No. 10 UCLA Hosts No. 11 BYU Wednesday

2021 Information Guide | Meet Notes (PDF)

No. 10 UCLA vs. No. 11 BYU
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 – 2 p.m. PT
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom)
Live Stream: pac-12.com/live/ucla
Live Stats: uclabruins.com

BRUINS HOST COUGARS WEDNESDAY
UCLA will host 11th-ranked BYU on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 2pm PT in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. The meet will be live streamed at pac-12.com/live/ucla. The UCLA-BYU contest is the first of two meets for the Bruins this week. Four days later, they will compete in Seattle for a Valentine's Day matchup against Pac-12 foe Washington.

SUPPORT UCLA TEAMS VIA FAN CUTOUTS
In adherence to the latest COVID-19 guidelines set by the state of California and Los Angeles County, fans are not permitted to attend events at UCLA Athletics venues, including Pauley Pavilion. However, Bruin fans can be there in spirit to support their favorite teams via cutouts which will be placed in seats inside the venue. For only $50 per cutout, fans can submit a photo of themselves, family members, friends or even their pets. Cutouts will be placed in seats within two weeks of the order date and remain in place until the completion of the last regular-season home contest at that venue. Specific seat locations for cutouts will be determined by availability at the time of purchase. Fans will have the opportunity to pick up their cutout once campus officially reopens. To order, visit uclabruins.com/fancutouts.

LAST TIME OUT
In its first road contest of the 2021 season, UCLA earned a 196.750-195.075 victory over Arizona. The Bruins recorded season-best marks on all four events, scoring 49.225 on vault, 48.975 on uneven bars, 49.300 on balance beam and 49.250 on floor exercise. UCLA recorded seven scores of 9.9 or better, including event-winning marks of 9.95 on beam and floor by Samantha Sakti and Nia Dennis, respectively. Chae Campbell won the all-around with a 39.425 and vault with a 9.9 and placed second on beam with a 9.925. Margzetta Frazier won bars with a 9.9 and added a second-place score of 9.9 on floor.

CAMPBELL HONORED AS PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF WEEK
UCLA's Chae Campbell was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for Feb. 2, the Bruins' second consecutive award in this category. Campbell won the all-around and vault in UCLA's 196.750-195.075 victory at No. 15 Arizona. Selected the UCLA Gymnast of the Meet, she scored career-bests on three events and the all-around, earning 9.9 on vault, 9.75 on bars, 9.925 on beam and 39.425 in the all-around. She also added a 9.85 on floor. Her scores helped UCLA record season-high totals on all four events and led UCLA to a season-high team total of 196.750 and a 2-0 record to start the season. Campbell's award follows that of teammate Frida Esparza, who captured Freshman of the Week honors the week prior.

DENNIS BREAKS THE INTERNET ... AGAIN
For the second time in as many years, Nia Dennis has gone viral after just her first floor routine of the season. Dennis' routine celebrating black culture picked up steam in a hurry after it was posted to social media the day after the Bruins' season opener. Within an hour, it went viral, and the video currently has nearly 11M views on Twitter alone. Her routine was shared by the likes of Michelle Obama, Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Common and Kerry Washington. Dennis made a repeat visit to The Ellen Show and appeared on the Today Show and the NBA on TNT. Last season, Dennis' Beyonce routine went viral as well, as did a TikTok compilation video of her hitting the woah.

FRESH STARS
Although more than half of UCLA's expected freshman class did not make it to campus this year as they pursued Olympic berths, the three freshmen who are in Westwood are making a huge impression on the Bruin team. Chae Campbell has become an all-around force, recording 39.425 in just her second collegiate meet and receiving Pac-12 Freshman of the Week acclaim. She already has career-bests of 9.9 or better on vault, beam and floor. Frida Esparza won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors after her first meet of the year, during which she won bars with a 9.9 and scored 9.8 on beam. Esparza improved upon her beam score the following week, scoring 9.9. Sara Ulias has shined in exhibition routines, performing a stellar uneven bars routine at Arizona that scored 9.725, receiving a 9.8 from one judge on a routine that had a 9.9 start value. Her floor exercise performances have also scored well with lower start values, and she recorded a 9.575 at Arizona.

POWER VAULTERS
UCLA's highest-ranked event this season is vault, where the Bruins rank No. 5 with an average of 49.213. This is all the more impressive considering UCLA has only competed five vaulters in each meet, with just one 10.0 start value vault. Both Chae Campbell and Nia Dennis have scored 9.9 this season, and Kendal Poston has a high of 9.875.

BRUINS BEAMING
UCLA is 12-for-12 so far this season on balance beam, hitting 49.000 in the season opener and 49.300 at Arizona. The Bruins' 49.300 included three scores of 9.9 or better - 9.9 from Frida Esparza, 9.925 from Chae Campbell and 9.950 from Samantha Sakti. Sakti currently ranks No. 3 in the nation on beam with an average of 9.925. She has won beam in every meet this season.

IN THE RANKINGS
With a season average of 196.450, UCLA ranks No. 10 in the national rankings, which are currently determined by season average. The Bruins rank No. 5 on vault, No. 6 on beam, No. 11 on floor, and No. 20 on bars. Individually, Nia Dennis ranks second on floor and 11th on vault. Samantha Sakti ranks third on beam. Margzetta Frazier is tied for ninth on floor and 24th in the all-around, and Chae Campbell is 13th on vault and 25th on floor.

ABOUT THE BRUINS
UCLA ended a shortened 2020 campaign ranked No. 3 in the nation and closed the campaign with five straight meets scoring 197 or above. The Bruins return three All-Americans in Nia Dennis, Norah Flatley and Margzetta Frazier but lose five All-Americans and perfect 10 scorers in 2020 Honda Award winner and two-time Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year Kyla Ross, 2016 Olympic gold and silver medalist Madison Kocian, Grace Glenn, Felicia Hano and Gracie Kramer. The Bruins will also be without the services of sophomore Chloe Lashbrooke this season after she suffered a torn achilles tendon earlier this month. UCLA did keep one of last year's seniors - Nicole Shapiro, who had only competed two years and was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA. New to the squad are freshmen Chae Campbell, Frida Esparza and Sara Ulias. Campbell was the U.S. junior vault champion in 2016 and a two-time Level 10 national champion. Esparza is a two-time World Championships competitor and the 2018 all-around national champion for Mexico. Ulias has placed Top 3 on uneven bars in the last two Level 10 Region 1 Championships.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
BYU hit 24-for-24 and scored a season-high 196.825 to defeat Southern Utah (196.175) in its last meet. The Cougars recorded season-highs on vault (49.000), bars (49.350) and beam (49.350) and received a pair of 9.9s from Helody Cyrenne on bars and beam. BYU ranks eighth on bars and floor, 18th on beam and 19th on vault. Cyrenne is eighth nationally on beam, Anyssa Alvarado is 12th on bars, and Abbey Miner-Alder is ranked 20th in the all-around.

FRAZIER, STEELE JOIN PAC-12'S DIVERSITY & INCLUSION GROUP
Junior Margzetta Frazier and sophomore Kalyany Steele will serve as UCLA representatives on the newly-formed Gymnasts for Peace, Action, and Change" (G-PAC). This student-athlete driven organization has representatives from all eight Pac-12 gymnastics programs. Together, these gymnasts will work to share ideas, formulate meet themes, host webinars, welcome guest speakers to campus, and more. G-PAC's mission statement is as follows: G-PAC facilitates an environment where diversity and inclusion is both welcomed and encouraged. Strives to ignite lasting change by sharing experiences, providing others with education and outside resources, and creating an authentic safe space for fellow student-athletes. Inspires others to thrive at the edge of their comfort zone furthering the journey to true equality.

UCLA SIGNS NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS
UCLA has inked the No. 1-ranked signing class in the nation, according to College Gym News. The Bruins' top-ranked class includes U.S. National Team members Jordan Chiles, Emily Lee and Emma Malabuyo, Canadian World medalist Ana Padurariu and U.S. senior elite Alexis Jeffrey. The rankings are based on a points system from the website's recruit ratings system and include gymnasts who signed during the 2020 early signing period and those who signed previously but have deferred enrollment. The ranking does not include Canadian National Team member Brooklyn Moors, who has enrolled this year but will redshirt the season.

NO. 1 IN SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS
UCLA Gymnastics has the largest social media followings in all of women's collegiate sports, ranking No. 1 in combined followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, a total over 1 million. The team has an additional reach of over 1 million on TikTok (440k followers) and Snapchat (582k subscribers). The Bruins rank first among all NCAA gymnastics teams on Instagram (411k), Facebook (535k) and Twitter (78.6k). Among all UCLA teams, gymnastics ranks first on Instagram and Facebook, and UCLA Gymnastics is the most followed collegiate women's team Instagram account in the nation and the second-most followed women's sports team account after the U.S. Soccer Women's National Team. Follow the Bruins at @UCLAGymnastics on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Snapchat and on Facebook at facebook.com/uclagymnastics.