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UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics

College women's gymnastics team representing the University of California, Los Angeles

UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics

College women's gymnastics team representing the University of California, Los Angeles

FieldValue
nameUCLA Bruins women's gymnastics
logoUCLA Bruins primary logo.svg
logo_size175
universityUniversity of California, Los Angeles
conferenceBig Ten
locationLos Angeles, California
arenaPauley Pavilion
nicknameBruins
founded
coachJanelle McDonald
tenure2nd
capacity13,800
national_champion7 (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2018)
NCAA Championships
knownasUCLA Bruins
fouronthefloor2 (2019, 2025)
supersix22 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
ncaa_regionals23 (1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Regional Champions
conference_champion22 (1981 [WCAA], 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2025)
Pac-12 Championships (1981-2023) & Big Ten Championships (2025-)

NCAA Championships Regional Champions Pac-12 Championships (1981-2023) & Big Ten Championships (2025-)

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.

The Bruins are known for recruiting top elite gymnasts from North America and beyond, including Austria, Germany, Guatemala, and Ireland. 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. 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.

Highlights

  • 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004: Won national championship.
  • 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. 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.
The UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team in 2010
  • 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. 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. Freshman Madison Kocian also scored a perfect 10.0 on February 11.
  • 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. On February 23, senior Grace Glenn scored the first leadoff 10.0 on the balance beam in NCAA history; 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, two on bars and the other on the last vault of her career; this brought her career total to 22 perfect scores, tied 4th with Maggie Nichols in NCAA history. On March 12, the NCAA cancelled the remainder of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The team finished the season ranked third, with an RQS of 197.565 after the tenth week of competition.
  • 2023: Received a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, along with Utah, Oregon State, and Cal.
  • 2024: Selena Harris was named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, 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. {{Cite web|title=UCLA Captures First-Ever Big Ten Regular Season Title

Championships

Super Six appearances

YearFinishScore
19934th194.925
19945th194.975
19953rd196.150
19962nd197.475
19971st197.150
19985th195.750
19995th195.850
20001st197.300
20011st197.575
20023rd197.150
20031st197.825
20041st198.125
20054th197.150
20074th196.925
20101st197.725
20112nd197.375
20123rd197.750
20134th197.100
20146th197.050
20165th196.8250
20174th197.2625
20181st198.075

Four on the Floor appearances

YearFinishScore
20193rd197.5375
20252nd197.6125

Coaches

Head coaches

Janelle McDonald2023–present

:* record includes invitationals and conference championships as of 2021.

Coaches for the current season

NamePosition
Janelle McDonaldHead Coach
BJ DasAssistant Coach
Lacy DagenAssistant Coach
Mark FreemanAssistant Coach
Emma MalabuyoGraduate Student Assistant Coach

Current roster

Mika Webster-Longin4-11SORichmond, CAEast Bay Gymnastics

NCAA Championships

Banners noting UCLA's NCAA national championships.

UCLA has won 44 NCAA individual titles and seven team titles:

EventWinner/Year
Team (7)UCLA 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2018
All Around (5)Onnie Willis 2001
Jamie Dantzscher 2002
Tasha Schwikert 2005, 2008
Sam Peszek 2015
Vault (7)Jill Andrews 1988
Kim Hamilton 1989
Heidi Moneymaker 1999
Jamie Dantzscher 2002
Kristen Maloney 2005
Vanessa Zamarripa 2010
Kyla Ross 2019
Uneven Bars (9)Heidi Moneymaker 1998
Mohini Bhardwaj 2000
Yvonne Tousek 2001
Jamie Dantzscher 2003
Kate Richardson 2003
Tasha Schwikert 2008
Kyla Ross 2017
Jordan Chiles 2023, 2025
Balance Beam (10)Jill Andrews 1989
Kiralee Hayashi 1999
Lena Degteva 2000
Kate Richardson 2003
Kristen Maloney 2005
Sam Peszek 2011, 2015
Danusia Francis 2016
Kyla Ross 2017
Peng Peng Lee 2018
Floor Exercise (13)Kim Hamilton 1987, 1988, 1989
Stella Umeh 1995, 1998
Mohini Bhardwaj 2001
Jamie Dantzscher 2002
Kate Richardson 2006
Brittani McCullough 2010
Katelyn Ohashi 2018
Kyla Ross 2019
Jordan Chiles 2023
Brooklyn Moors 2025

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

UCLA Gymnastics at the Olympics

UCLA has been represented at every Olympic Games since 1984, except 1988. UCLA gymnasts have medaled in each Games since 2000.

Olympians

YearCountryNameMedal(s)
1984CANGigi Zosa
1992GUALuisa Portocarrero
CANStella Umeh
1996CANYvonne Tousek
2000CANYvonne Tousek
Michelle Conway
Kate Richardson
USAJamie Dantzscher[[File:Bronze medal olympic.svg16px]] team
Kristen Maloney[[File:Bronze medal olympic.svg16px]] team
Tasha Schwikert[[File:Bronze medal olympic.svg16px]] team
2004CANKate Richardson
USAMohini Bhardwaj[[File:Silver medal olympic.svg16px]] team
2008CANElyse Hopfner-Hibbs
USASamantha Peszek[[File:Silver medal olympic.svg16px]] team
2012GBRJennifer Pinches
USAKyla Ross[[File:Gold medal olympic.svg16px]] team
2016USAMadison Kocian[[File:Gold medal olympic.svg16px]] team
[[File:Silver medal olympic.svg16px]] uneven bars
2020CANBrooklyn Moors
JAMDanusia Francis
USAJordan Chiles[[File:Silver medal olympic.svg16px]] team
2024PHIEmma Malabuyo
USAJordan Chiles[[File:Gold medal olympic.svg16px]] team

Alternates and others

YearCountryNameRole
1988USARhonda FaehnAlternate
2000GBRHolly MurdockAlternate
USAAlyssa BeckermanAlternate
2004CANMarci BernholtzAlternate
USATasha SchwikertAlternate
2012CANPeng-Peng LeeHonorary captain
GBRDanusia FrancisAlternate
USAAnna LiAlternate
2016GERPauline TratzAlternate
2020USAEmma MalabuyoAlternate

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.

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)

References

References

  1. "2015 UCLA Gymnastics media guide".
  2. "UCLA takes to Canadian talent".
  3. "UCLA gymnastics to salute Pac-12 with final conference championship".
  4. (2023-05-02). "Historically successful UCLA gymnastics faces challenges in move to Big Ten".
  5. "1997 NCAA Championship".
  6. "NC Women's Gymnastics Championship History {{!}} NCAA.com".
  7. "UCLA Wins Pac-10 Gymnastics Championship".
  8. "2009 National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships".
  9. [http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-gym/recaps/041110aab.html UCLA Gymnastics Wins Los Angeles Regional To Qualify For NCAA Championships] {{webarchive. link. (2012-03-23 , ''UCLABruins.com'', April 10, 2010)
  10. "2017: Kyla Ross - UCLA".
  11. "2017: Madison Kocian - UCLA".
  12. Gymnastics, UCLA. (2020-01-31). "FINALLY! @gracekramer98 scores her first career perfect on floor!".
  13. (2020-02-24). "Grace Glenn makes NCAA gymnastics history for UCLA in loss to Utah".
  14. "2020: Kyla Ross - UCLA".
  15. (2020-03-09). "Kyla Ross scores first 10 on vault this season to lead UCLA past Cal".
  16. balancebeamsituation. (2019-12-03). "Most 10.0s in NCAA".
  17. NCAA.com. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns {{!}} NCAA.com".
  18. "Standings".
  19. "UCLA Earns 198.275 in Senior Day Victory, Captures Share of Pac-12 Title".
  20. "2024 Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics All-Conference honors and Annual Awards, presented by Gatorade".
  21. (28 June 2022). "UCLA gymnastics brings on new assistant coaches to complete coaching staff".
  22. "Gymnastics Roster".
  23. "Three Teams Go in UCLA Cutback".
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