The floor exercise routines that Brooklyn Moors has performed throughout her time with UCLA gymnastics have allowed her to embody a character. Now, as a grad student, that character is herself.
“This one is more kind of just a journey through my gymnastics career,” Moors told reporters. “So starting out young and kind of happy and going through all the the dramas, the ups and downs.”
Her final season of college gymnastics is falling into the “up” category. She has consistently performed in three events in the first four meets and has helped the No. 8 Bruins (4-2 overall, 1-0 in Big Ten) get out to an exceptional start — which could continue in their first home meet of the season on Saturday against Illinois (3-1, 1-0).
UCLA has scored 197.550 in back-to-back meets and Moors was named the Big Ten Specialist of the Week after tying a career-high 9.950 on floor in the Bruins’ conference-opening win over Maryland.
Her floor routine has a start value of 10.0 and features a difficult E level pass that connects a double full twist to a punch front. Moors adds a Rudi — a front somersault with 1.5 twists — later in the routine.
“She has a really incredible artistic presence in her floor routine,” head coach Janelle McDonald told reporters. “The way she performs is unlike anyone else. The artistry and the performance quality and the level that she performs it at each and every weekend is really amazing.”
Moors has contributed on vault and on balance beam as well, defying thoughts that she might not be able to compete at all this season because of concerns over injury.
“We were slowly dipping our toes in the water and doing lots of PT and I thought I’d come in and do floor as a kind of specialist again,” she said.
“I had a conversation with Janelle halfway through preseason being like, I want to vault. I feel like I could add something to it. We just have to be really smart and she’s like, well do you want to go? And I’m like, yeah, I’ll give it a shot.”
UCLA concluded the Maryland meet on balance beam and scored a national-best 49.550 as a team. Moors, Emily Lee, Chae Campbell, Emma Malabuyo, Ciena Alipio and Jordan Chiles — who was a late add to the event — all scored 9.775 or above.
It’s giving the Bruins confidence and Moors is fully bought in.
“I feel like my work is finally paying off,” she said. “It feels like really special, and it’s giving me the confidence every week to know I do belong in that beam lineup, I do belong that vault lineup. I gotta fight for those spots every week, but it’s been good.”
Free tickets for wildfire victims, first responders
Individuals who have been impacted by the Southern California wildfires as well as first responders can claim up to eight general admission tickets for Saturday’s meet at Pauley Pavilion.
It’s an effort by the Bruins to extend a kind gesture to people who have been under duress and to say thank you to those who have protected Southern California. And it adds another layer of motivation for the team.
“Our team does its best when we do it for a bigger purpose,” Moors said. “That’s what we always want to put first. Gymnastics is gymnastics, but there are so many things that are bigger than gymnastics or ourselves. Doing this for others is like what we do it for.”
Illinois (3-1, 1-0) at No. 8 UCLA (4-2, 1-0)
When: Saturday, 2 p.m. PT
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV: Big Ten Plus