No. 9 UCLA gymnastics isn’t letting a dip in its floor exercise score hurt the overall confidence of the team.
“We are a floor team and we cannot let just an uncharacteristic competition dull our sparkle,” sixth-year Bruin Margzetta Frazier said. “We can never do that. We will always be the best floor team in the nation, period. And I will stand on that forever.”
UCLA is coming off its first Pac-12 loss of the season to Utah and its second-lowest floor exercise score of the season. A few minor adjustments and reminders in the event have the Bruins refocused ahead of Sunday’s 2 p.m. meet against No. 3 Cal at Pauley Pavilion.
The team is now ranked fourth in the nation on floor with an average event score of 49.517 after being the third-ranked team in the event prior to the loss against Utah. Kentucky has claimed the No. 3 spot with 49.518, meaning UCLA is on the cusp of reclaiming a top-three position.
Two Bruins stepped out of bounds in their routines, which contributed to a 49.275 score in the loss to the Red Rocks.
“We had a really good floor practice today,” UCLA coach Janelle McDonald told reporters Wednesday. “They were really intentional about the details and landings, which was a huge thing. We call them ‘natty landings,’ where it’s landings with no deduction that you want to be competing at the national championships.”
Chae Campbell and Emma Malabuyo, two key contributors on floor, missed the Utah meet. Malabuyo will be absent for the upcoming Cal meet due to elite gymnastics obligations and it’s unclear if Campbell will be back in the lineup.
McDonald chose to rest Campbell the last two meets in floor exercise, but she has competed on vault and uneven bars. She trained this week on floor and McDonald said she is feeling good.
“We’re kind of building it back up because it’s not an event you can just go out and be full routine ready after a couple weeks’ break,” McDonald said.
Frazier, who has yet to make her…
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