LOS ANGELES — UCLA gymnast Chae Campell mouthed every word to Kendrick Lamar’s “They Not Like Us” as she readied for her floor exercise routine.
Every move on the mat was explosive — tumbling passes looking sharp and dance moves fluid. She left it all on the floor in her final performance at Pauley Pavilion, holding her teammates as tears flowed.
But the 9.825 score she received dampened the magic of the senior meet.
Janelle McDonald was visibly frustrated as she spoke with judges after the routine. The floor party delivered, and UCLA beat Stanford 197.765-197.100 on Sunday, but not without drama.
Jordan Chiles won the all-around with a 39.750 score and claimed first place in every event except for balance beam, in which she tied for second.
Balance beam proved to be one of the most steady events on the day for UCLA (13-2). Gymnasts and coaches linked arms as they watched the Bruins on balance beam, trying to manifest a score high enough to finally pull them ahead of Stanford by a comfortable distance.
UCLA fulfilled that wish, nailing six scores above 9.900 to pull ahead of Stanford (10-3) 148.150-147.600. Emily Lee tied a season-high with a leadoff 9.925 and Ciena Alipio and Emma Malabuyo each hit that same score to close out the final two scores.
UCLA had fallen behind after a 49.225 team score on vault but gained enough ground after the second rotation to lead 98.575-98.475. The vault score was the lowest since Feb. 14 when the Bruins recorded a 49.100.
Jordan Chiles served as the anchor in both vault and on uneven bars in the second rotation and hit a 9.95 in each event. The 9.95 on vault tied a career-high.
UCLA honored eight gymnasts in a senior meet celebration that took place after the meet: graduate students Campbell, Carissa Clay, Frida Esparza and Brooklyn Moors; seniors Mia Erdoes, Lee and Malabuyo and junior Clara Wren, who is graduating early.
Exhibition routines gave seniors a chance to shine, even though they haven’t been able to regularly break into lineups this season. Mia Erdoes drew applause on uneven bars and balance beam and Carissa Clay smiled the whole time on beam — even though a slight stumble.
UCLA has one more regular season meet at Utah on Saturday before the Big Ten Championships on March 22.
