Chae Campbell's strong performance helps lift UCLA gymnastics to NCAA championships
(John McCoy / Associated Press)
The Bruins are headed back to Fort Worth, Texas, to try and claim their first national championship since 2018.
Fifth-seeded UCLA gymnastics finished in second place at the NCAA Utah regional final on Saturday evening, securing its place in nationals, which takes place April 17-19. Graduate student Chae Campbell scored 39.550 overall to place second in the all-around, leading the Bruins to a 197.625 overall score, behind No. 4 Utah, which finished in first with 197.825.
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The Bruins needed their best on balance beam to advance to nationals, entering the final rotation just .250 ahead of Denver.
Read more: How gymnast Katelyn Rosen got back in her zone, lifted UCLA teammates in the process
Going blow for blow with the Pioneers as their third-place foes competed on uneven bars, junior Ciena Alipio and senior Emma Malabuyo notched 9.900s to close out the rotation. Their scores forced Denver to either end with a perfect 10 to tie or miss out on nationals. Denver's Rylie Mundell fell short of perfection, scoring 9.875. The Pioneers closed the meet .275 behind the Bruins.
Last year, UCLA exited in the second round of the regional, leading to the eventual dismissal and transfer of former Pac-12 gymnast of the year Selena Harris-Miranda from the program. Now, with freshmen Mika Webster-Longin and Macy McGowan — who sat out the regional rounds nursing an injury — the Bruins return to nationals for the second time under third-year coach Janelle McDonald.
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Webster-Longin helped launch the Bruins into position to advance with a career-high 9.950 on her Yurchenko 1.5 vault — securing the highest score in UCLA's season-high 49.475 vault score.
UCLA, with Olympian Jordan Chiles on its roster, fell in the 2023 NCAA semifinal despite recording a 197.9125 score. Two years later, Chiles will return to Texas with Campbell, Malabuyo and graduate student Brooklyn Moors, all of whom helped UCLA claim its first-ever Big Ten Championship.
The latter three scored 9.850 or higher on floor exercise to begin the meet, placing UCLA in second with a 49.450 score. The Bruins would stay in second for the rest of the meet.
Top-seeded Louisiana State and No. 8 Michigan State advanced to nationals Saturday. Four spots are still up for grabs in Sunday's two regional finals.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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