FILIPINO-AMERICAN gymnast Emma Malabuyo and the University of California-Los Angeles Bruins are in the US NCAA Division 1 national gymnastics’ finals.
The 22-year-old Malabuyo and her teammates made it after finishing in second place at the NCAA Regional Finals on Saturday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Bruins tallied 197.625, ending up two-tenths behind first-place Utah, which scored 197.825, while Denver landed third with a score of 197.350, and Minnesota settled for fourth with a 196.825.
UCLA was in second place at the end of each of the four rotations, keeping a grip on the Top 2 spot all throughout.
The Bruins earned a seat in the national finals after compiling 49.425 in the balance beam in the final rotation.
Denver was ahead after the first and second rotations with strong showings in the balance beam (49.550) and floor exercise (49.500).
“I would say that this team was built on trust. Everyone’s work ethic is so amazing,” said Malabuyo following a live-streamed post-game conference.
The Bruins started the meet in the floor exercise, totalling three scores of 9.900 or higher and finishing with a 49.450.
A strong opening routine came from sophomore Katelyn Rosen, who scored a 9.850. Freshman Mika Webster-Longin followed with a 9.900, and Malabuyo had a 9.850.
Malabuyo’s routine included a well-done double pike, a good switch ring to switch half to wolf full, before finishing with a skillful 1.5 to front lay.
“I was really excited about how this meet went. It’s one of the most nerve-wracking competitions that we got to go to, so today the team wanted to stay dialed-in and stay focused and intentional about everything we were doing,” said Bruins’ coach Janelle McDonald.
In rotation three, the Bruins were steady in the uneven bars, scoring 49.275, and they all scored 9.825 or higher, with Malabuyo hitting a 9.850.
In the fourth rotation, Malabuyo scored higher with 9.900 to give UCLA a final score of 197.625.
