The UCLA women’s gymnastics team has crept up the national rankings, rising from its dismal 195.250 team score that marked the start of the season.
The Bruins are now the No. 2 team in the country after hitting 197.675 – but head coach Janelle McDonald knows her team has more to give.
“It shows that we’re a team that can compete with anybody in the country,” McDonald told reporters Thursday. “But it’s just a ranking.”
“Each and every week we reset, we focus on what’s next, not what’s behind us. And get excited about what’s ahead and and what we can do that following weekend.”
A trip to Michigan, the only Big Ten team aside from UCLA (8-2 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) to win a national title, is on deck for Sunday. The Wolverines (8-2, 4-1) are ranked in the Top 20 nationally in every event and their No. 7 balance beam squad boasts an average score of 49.211.
The Bruins’ beam team is slightly ahead of that mark at 49.329 and Emma Malabuyo is the second-highest-rated individual beam worker.
Vault is where UCLA will look to make its next jump in progress. The Bruins have the top-ranked floor team, beam is ranked third and bars is fifth, but vault is their lowest-standing event at No. 7.
The event’s scores have dipped over the past two meets and the Bruins are adding more 10.0 start values to the lineup to help boost their numbers. However, chasing a perfect 10 on vault isn’t necessarily a priority.
“If you have a Chae (Campbell) vault and you stick it, I don’t care if it’s a 9.95 start value,” McDonald said. “I care less about the start value and more about the execution, because at the end of the day, it’s a half 10th (of a point). Ideally, we’d love to have everybody do 10.0 start value and stick, but that’s what we’re working for.”
Three freshmen compete on vault – Riley Jenkins, who led off in the last meet against Penn State, Mika Webster-Longin and Macy McGowan. Webster-Longin and McGowan have also appeared on beam and floor exercise.
One of the biggest challenges that gymnasts experience in the transition from elite to college gymnastics is the physical demand of competing on a weekly basis.
“It’s pretty cool to see them starting to get comfortable competing week after week and owning their role on the team in that way,” McDonald said. “I’m excited about how they can continue to grow throughout their NCAA career, and I know that they’re going to have a lot of really special moments ahead of them.”
No. 2 UCLA (8-2, 5-0) at No. 15 MICHIGAN (8-2, 4-1)
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan
TV: Big Ten Network