Leading the competition from the very beginning, the UCLA scored a 197.725 to claim its sixth NCAA gymnastics championship title and UCLA’s 105th NCAA championship. The Bruins won three of four events to comfortably win the title, defeating second-place finisher Oklahoma by nearly half a point.
Alabama scored a 197.225 to finish third, followed by Stanford, Florida and Utah.
The team began the meet strongly, with freshman Monique de La Torre scoring a career-high of 9.85 on vault to start the rotation. Redshirt junior Brittani McCullough earned a career-high and competition best 9.950 to lead the Bruins to a solid team total of 49.475.
After a bye during the second rotation, UCLA maintained its lead with a 49.325 on uneven bars. After earning perfect 10s on uneven bars in her last two meets, senior Anna Li continued her dominance on the apparatus, scoring a solid 9.9 to match teammate Vanessa Zamarripa’s score.
All six Bruins scored at least 9.8 on the balance beam to pull away from the rest of the competitors. UCLA showed no sign of uncertainty on the apparatus, which has been the team’s biggest sign of inconsistency all year. Sophomores Zamarripa and Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs both scored 9.9 to boost UCLA’s team total to 148.175 after three events.
Needing a 49.1 to pass Oklahoma and clinch the national title, the Bruins delivered their best rotation of the night on floor. UCLA had four scores of 9.9 or higher en route to a season high 49.55 on floor exercise.
The Bruins had 11 scores above 9.9 in their first national championship since 2004. Zamarripa and Li were first and second in the individual all-around, with Zamarripa scoring a 39.625 followed by Li’s 39.575. Hopfner-Hibbs placed sixth in the all-around after earning a career-high tying 9.950 on floor.