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UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics
Founded1974 (1974)
UniversityUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Head coachJanelle McDonald (2nd season)
ConferenceBig Ten
LocationLos Angeles, California
Home arenaPauley Pavilion (Capacity: 13,800)
NicknameBruins
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
National championships
7 (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2018)
NCAA Championships
Four on the Floor appearances
1 (2019)
Super Six appearances
22 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
NCAA Regional championships
23 (1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Regional Champions
Conference championships
21 (1981 [WCAA], 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023 )
Pac-12 Championships

The UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team represents the University of California, Los Angeles and competes in the Big Ten Conference. They compete in Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The team, coached by Janelle McDonald, has won 21 Regional titles and seven NCAA National Championships, most recently in 2018.[2]

The Bruins are known for recruiting top elite gymnasts from North America and beyond, including Austria, Germany, Guatemala, and Ireland.[3] Some notable former and current UCLA gymnasts include U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Michelle Giuda, psychologist Onnie Willis Rogers, stuntwoman Heidi Moneymaker, and Olympic gymnasts Jamie Dantzscher, Mohini Bhardwaj, Kate Richardson, Tasha Schwikert, Kristen Maloney, Yvonne Tousek, Stella Umeh, Luisa Portocarrero, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Sam Peszek, Peng Peng Lee, Jennifer Pinches, Jordyn Wieber (former Bruins team manager and volunteer assistant coach), Kyla Ross, Madison Kocian, Brooklyn Moors, and Jordan Chiles.

The 2025 season will see the team compete in the Big Ten Conference for the first time since the university switched from the Pac-12 conference.[4] The shift moves the team from frequent competition with national-level teams such as California and Utah to a conference whose teams have won just one national championship in four decades.[5]

Highlights

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  • 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004: Won national championship.[6][7]
  • 2008 Canadian Olympic Gymnastics team member Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs attended UCLA, a member of the team in 2008–2009 season.
  • 2009: The Bruins won the 2009 Pac-10 title, their 14th, and was 7th seeded in the NCAA National Championships. They competed at the NCAA North Central Regionals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, Apr. 4 with Florida (#6), Minnesota (#18), Denver (#20), Iowa State (#23) and Iowa (#28). The Bruins came in second behind Florida.[8] In the second session of the national championships, the Bruins finished tie for third place with Utah. But Utah won the tie breakers by counting all the scores of the six competitors in each event and advanced to the Super Six team finals.[9]
The UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team in 2010
  • 2010: The team won its 15th Pacific-10 Championship, with Anna Li scoring a perfect 10 on uneven bars. Vanessa Zamarripa won all-around and vault, and was named 2010 Pac-10 Gymnast Of The Year.
  • 2010: UCLA Gymnastics won the Los Angeles Regional and qualified for the NCAA Championships in Gainesville, Florida.[10] Anna Li again scored a perfect 10 on the uneven bars at Pauley Pavilion, where both of her parents, Li Yuejiu and Wu Jiani won medals at the 1984 Olympic Games.
  • 2010: USA Olympic team silver medalist Samantha Peszek is attending UCLA, and is a new member of the 2011 UCLA gymnastics team.
  • 2010: The team won its sixth NCAA title at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.
  • 2011: UCLA finished second in the national competition; Athens Regional champions; Samantha Peszek was first in balance beam with a 9.90 score.
  • 2012: Third-place finish in team competition; Olivia Courtney was third in uneven bars, and Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs was second in floor exercise.
  • 2013: UCLA was 4th in the team competition held at its own Pauley Pavilion; Four Bruins finished as top-eight performers in individual competition, three (Olivia Courtney, Kaelie Baer, and Vanessa Zamarripa) on vault and one (Danusia Francis) on beam.
  • 2014: UCLA did not qualify to Saturday night's Super Six competition in Birmingham, AL. Two Bruins competed on Sunday in event finals, Samantha Peszek and Olivia Courtney.
  • 2015: UCLA captured the team's 21st Regional Championship with a score of 197.500 points at the NCAA Columbus Regional. Samantha Peszek was the All Around Co-Champion with 39.6 points; Samantha Peszek also won the balance beam with a 9.950 score.
  • 2016: UCLA finished second at the Salt Lake City Regional, held at the University of Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Center with a score of 196.375. The Bruins advanced to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships for the 32nd time, assigned to the Semifinal II. Seniors Danusia Francis and Sadiqua Bynum and junior Angi Cipra were awarded regular season All-America honors by the National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC/W).
  • 2017: UCLA finished 4th at the NCAA Super Six Finals. Freshman Kyla Ross won both the balance beam and the uneven bars titles; she also received four perfect 10.0 scores throughout the season.[11] Freshman Madison Kocian also scored a perfect 10.0 on February 11.[12]
  • 2018: UCLA won their seventh NCAA title in St Louis. Peng Peng Lee and Katelyn Ohashi also won individual titles on the balance beam and floor exercise, respectively.
  • 2019: Coach Valorie Kondos Field will retire from coaching. An attendance record of 12,907 at Pauley Pavilion was set during a meet with Stanford on March 10, 2019. Senior Katelyn Ohashi set a Pac-12 record by winning the conference's Specialist of the Week award for the sixth time and her 10th career award this season. Kyla Ross completed a "gym slam" on March 17, 2019, at Miss Val's final home meet in Pauley Pavilion by recording a perfect 10 score on the floor exercise. UCLA won the Pac-12 championship with a score of 198.4, setting a new Pac-12 Gymnastics Championship record. Kyla Ross was the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, and Valorie Kondos Field was the Coach of the Year (her fifth Pac-12 honor).
  • 2020: On January 31, senior Gracie Kramer became the first of two gymnasts to score a perfect 10 on the floor exercise during the season; her routine garnered millions of views online.[13] On February 23, senior Grace Glenn scored the first leadoff 10.0 on the balance beam in NCAA history;[14] junior Nia Dennis' floor routine from the same meet went viral on Twitter and Facebook, leading to her appearance on the Ellen Show on March 11.[15] Kyla Ross scored three 10.0 scores during the season,[16] two on bars and the other on the last vault of her career;[17] this brought her career total to 22 perfect scores, tied 4th with Maggie Nichols in NCAA history.[18] On March 12, the NCAA cancelled the remainder of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States[19] The team finished the season ranked third, with an RQS of 197.565 after the tenth week of competition.[20]
  • 2023: Received a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, along with Utah, Oregon State, and Cal.[21]
  • 2024: Selena Harris was named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year,[22] after winning the All-Around at the Pac-12 Championships and scoring four 10.0s during the season. She also earned the bronze medal on the balance beam at the NCAA Championships.

Championships

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Super Six appearances

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UCLA Bruins Super Six Appearances
Year Finish Score
1993 4th 194.925
1994 5th 194.975
1995 3rd 196.150
1996 2nd 197.475
1997 1st 197.150
1998 5th 195.750
1999 5th 195.850
2000 1st 197.300
2001 1st 197.575
2002 3rd 197.150
2003 1st 197.825
2004 1st 198.125
2005 4th 197.150
2007 4th 196.925
2010 1st 197.725
2011 2nd 197.375
2012 3rd 197.750
2013 4th 197.100
2014 6th 197.050
2016 5th 196.8250
2017 4th 197.2625
2018 1st 198.075

Four on the Floor appearances

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UCLA Bruins Four on the Floor Appearances
Year Finish Score
2019 3rd 197.5375

Coaches

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Head coaches

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Name Years Record Win %
Lee Ann Lobdill 1977–1979 34–30–0 .531
Jerry Tomlinson 1980–1990 191–63–1 .750
Scott Bull 1991–1994 77–16–0 .828
Valorie Kondos Field 1991–2019 516–120–3 .810
Chris Waller 2020–2022 20–10–0 .667
Janelle McDonald 2023–present
  • record includes invitationals and conference championships as of 2021.

Coaches for the current season

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Coaches for the current season[23]
Name Position
Janelle McDonald Head Coach
BJ Das Assistant Coach
Lacy Dagen Assistant Coach
Mark Freeman Assistant Coach

Current roster

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2024–2025 Roster[24]
Name Height Year Hometown Club
Ciena Alipio 5-2 JR San Jose, CA Midwest Gymnastics
Paige Anastasi 5-4 SO Andover, MA Brestyan's Gymnastics
Madisyn Anyimi 5-6 JR Sacramento, CA Technique Gymnastics
Sydney Barros 5-3 SO Lewisville, TX Adirondack Learning Academy
Chae Campbell 5-7 GR Carrollton, TX Metroplex Gymnastics
Carissa Clay 4-11 GR San Diego, CA M.S. Sport Leadership
Mia Erdoes 5-5 SR New York, NY Gotham Gymnastics
Frida Esparza 5-4 GR Pittsburg, CA Head Over Heels
Sasha Fujisaka 5-0 FR San Jose, CA Airborne Gymnastics
Bronwyn Hoffman 5-6 FR Los Angeles, CA AOGC
Riley Jenkins 5-4 FR Burbank, CA The Klub Gymnastics
Emily Lee 5-4 SR Los Gatos, CA West Valley Gymnastics
Emma Malabuyo 5-0 SR Milpitas, CA Texas Dreams Gymnastics
Macy McGowan 5-2 FR Las Vegas, NV
Brooklyn Moors 5-3 GR Cambridge, ON Dynamo
Katelyn Rosen 5-2 SO Boerne, TX Twin City Twisters
Mika Webster-Longin 4-11 FR Richmond, CA East Bay Gymnastics
Clara Wren 5-1 SR San Marcos, CA Coastal Gymnastics

Recruits

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The following gymnasts have committed to UCLA for the 2025–2026 academic year:

NCAA Championships

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Banners noting UCLA's NCAA national championships.

UCLA has won 40 NCAA individual titles and seven team titles:

Event Winner/Year
Team (7) UCLA 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2018
All Around (5) Onnie Willis 2001
Jamie Dantzscher 2002
Tasha Schwikert 2005, 2008
Sam Peszek 2015
Vault (7) Jill Andrews 1988
Kim Hamilton 1989
Heidi Moneymaker 1999
Jamie Dantzscher 2002
Kristen Maloney 2005
Vanessa Zamarripa 2010
Kyla Ross 2019
Uneven Bars (8) Heidi Moneymaker 1998
Mohini Bhardwaj 2000
Yvonne Tousek 2001
Jamie Dantzscher 2003
Kate Richardson 2003
Tasha Schwikert 2008
Kyla Ross 2017
Jordan Chiles 2023
Balance Beam (10) Jill Andrews 1989
Kiralee Hayashi 1999
Lena Degteva 2000
Kate Richardson 2003
Kristen Maloney 2005
Sam Peszek 2011, 2015
Danusia Francis 2016
Kyla Ross 2017
Peng Peng Lee 2018
Floor Exercise (12) Kim Hamilton 1987, 1988, 1989
Stella Umeh 1995, 1998
Mohini Bhardwaj 2001
Jamie Dantzscher 2002
Kate Richardson 2006
Brittani McCullough 2010
Katelyn Ohashi 2018
Kyla Ross 2019
Jordan Chiles 2023

Awards and honors

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Honda Award Winners
AAI Award (National Senior of the Year)
Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year
Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year
Pac-12 Specialist of the Year
Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year
National Coach of the Year
National Asst. Coach of the Year

Olympians

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Men's gymnastics team

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The Bruins men's gymnastics team won two NCAA national champions in 1984 and 1987, but was eliminated as part of university budget cuts in 1995.[26]

Notable alumni of UCLA men's gymnastics include:

  • Freddy Behin, 1995, 1996, 1997 Finalist USA National Championships, 1996 World Championship
  • Glenn Berry, 1928 Olympian and USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee
  • Tim Daggett, 1984 Olympic gold medallist
  • Mitch Gaylord, 1984 NCAA all-around champion & Olympic gold medallist
  • Brian Ginsberg, two-time US junior national gymnastics champion
  • Scott Keswick, 1992 US Olympian and world rings and high bar finalist
  • Stephen McCain, 2000 US Olympian and 2001 world silver medallist
  • Chainey Umphrey, 1996 US Olympian and world high bar finalist
  • Peter Vidmar, 1982, 1983 NCAA all-around champion & 1984 2x Olympic gold medallist
  • Chris Waller, 1990 NCAA high bar champion and previous women's team head coach (2020-2022)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Style Guide // UCLA Athletics for Print and Digital Applications" (PDF). UCLA Nike Jordan Style Guide. July 7, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "2015 UCLA Gymnastics media guide" (PDF). UCLA Bruins Official Athletic Site. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  3. ^ Peraza, Misael. "UCLA takes to Canadian talent". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  4. ^ "UCLA gymnastics to salute Pac-12 with final conference championship". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  5. ^ "Historically successful UCLA gymnastics faces challenges in move to Big Ten". CNS Maryland. 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  6. ^ "1997 NCAA Championship". UCLA. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  7. ^ "NC Women's Gymnastics Championship History | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  8. ^ "UCLA Wins Pac-10 Gymnastics Championship". cstv.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  9. ^ "2009 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships". huskers.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  10. ^ UCLA Gymnastics Wins Los Angeles Regional To Qualify For NCAA Championships Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, UCLABruins.com, April 10, 2010
  11. ^ "2017: Kyla Ross - UCLA". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  12. ^ "2017: Madison Kocian - UCLA". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  13. ^ Gymnastics, UCLA (2020-01-31). "FINALLY! @gracekramer98 scores her first career perfect on floor!". @uclagymnastics. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  14. ^ "Grace Glenn makes NCAA gymnastics history for UCLA in loss to Utah". Los Angeles Times. 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  15. ^ "HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media". consent.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  16. ^ "2020: Kyla Ross - UCLA". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  17. ^ "Kyla Ross scores first 10 on vault this season to lead UCLA past Cal". Daily News. 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  18. ^ balancebeamsituation (2019-12-03). "Most 10.0s in NCAA". The Balance Beam Situation. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  19. ^ NCAA.com. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  20. ^ "Standings". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  21. ^ "UCLA Earns 198.275 in Senior Day Victory, Captures Share of Pac-12 Title". UCLA. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  22. ^ "2024 Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics All-Conference honors and Annual Awards, presented by Gatorade". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  23. ^ "UCLA gymnastics brings on new assistant coaches to complete coaching staff". Daily Bruin. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Gymnastics Roster". UCLA. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  25. ^ Lee travelled to London with the Canadian team to act as their captain but was not named to the team or named as an alternate due to injury.
  26. ^ Robbins, Danny. "Three Teams Go in UCLA Cutback". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
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