LOS ANGELES — UCLA gymnastics reached a new height as a team Sunday afternoon in front of many people who had been part of Bruin history in their own way.
Jordan Chiles recorded her second perfect 10.0 of the season and the Bruins had their highest team score of the season as No. 5 UCLA beat Stanford 198.175-196.825 in its Title IX celebration and Alumni Meet.
“We look up to them,” Chiles said of the alumni present at Pauley Pavilion. “And so giving our best effort, our best performance to show they passed something down for a reason is something that hypes us up.”
The perfect score was Chiles’ first of the season in uneven bars and second overall after she reached 10.0 in floor exercise in early February. She also won the all-around with a 39.875, which ties her for the highest score in the country this season, by winning three out of four events.
Chae Campbell won vault with a 9.950. She hasn’t worked her way back into the all-around lineup just yet but is making strides after missing a meet earlier this season to cope with a death in her family.
“It was definitely a hard time to go through it,” Campbell said, “but it’s nice to be back in the gym and have something to look forward to and be able to take my mind off things.”
The Bruins neared a season-high score in vault thanks in part to Campbell’s score, and set a new season-high in bars. In addition to Chiles’ 10.0, four other gymnasts surpassed 9.900.
Coach Janelle McDonald said that gymnasts were instructed to be “detail queens” this week in practice as a way to improve scores little by little. Sunday’s 49.725 event score was a product of that — and Chiles’ routine in particular.
“She’s swingful,” McDonald said. “She really dials into the details. Her body lines, her form is excellent, and she has these internal body dynamics that are swingful. It looks like a kid playing on the playground a little bit when she’s swinging on bars.”
Floor exercise remains…
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