Her jitters came and went during her first meet of her college career. Now, it’s time for UCLA freshman Nola Matthews to focus on her training and routines.
“How I practice is the standard that I want,” Matthews said, “so now, I just need to implement that into competition.”
The UCLA women’s gymnastics team sent four freshmen (Matthews, Tiana Sumanasekera, Ashlee Sullivan and Jordis Eichman) to the floor during their meet against Washington, California and Oregon State on Saturday.
After earning three wins during the competition in Washington, the Bruins swept the Big Ten Conference weekly awards, including freshman of the week award for Sumanasekera after she placed second on the balance beam and the floor exercise.
“They have so much experience just through their time with being elite athletes and things like that,” coach Janelle McDonald said about her freshman class. “I think it really is going to bode well for them for their longevity and their NCAA career.”
The growth in their performances was on full display Saturday, McDonald said. When they arrived in Westwood, they were high school teenagers. But on the floor during their debut, they performed as young women in their space.
“I’m excited to see them continue to grow throughout the season and really on what they’re capable of doing out on the competition floor,” she said.
The win made the Bruins the No. 1 team in the country, a pressure they say they are not going to worry about. Instead, they’ll just concentrate on themselves.
“We’re only going to be focused on what we’re doing, staying in that bubble, staying together, staying as one team,” Matthews said.
Leadership
When they first hit the floor, McDonald noticed nerves from the freshmen. Their execution wasn’t perfect and they performed a bit too tight. Since it was their first meet, their coach expected it, but what impressed her the most was their adjustments.
“We’re going to have so many things throughout the year thrown at us and really being resilient through those moments and just really being able to turn the page and focus on what’s next is just so crucial to being a successful team,” McDonald said.
The grit they showed was supported by the leadership the newcomers got from Jordan Chiles and the rest of the returning members.
“I just thought Jordan did that phenomenally and our returners did as well,” McDonald said. “Those were the things that I took away that I was really excited about.”
“They’ve really taken all of us under their wing, and they’ve been there for us, especially when we’re having bad days,” Matthews added.
The noise of a No. 1 ranking
McDonald understands that the leadership skills her returning team members bring to competition is the key to the success of the Bruins this season. In order for UCLA to maintain its No. 1 ranking it needs to worry about what it can control and not the noise from outside.
“We’re really focusing on what we can do to continue to improve and get better in our gymnastics and our connection with each other and how we show up for each other as we head into this next meet,” she said. “You can’t always control your scores, you can’t always control your ranking, but you can always control how you show up in each moment and how you prepare for those opportunities.”
Their next meet will be against Oklahoma, Utah and Louisiana State on Saturday on national television. The lights will be bright, a target will be on their back as the best program in the country, but they will tune out the noise by focusing on their work.
“We all just have to keep our heads down, keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Matthews said. “We’ve been working so hard this preseason and I feel like we’re in a really good spot.”
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