ASU Gymnastics: Sun Devils take on embattled UCLA team

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

Arizona State Gymnastics, ranked No. 20 in the country, welcomes in No. 15 UCLA to Tempe on Sunday for a top-20 battle.

The Sun Devils come back home off a win against the University of Arizona, where the Sun Devils posted their best score of the season while also extending their winning streak over Arizona to seven.

On the other hand, UCLA comes into Tempe on a two-week losing streak, where they lost to No. 4 Utah and No. 18 Sanford, putting them in second-to-last place in the Pac-12 Conference with a conference record of 1-3.

UCLA has been at center stage this year despite their poor on-floor performance for reasons off it.

A group of UCLA gymnasts confronted freshman teammate Alexis Jeffrey about using racial slurs among other inappropriate words early in the season. After the issue was raised by teammates, Jeffrey denied the claims against her, which prompted members of UCLA’s team, including those who are Black, to confront the team’s coaches about Jeffrey’s presence on the roster.

Desperate for contact with their athletic department, UCLA seniors Norah Flatley and Margzetta Frazier reached out over Twitter to UCLA’s athletic director, and in late January, Frazier and senior Sekai Wright went on the podcast Small Doses with Amanda Sealed to talk about Jeffrey’s conduct and how it was hurting the team. Finally, before the Bruins’ meet in Minnesota on Jan. 17, it was announced that Jeffrey was transferring to LSU.

The scandal has seemed to send UCLA down a level. UCLA is currently ranked No. 14 and is struggling compared to prior performance, which includes a standard of being ranked in the top 10 nationally

The Bruins started the season ranked No. 8, but fell on the road in a meet against Minnesota and Iowa, scoring a 194.850. This season is the first time since 2011 that UCLA only has one win through their first five competitions of the year.

While the Bruins have struggled to get back into a competitive mindset, they still rank in the top 25 nationally in all events. They are No. 23 on vault, No. 17 on bars, No. 10 on beam and No. 22 on floor. The Bruins are led by Flatley, who, through five meets, holds a total all-around score of 185.925. Behind her is sophomore Chae Campbell with a score of 167.250, while freshman Emma Malabuyo sits in third with an overall score of 166.075. 2020 Olympics silver medalist and freshman Jordan Chiles ranks fourth on the team with a total overall score of 157.200.

UCLA has posted perfect scores of 10.000 this year on bars and floor, and both have come from Chiles, who posted one last week against Stanford.

To say that ASU has struggled against UCLA recently would be an understatement. The Sun Devils have not beaten the Bruins since 2001, when they won in an upset, beating the then-No. 1 ranked Bruins 196.350-196.000.

The most recent meeting between these two Pac-12 competitors saw the Sun Devils fall to the Bruins 196.250 to 195.950 in Los Angles last year. A sophomore at the time, Hannah Scharf won the all-around portion of the competition, scoring a 39.475, beating Frazier, who scored a 39.225.

The Sun Devils will look to rebound and carry the momentum off their most recent win against the Wildcats, where ASU posted their best season score of the year. The Sun Devils previously posted a 196.550 in their loss to No. 13 Oregon State, but topped it with a 196.600 this past week in their win against the Wildcats.

The Sun Devils will face against the Bruins on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. MST.