UCLA Finishes Third in NCAA Semifinal; Chiles win NCAA Floor Title

Thursday, April 16

Fort Worth, Texas

6:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

NCAA Semifinals vs. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota

Jordan Chiles

Photo by: Ross Turteltaub

UCLA Finishes Third in NCAA Semifinal; Chiles win NCAA Floor Title

April 16, 2026 | Gymnastics

Fort Worth, Texas - No. 4 UCLA finished third in the semifinals and fifth overall at the NCAA Championships, scoring 197.2750 to end its season with a 33-4 record. Oklahoma (198.2000) and Minnesota (197.4625) advanced to Saturday's final, along with Florida and LSU from the first semifinal. Arkansas finished in fourth with 196.9625. Senior Jordan Chiles won her fourth career NCAA title, taking first place on floor exercise with a 9.9750. This is her second NCAA floor title; she previously won in 2023. She has won two titles each on uneven bars and floor exercise. Chiles was also announced as the AAI Award, given to the top senior gymnast in the nation.

UCLA's return to the team final was precarious throughout the meet, as Oklahoma jumped into a huge lead after the first rotation, and Minnesota's strong postseason run continued. The Gophers led the Bruins after the first and second rotations thanks to strong marks on beam (49.3875) and floor (49.4375). UCLA was solid on uneven bars in the first rotation, with four scores going 9.8625 or higher, but they did not get any scores in the 9.900 range. Chiles, who was a favorite to win the all-around, went over on a handstand early in her routine and came off, and the Bruins totaled 49.2650, good for fourth place.

The Bruins made up ground on balance beam in the second rotation, scoring 49.4875. All five counting scores were 9.8500 or higher, and the senior standouts, Chiles and Ciena Alipio, capped the rotation with scores of 9.9500 and 9.9375, respectively. UCLA's two-event total of 98.7500 was just 0.075 behind second-place Minnesota, who had 98.8250.

UCLA made its move in rotation three on floor exercise. After Alipio's 9.8125, Mika Webster-Longin followed by a 9.8875, and Sydney Barros scored 9.8625. Freshmen Tiana Sumanasekera and Ashlee Sullivan came up big with scores of 9.8875 and 9.9375, Sullivan punctuating her routine with a stuck double tuck. Chiles wrapped up the rotation with her winning routine that scored 9.9750. She earned perfect 10s from three of the six judges. UCLA's 49.5500 total on floor moved the Bruins into second place with 148.3000, ahead of Minnesota's 148.0750 and Arkansas' 147.8750.

That was a fun one!! ????

Jordan Chiles earns a 9.9750 on FX for the Bruins!!#NCAAGYM x ?? ESPN2 / @uclagymnastics pic.twitter.com/sEltBKX6VU
— NCAA Women's Gymnastics (@NCAA_Gymnastics) April 17, 2026

But the Bruins were unable to sustain the lead on vault in the final rotation. UCLA had just three vaults in the 9.8500 or above range - Chiles' 9.8875 and Riley Jenkins' and Sumanasekera's 9.850 - and was forced to count a 9.5875, while Minnesota scored 49.3875 on bars, led by Lacie Saltzmann's 9.9625. UCLA's 48.9750 on vault was the Bruins' first sub-49 score all season.

"I told the team that this one day doesn't define our season," said The R.C. Rothman UCLA Head Gymnastics Coach Janelle McDonald. "We had a lot of really amazing moments and won a lot of meets and conference championships. There's so much to be proud of. We're going to learn from these moments, and the returners we have coming back next year, they're going to learn from it, and it's going to light a fire to be a little bit more dialed in and a little bit more prepared mentally for these moments."

With the third-place finish, McDonald earned her 100^th career coaching victory in four seasons.