This post was updated Feb. 11 at 1:56 p.m.
After a runner-up finish at the 2025 national championship, No. 4 UCLA gymnastics is back – and has its sights set on taking home the gold. The squad has already achieved success thus far, surpassing the 198.000 mark and achieving top-10 rankings on all four events. Members of the Daily Bruin gymnastics beat analyze the areas that may elevate the squad as the postseason approaches.
Four event threat
Ella Dunderdale, Assistant Sports editor
Building strength across all four events can be the recipe for success in the postseason.
And the Bruins have done just that, fielding a squad – ranked in the top 10 across all four apparatuses – that has hit or surpassed the 197.000 mark five weeks in a row, including a season-high 198.150.
Uneven bars stands as the team’s top event, where they rank third nationally, backed by a season-high score of 49.550 on Jan. 30. Senior Jordan Chiles and freshman Ashlee Sullivan headline the event with four and two individual wins, respectively, while the supporting cast has each recorded season-high scores of at least 9.850.
The Bruins’ No. 4 rank and average of 49.417 on beam solidifies them as a certified “beam team.” Ciena Alipio leads the bunch, as the senior has yet to score below 9.925 on the apparatus, while Chiles and freshman Tiana Sumanasekera boast season-high 9.975 and 9.950 marks, respectively.
UCLA owns a 49.300 average on vault – good for No. 5 in the nation. Every gymnast who has competed more than once holds an average of at least 9.810, and four 10.0 start-value routines have elevated the lineup’s scoring ceiling.
Although floor is the squad’s lowest-ranked event at No. 8, recent weeks have shown improvement, highlighted by a 49.700 on Jan. 30 – the nation’s second-highest mark. A trio of perfect 10s from Chiles and two 9.950 scores from Sullivan have helped elevate the event.
Elite freshmen
Kate Bergfeld, Daily Bruin contributor
The newest Bruins are making their mark on the collegiate gymnastics scene.
Freshmen Tiana Sumanasekera, Ashlee Sullivan, Nola Matthews and Jordis Eichman have each had their debut appearances for UCLA, earning consistent lineup and exhibition spots.
Sumanasekera competes all-around, averaging a 39.375. She has notched career-highs of 9.900 or above in every event. She brings years of elite experience to UCLA as a five-time U.S. National Team member and a 2024 Olympic alternate.
Competing consistently on vault, bars and floor, Sullivan has notched career-high 9.950s on floor in each of the last two weeks. She is a four-time U.S. National Team member, winning the 2025 Arthur Gander Memorial and securing the all-around victory at the 2025 Winter Cup.
Matthews, a five-time U.S. National Team member, has earned USA Gymnastics Sportsperson of the Year honors for the last three elite seasons and took home gold on floor at the 2025 Winter Cup. She has competed on bars, beam and floor with the Bruins, notching a career-high of 9.875 on bars. Eichman rounds out the group, having appeared in the beam and vault lineups with UCLA, and finished eighth on bars at the 2025 U.S. Championship.
The freshman group has already begun to showcase its talent, and with continued collegiate experience, they represent a promising future for UCLA gymnastics in the postseason and beyond.
All-around talent
Hannah Westerhold, Daily Bruin contributor
Coach Janelle McDonald has said the individual all-around is not a priority when crafting lineups.
Athletes must bring their best to each and every lineup spot, limiting room for four-event competitors.
But Jordan Chiles has competed all-around in all six meets this season, landing five all-around titles. The senior has led the nation in the individual all-around since week one and holds an average nearly two tenths higher than second-place Joscelyn Roberson of Arkansas.
On Jan. 25 and Jan. 30, Chiles posted back-to-back 39.875s – the nation’s highest all-around mark in 2026.
Chiles has a history of all-around experience. The Houston local has competed all-around in 42 meets – 85.7% of her meets as a Bruin.
Chiles recorded a career-high 39.900 in 2023, which ties for the eighth-highest all-around score in NCAA gymnastics history. Mohini Bhardwaj is the only Bruin to exceed the mark, posting a 39.975 in 2001.
And Chiles is capable of such a mark – combining the senior’s career-high scores from each event into one competition would match Bhardwaj’s record. Chiles has achieved perfection on every event, excluding beam, where she earned a 9.975 as recently as Jan. 17.
Junior Katelyn Rosen and freshmen Tiana Sumanasekera and Ashlee Sullivan have also competed in the all-around in 2026. Sumanasekera holds the No. 14 national ranking and has competed in all four events since week two.
While McDonald’s lineups are not centered on the all-around, Chiles has built a legacy within it and is capable of making more NCAA history this season.
The breakouts
Finn Karish, Daily Bruin reporter
Senior Ciena Alipio and junior Sydney Barros have emerged as multi-apparatus competitors this year.
Alipio competed as a beam specialist in her first three years with the Bruins, and that remains her highest-scoring event. The senior has settled into the anchor position and continued to improve, averaging a team-best 9.942 – more than a one-tenth jump from her 2025 average of 9.835 and an increase from alumnus Emma Malabuyo’s team-best 9.911 average last season.
Alipio has also joined the floor lineup, scoring 9.850 or higher in three consecutive meets across five appearances. She has also competed in the bars lineup three meets in a row, posting a career-high 9.950 against Washington on Jan. 30.
After recording just one non-exhibition routine before 2026, Barros has competed eight routines in the last three meets, notching a 9.900 or higher five times. The junior thrives under pressure, matching or exceeding each of her 2026 exhibition scores every time that she has made the lineup this season.
With so much young talent joining the Bruin squad this season, a breakout season from a pair of veterans has only deepened UCLA’s talent pool.
Deep roster
Alexandra Crosnoe, Daily Bruin senior staff
The Bruins have had no shortage of talent this season.
They proved that Jan. 25, when the flu sidelined two regular contributors in freshman Nola Matthews and sophomore Mika Webster-Longin.
UCLA didn’t only come out on top against Michigan State – it set a then-season-high 197.425, with multiple athletes stepping up to the task.
Freshman Ashlee Sullivan participated in the all-around, competing on beam for the first time in the NCAA and earning a 39.200 all-around mark. Junior Sydney Barros earned a pair of career-high 9.900s on bars and in her debut in the collegiate floor lineup.
Beam specialist and senior Ciena Alipio proved her versatility, logging a 9.875 in her collegiate bars debut. And freshman Jordis Eichman – in her first-ever NCAA routine – notched a 9.825 on beam.
Senior Madisyn Anyimi has also expanded her repertoire this season, proving herself as a consistent performer across events. The former walk-on earned a career-best 9.900 on vault and 9.875 on floor and bars exhibition routines in recent weeks.
And with Bruins fighting for lineup spots, they broke the 198.000 mark during their meet against Washington – their first time doing so in January since 2003.
The Bruins have a solid group of reserve athletes who have proven they step up when issues that can make or break a season – like injury or illness – arise.
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