Big Ten's Last Two Champions Face Off Sunday on FOX

Sunday, January 25

East Lansing, MI

10:00 AM PT

UCLA

Michigan State

Nola Matthews

Photo by: Mac Brown

Big Ten's Last Two Champions Face Off Sunday on FOX

January 21, 2026 | Gymnastics

Meet Notes (PDF)

No. 5 UCLA at No. 21 Michigan State
Date/Time: Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026 – 1 pm ET/10 am PT
Location: East Lansing, Mich. (Breslin Center)
Broadcast: FOX
Talent: Connor Onion, Olivia Karas, Kylen Mills
Live Stats: virti.us

B1G MATCHUP SUNDAY
No. 5 UCLA (5-2) travels to No. 21 Michigan State (1-3) for a nationally-televised dual meet on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT on FOX. The dual meet pits the last two Big Ten champions against each other. UCLA won the 2025 regular season and conference championships in its first year in the conference. Michigan State swept in 2024. This will be just the second-ever gymnastics meet in the Breslin Center.

BIG TEN RIVALRY BREWING
In just one year as conference foes, UCLA and Michigan State have already produced some memorable matchups. On Feb. 1, 2025, the Bruins came back from 0.7 points down in the final rotation, scoring 49.800 on floor exercise while the Spartans totaled 49.000 on beam. Jordan Chiles scored a perfect 10 on the last routine to clinch the win, 197.300-197.200. UCLA's last four floor performers scored 9.950 or higher, with Macy McGowan scoring 9.950, Brooklyn Moors and Chae Campbell going 9.975 back-to-back, and Chiles finishing with a perfect 10. Michigan State set a new school record in the second rotation with a 49.600 on vault.

The Bruins and Spartans battled it out to the end for the Big Ten Championship as well, and once again, an epic UCLA floor party, paired with a school-record beam score of 49.750, gave the Bruins the come-from-behind win by three-tenths of a point. Michigan State led UCLA after two rotations, 99.100-98.900, and held a slim .025 advantage going into the final rotation. But UCLA dropped another 49.800 on floor exercise to claim the victory, closing with back-to-back 10.0s from Moors and Chiles.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Michigan State enters the week with a No. 21 national ranking and 1-3 overall record. The Spartans rank No. 13 on beam, No. 19 on vault and No. 23 on floor. Three All-Americans return from last season's squad that finished sixth overall at the NCAA Championships - 2025 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Nikki Smith, 2025 Big Ten Event Specialist of the Year Sage Kellerman and 2025 Big Ten vault champion Olivia Zsarmani.

LAST TIME OUT
Behind a perfect 10 on vault from Jordan Chiles and a pair of 9.975s on beam from Chiles and Ciena Alipio, No. 9 UCLA cruised to a 197.325-195.250 win over Nebraska in the team's Big Ten opener. Chiles led a UCLA all-around podium sweep with a winning score of 39.675. Tiana Sumanasekera placed second with a career-best 39.400, and Katelyn Rosen was third with a 39.175. The Bruins won every event, with Chiles taking first on vault with her perfect 10 and tying with Sullivan on uneven bars with a 9.900 and with Alipio on beam with a 9.975. Sullivan, Alipio and Sumanasekera tied for first on floor with scores of 9.875, each taking home their first career floor victory. UCLA improved upon its season-high score for the second-straight week and totaled the No. 6 beam score in school history with a 49.625.

PERFECTION IN PAULEY FOR CHILES
Jordan Chiles scored UCLA's first perfect 10 of the 2026 season on Jan. 17 in front of the home crowd at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial, sticking a Yurchenko double full to record her first career perfect 10 on vault. The perfect 10 was the 12th of her career. She has one on vault, five on uneven bars and six on floor exercise. Only three other Bruins have scored more career 10s than Chiles - Jamie Dantzscher with 28, Kyla Ross with 22 and Jeanette Antolin with 14.

Chiles is looking to become just the 15th gymnast in NCAA history to achieve a Gym Slam, which is a perfect 10 on all four events. Only two Bruins have done this - Kristen Maloney in 2005 and Kyla Ross in 2019. Chiles just needs a 10.0 on balance beam to joining the exclusive group. In her first three meets of the season, Chiles has scored 9.975 on beam twice.

BRUINS EARN SECOND BIG TEN AWARDS SWEEP
UCLA swept the Big Ten Conference weekly gymnastics awards for the second time this season, as Jordan Chiles was named the Gymnast of the Week for the third-straight week, Ciena Alipio earned Event Specialist of the Week honors for the second time, and Ashlee Sullivan received her first Freshman of the Week award.

Chiles continues her stronghold on the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award, capturing her third award in three weeks and her 14th career conference gymnast of the week award. She won the all-around with a score of 39.675 and placed first on three events against Nebraska, including winning vault with her first career perfect 10. Chiles now has 10 event titles this season in just three meets and has scored 9.900 or higher on 10 of her 12 routines.

Alipio won both events on which she competed in the win over Nebraska. She tied for first on beam with a season-high 9.975 and then scored a career-high 9.875 on floor exercise to capture her first win in just her second-ever competitive performance on the event. Alipio is averaging 9.942 on beam, with no score lower than 9.925.

Sullivan recorded career-highs on all three events in which she competed on Saturday, tying for first on uneven bars with a 9.900 and on floor exercise with a 9.875 and placing second on vault with a 9.900. Sullivan's event victories were the first of her career.

IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA moves up four spots to No. 5 in the national rankings after week three. The Bruins are ranked No. 4 on balance beam, No. 5 on uneven bars, No. 7 on vault and No. 15 on floor exercise. Jordan Chiles remains No. 1 in the all-around and is Top 15 on three events - No. 2 on vault, No. 7 on beam and No. 11 on bars. Ciena Alipio ranks No. 6 on beam, and Tiana Sumanasekera ranks No. 12 in the all-around.

DANCING AND GYMNASTICS QUEEN
Fresh off a third-place showing on Season 34 of "Dancing with the Stars" this fall, Jordan Chiles continues to surge, ranking No. 1 in the nation in the all-around and earning Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honors for the first three weeks of the season. She kicked off her senior season on Jan. 3 with a show-stopping performance at the Best of the West Quad. Chiles placed first on all four events and won the all-around with a score of 39.725, UCLA's highest all-around score in a season opener since Kyla Ross also recorded that score in 2020. In week 2, she placed second in the all-around with a 39.575 and won floor exercise for the second-straight week with a 9.925. And in week 3, she scored her first perfect 10 of the season and first career 10 on vault en route to winning the all-around with a 39.675 in the Bruins' home opener.

Dancing with pro Ezra Sosa, Chiles became the first female gymnast to make the "Dancing with the Stars" finale since Laurie Hernandez in season 23 in 2016. Chiles competed on the show while simultaneously training for the 2026 gymnastics season and taking a full set of classes at UCLA. The two-time Olympian and 2024 gold medalist enters her senior year as a three-time NCAA Champion, 16-time All-American and reigning Big Ten floor exercise champion. Chiles has scored 12 perfect 10s in her career - six on floor exercise, five on uneven bars and one on vault - and 24 9.975s. She holds career-highs of 10.0 on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise, 9.975 on balance beam and 39.900 in the all-around.

ALIPIO MAKES BIG LEAPS AS SENIOR
After competing exclusively on balance beam her first three seasons due to injuries, senior Ciena Alipio has taken the leap to multi-event gymnast during her senior season, competing on floor exercise this season for the first time in her collegiate career. Alipio made her floor debut at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad on Jan. 10 and scored 9.800, and she improved her mark to 9.875 on Jan. 17 against Nebraska, tying for first place. She also tied for first on balance beam at that Nebraska meet, scoring 9.975 en route to Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week honors. Alipio is nationally ranked No. 6 on beam with an average of 9.942. In the season opener, Alipio anchored the beam lineup for the first time in her career and scored 9.925 to place third before earning her first-ever Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week honor. Alipio is a two-time first-team All-American on beam and won the Big Ten balance beam title in 2025 with her first career perfect 10. Prior to her senior season, the only other non-beam routine that she had performed in college came in an exhibition on floor exercise in the 2025 season opener. As an elite gymnast, Alipio placed third in the all-around at her last international event, the 2022 Arthur Gander Memorial in Switzerland. She was also ninth in the all-around and sixth on floor exercise at the 2022 U.S. Classic.

SULLIVAN BREAKS OUT
Freshman Ashlee Sullivan had her breakout meet of the 2026 season on Jan. 17 against Nebraska, recording career-highs on all three events in which she competed and earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. She won bars with a 9.900 and floor with a 9.875 and placed second on vault with a 9.900. Sullivan's event victories were the first of her career. She is now averaging over 9.850 on both vault and bars and over 9.800 on floor, ranking second in the Big Ten on vault and eighth on bars.

SUPERB DEBUT BY SUMANASEKERA
Freshman Tiana Sumanasekera's collegiate debut was superb, as the five-time U.S. National Team member and 2024 Olympic alternate scored 9.950 on balance beam and 9.850 on floor exercise to place second behind only teammate Jordan Chiles on those two events in the season opener. Sumanasekera also scored 9.800 on vault and 9.850 in an exhibition uneven bars routine. Her beam score of 9.950 was the highest by a UCLA freshman in her collegiate debut in over 20 years, matching Tasha Schiwkert in 2005. Sumanasekera became the first Bruin ever to win BIg Ten Freshman of the Week honors with her season-opening performance. A week later at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, Sumanasekera made her all-around debut and scored 39.350, recording season-high marks on vault (9.875), bars (9.900) and floor (9.850). She topped that all-around mark in the home opener Jan. 17, scoring 39.400 to place second, and also earned her first career victory, tying for first on floor with a 9.875. Sumanasekera now ranks 12th nationally in the all-around.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN
UCLA's acclaimed freshman class has accounted for 37.5% of the Bruins' routines so far in 2026, with Tiana Sumanasekera competing 11 routines, Ashlee Sullivan nine and Nola Matthews seven. Sumanasekera, a 2024 U.S. Olympic alternate, has contributed 10 9.8+ scores, including a 9.950 on beam, 9.900 on bars, and 9.875 on vault and floor. She is the first Bruin underclassman to compete in the all-around this year and is averaging 39.375 in her two all-around appearances. Sullivan, fresh off a win at the Arthur Gander Memorial in November, has competed three events in each of the first three meets. She has matched or improved on each of her scores from week to week, last week winning two events (bars with a 9.900 and floor with a 9.875) and placing second on the other (vault with a 9.900). Four-time U.S. National Team member Matthews has highs of 9.875 on bars and 9.850 on beam and is averaging 9.833 on uneven bars. Additionally, Jordis Eichman, who competed at the 2025 U.S. Championships, turned in a strong 9.825 on balance beam in an exhibition performance in the season opener and stuck her Yurchenko full vault for a 9.800 in an exhibition debut Jan. 17 against Nebraska.

ROSEN RETURNS TO ALL-AROUND
Junior Katelyn Rosen has returned to all-around duty for the first time since the 2024 Pac-12 Championships. Rosen scored a career-high 39.550 at those Pac-12 Championships but missed nearly two months of competition in 2025 and did not compete on vault during the season. She has earned an all-around spot in each of the first three meets, competing in the leadoff position on bars, beam and floor. She has a high of 39.325 at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad and has posted season-high marks of 9.825 on vault, 9.875 on bars, 9.900 on beam and 9.800 on floor. Rosen's career average in the all-around is 39.363, and she has hit 39+ in all 10 all-around attempts.

MIKA MONEY
Sophomore Mika Webster-Longin continues to provide solid consistency for the Bruins, contributing 9.8+ scores on eight of her nine routines this season. In the season opener, she tied for fourth place on both bars and floor with scores of 9.850 and 9.825, respectively, and added a 9.800 on beam. She went 9.825 on bars and 9.800 on beam and floor at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, and in the home opener against Nebraska, she hit season-highs of 9.850 on bars and 9.875 (career-high) on beam. Webster-Longin's career average is 9.8 or higher on three events - 9.845 on bars, 9.803 on floor and 9.819 on beam, and she holds career-highs of 9.925 on vault and bars, 9.9 on floor and 9.875 on beam. The Belgian National Team member had a strong freshman season, being selected to the Big Ten All-Championship team after contributing a 9.925 on vault and 9.900 on bars to the Bruins' title run.

SENIOR STRIDES FROM ANYIMI
Madisyn Anyimi has had a strong start to her senior season, earning a spot in the Bruins' vault lineup in all three meets and recording a seventh-place finish in season opener with a 9.800. Additionally, she hit a huge 9.850 on uneven bars in an exhibition performance at the Best of the West Quad, tying her career-high mark on the event. Anyimi enrolled at UCLA before walking onto the team in the 2023 season and has competed in 19 meets in her career, mostly on vault. She has hit all 23 routines she has competed, with highs of 9.85 on bars in 2024, 9.825 on vault in 2023 and 9.625 in her one floor appearance in 2023. Anyimi is a three-time WCGA Scholastic All-American, 2025 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award-winner and 2025 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar.

BARROS RAISES THE BAR
Junior Sydney Barros, who missed all of 2024 while rehabbing a knee injury, is working her way into the Bruin lineup, stepping in as a late sub on uneven bars in the season opener and scoring a career-high 9.800. Barros has five exhibition performances on both bars and floor under her belt but has only been in the competitive lineup twice. She has personal-best marks of 9.825 on each event in exhibition. Barros was the all-around champion at the 2023 Puerto Rican National Championships and placed eighth in the all-around at the 2023 Pan American Championships, qualifying to the World Championships. She was unable to compete at Worlds, however, after suffering a knee injury at the Central American Games.

EXHIBITION PERFORMANCES SHOWCASE BRUIN DEPTH
UCLA's depth was on full display in the season opener, as the Bruins hit 24-for-24 in competition and also saw five of seven exhibition routines score 9.800 or higher. On uneven bars, both Tiana Sumanasekera and Madisyn Anyimi scored 9.850, which would have tied for fourth place in the meet. On balance beam, freshmen Jordis Eichman and Ashlee Sullivan each scored 9.825. Ciena Alipio earned a 9.800 on floor exercise, equaling a Top 7 score in the meet.

ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA returns three-time NCAA Champion Jordan Chiles, All-American and Big Ten beam champion Ciena Alipio, all-conference performers Katelyn Rosen and Macy McGowan, and Big Ten All-Championships team member Mika Webster-Longin while welcoming U.S. National Team members in freshmen Nola Matthews, Ashlee Sullivan and Tiana Sumanasekera. The Bruins, under the direction of 2025 Big Ten Coach of the Year Janelle McDonald, are coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships and an unbeaten Big Ten Conference season, complete with sweeps of the regular season and Conference Championship titles.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Bruins return home for their annual Pride Meet on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7pm against Washington. Tickets can be purchased at uclabruins.com/tickets.