The former Olympic medalist posted four scores of 9.950 or higher, winning every event and powering the Bruins to a dual-meet win.
Jordan Chiles may not have earned a perfect 10 on Sunday, but she wasn’t far off from a perfect day.
Thanks to their star sophomore’s dominant all-around victory, No. 5 UCLA gymnastics dismantled Arizona in a 197.900-195.325 win at the McKale Center. Chiles put up four scores of 9.950 en route to a 39.850 overall score, setting a new career high and winning all four events in the process.
Of course, the Bruins wouldn’t have been able to post their second-highest team score of the season without some support around Chiles, and that’s exactly what they got.
Junior Chae Campbell and senior Kalyany Steele led off on bars with back-to-back 9.800s, then sophomore Ana Padurariu stepped up with a 9.900. Freshman Selena Harris added a 9.850, setting the stage for Chiles’ 9.975.
UCLA already led 49.325-48.900, and they would only build on that advantage when they got their turn on vault.
Sophomore Emily Lee opened up the second rotation with a 9.875, before freshman Maddie Anyim posted a 9.800. Campbell followed up sophomore Emma Malabuyo’s 9.825 with a 9.925, and Chiles anchored with her second 9.975.
All five of the Bruins’ scores on floor earned at least 9.900, starting with Lee’s own 9.900. Malabuyo one-upped her by scoring 9.925, only for Chiles to stick a 9.950. After Campbell and redshirt senior Margzetta Frazier added a pair of 9.900s, UCLA led 148.300-146.450 through three rotations.
Freshman Ciena Alipio got the Bruins a 9.875, and then they closed with four more routines that went 9.900 or higher. Padarariu set a new career-high with a 9.950, tying her with Chiles for the top score on the event. Harris added a 9.900, and Malabuyo wrapped the day up with a 9.925.
UCLA tied its previous season high on vault and came up 0.025 shy of setting a new season-high on beam. Otherwise, the blue and gold used a balanced, steady showing – plus an elite performance from Chiles – to lock up one of their best meets of the year.
The Bruins are now without a loss in their last three dual-meets, winning two and tying one.
UCLA will now return to Westwood and stay there for the remainder of the regular season. Stanford is up next on the schedule for the Bruins, with that meet scheduled to get going at 12 p.m. on March 5.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF UCLA ATHLETICS
