 in the nation in the all-around with an average of ย 39.394 and captured her first all-around win of the season against Illinois, scoring 39.400. Esparza has two event victories on uneven bars, winning the Sprouts Collegiate Quad and the dual meet against Illinois with season-best marks of 9.925. She ranks 14th in the nation and second in the Big Ten with an average of 9.880.
BABY BRUINSย
UCLA welcomes a five-member freshman class in 2025, led by three-time Level 10 National champions Macy McGowan and Mika Webster-Longin. McGowan won the all-around, vault and floor at both the 2024 Nationals and Region 1 Championships. Webster-Longin was the 2023 all-around, bars and floor Level 10 national champion. She spent her 2024 competing elite with the Belgian National Team, seeing action at the DtB Pokal Competition in Germany and at the European Championships in Italy. Sasha Fujisaka brings in four years of experience at Level 10 Nationals, as well as a perfect 10 score on uneven bars and four Region 1 titles, but will be sitting out this season due to injury. Bronwyn Hoffman is a two-time Level 10 Nationals competitor and 2023 Region 1 all-around medalist. Riley Jenkins is coming off a strong 2024 season, placing second in the all-around at the 2024 Level 10 All-Stars, second on vault and floor at the Region 1 Championships and winning the state all-around, vault and floor titles. ย ย ย ย ย
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR ย ย
The Bruin roster is filled with gymnasts who have represented their countries in international competition. Emma Malabuyo represented the Philippines at the 2024 Olympics and was the 2024 Asian Championships floor exercise champion and all-around bronze medalist and 2023 Asian Championships floor bronze medalist. 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. Freshman Mika Webster-Longin competed with Belgium at the 2024 European Championships. Other U.S. National Team competitors were Ciena Alipio, Emily Lee and Katelyn Rosen.ย
THE GRADUATESย
UCLA has four graduate students on the 2025 roster. Chae Campbell and Carissa Clay are enrolled in UCLA's Transformative Coaching and Leadership program in the School of Education. Frida Esparza is pursuing a postgraduate certificate in marketing, and Brooklyn Moors is pursuing a postgraduate certificate in project management. ย ย
NEW STAFF ย
Joining head coach Janelle McDonald and assistant coach BJ Das on the Bruin coaching staff in 2025 are assistant coaches Mark Freeman and Lacy Dagen. Freeman comes to UCLA from Stanford, where he served as an assistant coach of the four-time defending national championship men's team. He coached 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Brody Malone and Asher Hong, as well as 2020 Olympic alternates Akash Modi and Brandon Briones. Dagen was an assistant coach at Arizona State in 2024, helping guide the Sun Devils to the NCAA Regional final and No. 16 national finish. She also coached at her alma mater Oregon State in 2023, as well as at UC Davis in 2022.ย
ABOUT THE BRUINS ย
UCLA is led by three Olympians in Jordan Chiles, Emma Malabuyo and Brooklyn Moors, an eight-time All-American in Chae Campbell, and all-conference gymnasts Frida Esparza and Katelyn Rosen. The Bruins, who were affected by Olympic deferrals and absences, finished 17th last season but regain the services of Olympic champion Jordan Chiles, who missed all of 2024 while training for her second Olympic Games, and World Championships qualifier Sydney Barros, who redshirted in 2024 due to injury. UCLA also gains a strong freshman class, led by three-time Level 10 national champions Macy McGowan and Mika Webster-Longin.ย
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES ย
Seven returners and 10 Bruins overall earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors in 2024. Graduate Brooklyn Moors (sociology) and seniors Mia Erdoes (business economics), Emily Lee (physiological science) and Emma Malabuyo (communication) all earned their third-straight honor. Junior Maddie Anyimi (applied mathematics) and senior Chae Campbell (communication) received their second Scholastic All-America distinction, while sophomore Katelyn Rosen (undeclared) earned her first. 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, Malabuyo and Moors earned Academic All-District honors, and graduate Frida Esparza (political science) joined the aforementioned seven in receiving Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll acclaim.ย
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins return home next week to host Penn State on Valentine's Day, Friday, Feb. 14 at 8pm. The meet will be televised live on Big Ten Network.ย
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Gymnastics - Brittani McCullough Learns of Hall of Fame Induction
Friday, October 03
Gymnastics - Inside Gymnastics Cover Presentation
Thursday, October 02
Jordan Chiles - 2025 Big Ten Championships Floor (10.0)
Thursday, September 04
Chae Campbell - 2025 NCAA Championship Floor (9.925)
Friday, August 15