The UCLA gymnastics team’s quest for its eighth national championship starts Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.
Led by All-American and former Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles, the fourth-seeded Bruins will compete in the evening semifinal against top seed Oklahoma, No. 9 Arkansas and No. 13 Minnesota starting at 6 p.m. PT inside Dickies Arena.
The earlier semifinal features No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Georgia and No. 7 Stanford at 1:30 p.m. PT.
The top two teams from each session will advance to Saturday’s final at 1 p.m. PT.
All teams will have to go through Oklahoma, which has won seven of the past 11 NCAA titles. Last year, the Bruins (197.6125) finished second to the Sooners (198.0125), who captured their third crown in the past four years.
The Sooners advanced out of their NCAA Lexington Regional with a 198.350, followed by Arkansas’ 197.450.
Six Bruins are back for the NCAA Championships – Chiles, Ciena Alipio, Riley Jenkins, Macy McGowan, Katelyn Rosen and Mika Webster-Longin.
The Bruins and Sooners are tied for the third-most national championships in NCAA history, trailing only Georgia (10) and Utah (9).
UCLA went 1-2 at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad on Jan. 10. Its 197.000 wasn’t enough against Oklahoma (197.500) or LSU (197.500), but did eclipse Utah (195.900). Since then, the Bruins have finished atop 18 consecutive meets.
During that run, the Bruins have bettered Minnesota, coached by former UCLA assistant Jordyn Wieber with Bruins legend Kyla Ross as an assistant, four times: head to head, the Big Ten Championships and during two rounds at the NCAA Regionals.
Coached by Janelle McDonald, UCLA survived a harrowing Regional final on April 5 in Corvallis, Oregon. It was tied with Minnesota for second place going into the final rotation, with Utah leading by a tenth of a point.
The Bruins received five scores of 9.90 or better on the floor exercise, with Chiles, needing a 9.9250 to secure the victory, posting her eighth perfect 10 of the season for a team total of 49.625. UCLA finished with a 197.725, ahead of Minnesota’s 197.625. Utah came up short with 197.500.
Six of Chiles’ perfect 10s have come on floor, with one each on uneven bars and vault.
The all-around and individual champions will be determined during the semifinals. Chiles has won twice on uneven bars and once on floor. Three other NCAA individual champions will be competing Thursday: LSU’s Kailin Chio (vault in 2025), Stanford’s Anna Roberts (vault in 2024) and Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez (balance beam in 2024).
The Bruins will start Thursday’s meet on the uneven bars, followed by beam, floor and vault.
NCAA GYMNASTICS SEMIFINALS
Who: No. 4 seed UCLA vs. No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 9 Arkansas and No. 13 Minnesota
When: Thursday, 6 p.m. PT
Where: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
How to watch: ESPN2
