After UCLA gymnastics (33-4) ended its 2026 campaign in April with a national semifinal upset by Minnesota, the collegiate gymnastics world quickly turned its attention toward what 2027 could look like and how the Bruins will adjust to life without soon-to-graduate Jordan Chiles. Daily Bruin senior staffer Ella Dunderdale analyzes UCLA’s performances across each event last season and how the current talent could translate into success in a Chiles-less 2027 campaign.
Floor
Final Rank: No. 8
NQS: 49.425
Season High: 49.700
Season Low: 49.075
For the first three meets of 2026, it appeared the Bruins’ floor dominance was slipping, as the squad notched a trio of sub-49.200 marks.
But UCLA quickly flipped the script, building a 49.419 average that sat less than a tenth below LSU – the country’s No. 1 floor squad – making the Bruins’ No. 8 ranking not fully representative of what the team truly was: a floor powerhouse.
And much of that heavy lifting was owed to none other than Chiles. The senior notched a whopping six perfect 10s, won the NCAA and Big Ten titles on the event and finished as the No. 1 floor worker in the country with a 9.995 NQS. Her departure will leave enormous shoes to fill, and the Bruins will have to pull out all the stops to return to the caliber they have performed at over the last few years.
[Related: Beat Breakdown: Which Bruin will succeed Chiles as UCLA gymnastics’s floor anchor?]
But the squad does have a burgeoning crop of talent, headlined by freshmen Ashlee Sullivan and Tiana Sumanasekera.
Sullivan’s Britney Spears routine made a splash in 2026. The freshman worked her way from a pair of 9.775 opening marks to nine 9.900-plus scores in the final 11 weeks, including four career-high 9.950 tallies. With a year of experience under her belt, the Richardson, Texas, local will be vying for her first-ever perfect 10 in 2027 and will have an even greater chance to do so as the likely anchor.
Sumanasekera’s 9.905 NQS on the event also makes her a name to watch next season after bringing a dynamic routine inspired by her Sri Lankan heritage to Pauley Pavilion. She owns a matching 9.950 career-high alongside Sullivan and achieved seven 9.900-plus marks.
The freshmen duo will return with a year of experience in refining the ultra-clean technique necessary for NCAA gymnastics and will be primed to help fill the void left by Chiles.
But Chiles is not the only outgoing athlete in the floor lineup.
Ciena Alipio peaked during her senior season, serving as the Bruins’ floor leadoff for much of 2026 and a steady start to the rotation, even notching a career-high 9.950 mark Feb. 14.
Still, there will be plenty of Bruins vying for lineup spots. Sydney Barros made her floor debut and nabbed five 9.900 marks. However, the junior also showed flashes of inconsistency, recording three sub-9.800 tallies and stepping out of bounds after her tumbling passes multiple times.
Junior Katelyn Rosen and freshman Nola Matthews may also be in line for redemption on floor – an event both have long been known for because of their character-driven choreographies and performance qualities. Although the pair fell out of the lineup as the season progressed, both possess the skill to make an impact next season. Rosen, especially, earned a trio of 9.900-or-higher marks before an ankle flare-up kept her off the mat.
The squad has the potential, but it will depend on whether it can rise to the occasion and fill the shoes of a generational performer.
Vault
Final Rank: No. 4
NQS: 49.325
Season High: 49.475
Season Low: 48.975
Vault has long been a love-hate relationship for UCLA.
Although the squad ended the season with the apparatus tied as its highest-ranked event at No. 4, the nuances tell a much different story, especially after a season-low 48.975 put the nail in the coffin to end the team’s season at the NCAA semifinal.
The event has long come down to balancing lineup difficulty with consistency. After lacking enough 10.0 start values in 2025, the Bruins appeared to overcorrect in 2026, rolling out four Yurchenko 1.5s alongside Chiles’ Yurchenko double full. But when pressure peaked at the national semifinal, not all five 10.0-start-value vaults hit when the squad needed them most.
Once again, the absence of Chiles – the No. 3 vaulter in the country who achieved perfection Jan. 17 – leaves the Bruins searching for a 10.0-start-value vaulter who can deliver every time out.
Both Sullivan and sophomore Riley Jenkins bring Yurchenko 1.5s to the table that steadily improved throughout the back half of 2026. Jenkins earned a pair of 9.900s and a career-high 9.950 en route to claiming the Big Ten vault title, while Sullivan delivered a slightly more inconsistent campaign that peaked with a 9.975 on March 14.
Sumanasekera will be primed to lead off the event once again next season, competing a clean and reliable Yurchenko full that carried her to a 9.842 average.
The squad will also have returners Rosen and sophomore Mika Webster-Longin, who may have succumbed to the pressure of the national semifinal with a pair of mistakes, but have otherwise seldom faltered on the event and posted 9.900 and 9.950 career highs, respectively.
That crop of improving vaulters will also be supplemented by a vault-heavy incoming freshman class featuring two-time U.S. National Team member Zoey Molomo and Cami Tassone.
And with that, Bruin fans continue the age-old offseason tradition of hoping vault will finally click.
Beam
Final Rank: No. 4
NQS: 49.408
Season High: 49.625
Season Low: 49.125
The past two seasons saw senior beam anchors rise to the occasion in alumna Emma Malabuyo and Alipio, the latter of whom notched 11 consecutive 9.900-plus scores this season. And that seemed to translate to the rest of the lineup, which suffered just two falls throughout the year.
But in 2027, beam will lose its two steadiest routines with No. 4 Chiles and No. 5 Alipio graduating, leaving the back half of the lineup far more open heading into next season.
And signs point to Sumanasekera taking on a larger role next year. The freshman was the No. 17 beam worker in the country in 2026, posting a 9.920 NQS with clean lines and minimal wobbles.
At the other end of the lineup, Rosen’s consistency carried her to a 9.865 NQS that could be well suited to lead off, while Barros contributed a matching NQS without scoring below 9.825 all season.
Webster-Longin – with her flashy split handstand mount – earned a reliable lineup spot during the season’s final meets, consistently scoring in the 9.800 range and looking likely to grow stronger in 2027.
With an entire offseason to train, Matthews and freshman Jordis Eichman will both have opportunities to crack the lineup and refine their techniques, especially after Eichman proved she could come in the clutch at the regional final, scoring a 9.800.
All in all, beam may be the event where the Bruins have the most to prove, with a young crop of talent tasked with replacing the consistency Chiles and Alipio brought week after week.
Bars
Final Rank: No. 5
NQS: 49.398
Season High: 49.575
Season Low: 49.225
One of UCLA’s most underrated improvements in 2026 was the elevation of its bars lineup.
The squad boosted its team average by more than a tenth while also delivering its most consistent performances, never scoring below 49.225.
And despite the loss of Chiles – the No. 4 barworker in the country, who posted a 9.950 NQS on the event and earned the lineup’s lone perfect 10 on March 7 – the Bruins appear to have a full lineup ready to step in, with perhaps more depth on bars than any other event. Twelve of the Bruins’ 18 athletes exhibited bars at the team’s Meet the Bruins event in December, with 10 of them returning in 2027.
That depth starts with Sullivan, who earned a pair of event victories in 2026 alongside five 9.900-plus marks. Similar to vault and floor, the freshman competed in the back half of the lineup and has the promise to be an anchor in the future.
Barros and Matthews also delivered consistent 9.885 NQS marks alongside matching 9.950 career-highs, showcasing ceilings that could rise next season. UCLA will also return the Big Ten co-bars champion in Barros.
Sumanasekera and Webster-Longin provide additional depth to the lineup as well, posting 9.865 and 9.860 NQS marks, respectively.
For the Bruins, the cleanliness of the routines is already there – they just need to stick the landings.
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