Freshman Mika Webster-Longin shines in UCLA gymnastics win over Penn State
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Mika Webster-Longin nudged assistant coach Mark Freeman as she prepared to watch her teammates compete on the beam. She needed to lock arms with her coach, to complete an “all for one, one for all” cheering section.
As Freeman locked arms with the freshman, more Bruins joined in. Webster-Longin was competing in three NCAA events for the first time, beam the only event she wasn’t lined up on Friday night. The Belgian national focused on what she could control at that moment — receiving energy from the gymnasts around her.
“We noticed that corralling people and having that built section where everybody can be supportive to the person up there is a great strategy,” Webster-Longin said, adding that the team wanted to focus on “including everybody” after early season meets.
That energy was reflected in her performances. Notching a career-high 9.900 on floor exercise and a career-best 9.85 in vault, Webster-Longin introduced herself to Pauley Pavilion in commanding fashion, powering No. 5 UCLA to a 197.675 to 195.450 victory over No. 25 Penn State.
“It felt amazing to be able to put my three events out there and do it for the team on our Pride meet — just celebrating love — which was really awesome,” Webster-Longin said. “That floor moment was so special.”
It’s been a long time coming for Webster-Longin, UCLA coach Janelle McDonald said. When McDonald was a club gymnastics coach at East Bay Gymnastics in Concord, Calif., she trained Webster-Longin, who even as a teenager exhibited “power and grace” in her performances.
McDonald said Webster-Longin has shown “tremendous growth” from when she coached her at the club level.
“Over the past two weeks, something’s clicked for [Webster-Longin] to be able to be really intentional, really confident, and really attack the gymnastics she’s doing,” McDonald said. “And so really for her to get the opportunities to compete today and go out and be as aggressive and confident as she was, it’s just made me so happy, because I’m just very, very proud of her.”
Jordan Chiles won the all-around, scoring 39.600 and using a team-high 9.95-floor routine to give UCLA a 49.550 score on the event to end the night. Penn State scored below 49 on every event, never threatening the Bruins.
Frida Esparza, who roused the crowd by playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on her electric guitar before the meet, drew cheers again with her performance on uneven bars.
With each handstand — Esparza extending vertically like an arrow — her teammates roared. Sophomore Sydney Barros pumped her fist on the graduate student’s final handstand, and McDonald jumped up and down as Esparza stuck her dismount.
Esparza recorded a career-best 9.975 on the apparatus, connected with Chiles — who scored the same — to cap the rotation and help the Bruins reach a season-high 49.575 score. Uneven bars have turned into a reliable event for UCLA in recent weeks, with the Bruins scoring above 49.3 in four of their last six meets.
Earlier in the season, McDonald said the Bruins were working on improving in the event. She noted Chae Campbell “finally” stuck her dismount Friday and that UCLA was on the right track.
“I started to see just like extreme efficiency [on uneven bars] and the turns they’re taking are just exactly how they want them to be, more consistently,” McDonald said. “I know they’re really excited, especially about landings and just overall being aggressive and attacking the routine that they perform. It was a good bar day.”
An inability to consistently stop USC star JuJu Watkins coupled with turnovers ultimately prove too much for UCLA women’s basketball to overcome in a 71-60 loss.
Balance beam, in which where the Bruins are ranked fourth in the nation, also went off without a hitch. With Webster-Longin taking her place on vault, senior Emily Lee tied her season high with a score of 9.925 in her only event. Brooklyn Moors and Campbell stuck their dismounts en route to 9.900 scores.
UCLA’s 49.450 on beam was still almost two-tenths away from its season high best — 49.625 in Seattle last week — but Friday night provided results on par with the best in the country.
The Bruins’ next meet is Feb. 23 when they face No. 16 Michigan on the road.
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