There are multiple “grandmas” on the UCLA gymnastics team. They’re the fifth- and sixth-year seniors who are called so because they have seemingly been through it all in gymnastics.
Nya Reed is one of them. She’s assumed a role in the matriarchy, even though it’s her first year with the Bruins as a graduate transfer from Florida. She’s helping No. 8 UCLA rise not just with her leadership, but also with her scores.
The Bruins, with Reed’s help, have the chance to continue to rise with a meet at No. 18 Oregon State on Friday.
“I am being that person that I wish I would have had in my undergrad experience,” Reed said. “I’m just trying to be the best person that I possibly can be and just be there for them. It’s been very, very exciting to be able to come to a new team and kind of just step up and do what really needs to be done.”
UCLA struggled on vault last season and was seeking ways to boost its scores when Reed reached out to the Bruins in an offseason email.
She had stepped away from gymnastics for a year for an undisclosed reason while continuing to pursue an undergrad degree in Applied Physiology & Kinesiology but earned All-America first-team honors in floor exercise and second-team recognition in vault in her senior year.
“Knowing her success that she had had on vault and floor in particular,” coach Janelle McDonald said. “I thought she was someone that could really be the puzzle piece of what we were putting together.”
After calls with McDonald and BJ Das, the Bruins’ floor choreographer, and an official visit to UCLA, bringing Reed to Westwood was a unanimous decision.
It paid off in UCLA’s win over Arizona on Feb. 4. Reed tied for first on floor with a 9.95. She also scored a season-high 9.950 on vault with her Yurchenko one and a half, which has a 10.0 start value, to win the event.
Her efforts earned her Pac-12 Specialist of the Week honors and helped the Bruins surpass a 198 team score for the first time…
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