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UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics
College women's gymnastics team representing the University of California, Los Angeles From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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, Jordan Chiles, and Emma Malabuyo.
The 2025 season saw 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]
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Highlights
- 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]
- 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. Kyla Ross scored three 10.0 scores during the season,[15] two on bars and the other on the last vault of her career;[16] this brought her career total to 22 perfect scores, tied 4th with Maggie Nichols in NCAA history.[17] On March 12, the NCAA cancelled the remainder of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States[18] The team finished the season ranked third, with an RQS of 197.565 after the tenth week of competition.[19]
- 2023: Received a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, along with Utah, Oregon State, and Cal.[20]
- 2024: Selena Harris was named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year,[21] 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.
- 2025: In its first season in the Big Ten Conference, UCLA won its first-ever Big Ten regular season title and conference championship title. UCLA Gymnastics became the first UCLA team ever to win both the regular season and conference championship titles in the Big Ten. [22][23]
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Championships
Super Six appearances
Four on the Floor appearances
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Coaches
Head coaches
| 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
Current roster
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| 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 | Texas Dreams Gymnastics |
| Chae Campbell | 5-7 | GR | Carrollton, TX | Metroplex Gymnastics |
| Jordan Chiles | 4-11 | JR | Vancouver, WA | World Champions Centre |
| 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 | Juanita |
| 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 | JR | San Marcos, CA | Coastal Gymnastics |
Recruits
The following gymnasts have committed to UCLA for the 2025–2026 academic year:
- Ava-Marie Callahan
- Jordis Eichman
- Nola Matthews – 2023 Pan American team and uneven bars champion
- Ashlee Sullivan – US national team member
- Tiana Sumanasekera – 2023 Pan American team, all-around, and balance beam champion; 2023 Pan American Games team champion
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NCAA Championships
UCLA has won 44 NCAA individual titles and seven team titles:
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Awards and honors
- Honda Award Winners
- Kyla Ross, 2020
- Christine Peng-Peng Lee, 2018
- Kristen Maloney, 2005
- Onnie Willis, 2003
- Mohini Bhardwaj, 2001
- Jill Andrews, 1990
- Sharon Shapiro, 1981
- AAI Award (National Senior of the Year)
- Vanessa Zamarripa, 2013
- Jamie Dantzscher, 2004
- Mohini Bhardwaj, 2001
- Donna Kemp, 1984
- Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year
- Selena Harris, 2024
- Kyla Ross, 2019 & 2020
- Vanessa Zamarripa, 2010 & 2013
- Tasha Schwikert, 2007
- Kate Richardson, 2006
- Kristen Maloney, 2005
- Jeanette Antolin, 2004
- Onnie Willis, 2003
- Jamie Dantzscher, 2002
- Mohini Bhardwaj, 2001
- Heidi Moneymaker, 2000
- Kiralee Hayashi, 1999
- Stella Umeh, 1998
- Leah Homma, 1995 & 1997
- Jill Andrews, 1988 & 1990
- Tanya Service, 1987 & 1989
- Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year
- Selena Harris, 2023
- Chae Campbell, 2021
- Kyla Ross, 2017
- Olivia Courtney, 2011
- Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, 2009
- Brittani McCullough, 2008
- Ariana Berlin, 2006
- Tasha Schwikert, 2005
- Kate Richardson, 2003
- Doni Thompson, 2000
- Pac-12 Specialist of the Year
- Katelyn Ohashi, 2018 & 2019
- Christine Peng-Peng Lee, 2017
- Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year
- Pauline Tratz, 2021
- Madison Kocian, 2020
- Christine Peng-Peng Lee, 2018
- National Coach of the Year
- Valorie Kondos Field, 2001, 2000, 1997, 1996, 1989
- Jerry Tomlinson, 1989
- National Asst. Coach of the Year
- Chris Waller, 2004
- Randy Lane, 2000
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UCLA Gymnastics at the Olympics
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UCLA has been represented at every Olympic Games since 1984, except 1988. UCLA gymnasts have medaled in each Games since 2000.
Olympians
Alternates and others
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Men's gymnastics team
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:
- 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)
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See also
References
External links
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