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UCLA Places Second in Tri-Meet at Oregon State

by uclabruins.com
Jan 23, 2022
Emma Malabuyo

Corvallis, Ore. – UCLA improved upon its season-opening score by nearly a point and a half, placing second in a tri-meet at Oregon State with a score of 196.300. The Bruins scored over 49 on bars (49.175), beam (49.275) and floor (49.000) and enjoyed strong contributions from the freshman class, including a 39.100 all-around debut from Emma Malabuyo.

Oregon State won the meet with a score of 197.000. UC Davis was third with a 194.700. Beaver freshman Jade Carey won the all-around with a program record 39.800.

Strong leadoff scores set the tone for the Bruins all afternoon. In rotation one, sophomore Frida Esparza scored 9.875 on the Bruins' first routine of the day, leading the team to a meet-best uneven bars total of 49.175. Freshman Jordan Chiles recorded the Bruins' top score of the day with a 9.925, and Norah Flatley matched Esparza's third-place 9.875 mark. UCLA's other scorers were Malabuyo (9.800) and Chae Campbell (9.700), who were each making their season debuts on the event.

Chiles set the pace for the Bruins on vault, tying for second place with a 9.875 on her Kasamatsu full vault. Flatley recorded a career-high 9.825 on her Yurchenko full, and Campbell contributed a 9.800 as the Bruins scored 48.850. The vault was costly for Campbell, however, as she tweaked her ankle on the landing and was unable to compete on the remaining two events.

With floor anchor Campbell out, her teammates stepped up in big ways on both floor exercise and balance beam. On floor, the Bruins led off with a pair of 9.850s, with Sara Ulias setting her career-high, and Norah Flatley tying her season-high. Pauline Tratz provided a team-best 9.875, and Malabuyo added a 9.775. Esparza closed the rotation in Campbell's place and in her first collegiate floor routine scored 9.600. The Bruins finished the rotation with a 49.000.

UCLA started balance beam with three freshmen, and they performed like veterans. Ana Padurariu led off with a 9.900, Malabuyo scored 9.825, and Brooklyn Moors recorded a 9.850 on her beam debut. Senior Kendal Poston came in as a late replacement for Campbell and boosted the team with a 9.875. Samantha Sakti's 9.825 brought the Bruins to a 49.275 team total and final score of 196.300.

"I care deeply about every single student-athlete on this team," said head coach Chris Waller. "My belief in every woman on the team is unwavering, and I 100 percent believe in them and the team. I'm very excited about the step we took tonight. Obviously it didn't go perfectly; we struggled on a few events, but the team kept rallying. One of the most difficult skills for a team to build is being able to come back after there's a glitch. We had that a couple of times in the competition, and that was really important to see that the student-athletes who stepped up afterward could bring themselves to that place. But also you could feel the entire team get behind that person and stay in the meet. And we never quit this meet, right through the end."

The Bruins will next host Arizona in their home opener on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2pm. Tickets are on sale now at uclabruins.com/tickets.

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