UCLA freshmen draw on their elite gymnastics roots to help Bruins
After injuring her foot during her beam routine during a quad meet on Feb. 27 against Maryland, Ohio State and Iowa, Katelyn Rosen was sidelined for the remainder of the competition. With the Big Ten title on the line, Bruins coach Janelle McDonald put her faith in one of the youngest athletes on her roster.
Freshman Nola Matthews was moved into the floor rotation to replace the injured gymnast.
Matthews took first place, but that didn’t bother her. She was ready to help UCLA win its second straight Big Ten title in the regular season.
“Nola had the opportunity to go out [and compete the weekend before] on the floor, so I think that really prepared her to feel ready for this,” McDonald said after the win.
UCLA freshman Ashlee Sullivan competes on vault during the Big Fours tournament at Pauley Pavilion on Feb. 27.
(Etienne Laurent/For the Times)
Throughout their undefeated season in the Big Ten, the Bruins’ freshmen have established themselves as the team’s cornerstone. Ashlee Sullivan and Tiana Sumanasekera each won three Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards.
Matthews has an average of 9.860 on bars and 9.750 on floor. Jordis Eichman made the most of his limited opportunities, averaging 9.805 on beam and 9.750 on vault.
“The freshmen contribute a lot for us,” McDonald said.
Before competing in the NCAA competitions, they had already competed on the elite stage, the highest level of competitive gymnastics which includes the Olympics.
When associate head coach BJ Das approached Matthews to tell her to be ready, the freshman stepped in without hesitation, a skill she has worked on in elite competition.
“He’s the type of athlete who has to work to learn certain skills and maintain them,” said Cleo Washington, who coached Matthews’ elite team, Airborne. “That’s what I like about her, she understands hard work, she understands difficulty and she’s not afraid of that.”
When Washington first met Matthews, she was self-deprecating. Rather than defining herself by her accomplishments, she focused on her mistakes.
As her gymnastics improved, so did her self-worth, which helped her become an athlete that UCLA can trust in big moments.
UCLA freshman Nola Matthews gains height on her dismount from the beam during a meet against Nebraska at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 17.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“[She’s] extremely hard-working, gained a lot of resilience from this sport, a lot of grit,” Washington said. “She’s one of the toughest athletes I’ve ever coached.”
Following Matthews on floor in the Bruins’ big quad meet was Sumanasekera, who posted a 9.875, adding to her fifth-place finish in the all-around.
Since the second week of the season, Sumanasekera has participated in all events. She finished second in the all-around behind teammate Jordan Chiles three times. Sumanasekera is the highest-ranked freshman nationally at 22nd, with a national qualifying score of 39.375.
In elite competition, Sumanasekera and Eichman were teammates. Their coach at the World Champions, Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, knew they would both experience immediate success at the college level from the moment she began coaching them.
“You can only be successful and healthy if you do everything you can in the gym and outside of the gym,” she said. “[They] have learned to manage their time, their recovery and their training.
Canqueteau-Landi misses coaching them, but she is delighted to see them succeed.
Feb. 27: UCLA gymnast Tiana Sumanasekera competes on the beam during the Big Fours competition held at Pauley Pavilion.
(Etienne Laurent/For the Times)
“They are always ready to do more and they also have a very good sense of humor. It’s always easier to work with athletes who want to laugh and who don’t take themselves too seriously,” she said.
Canqueteau-Landi is the head coach at the University of Georgia and there is a chance she will reunite with her former athletes at the national championships if both teams advance.
“You want student-athletes to succeed because we all know how hard it is to be one,” she said. “But when it comes to your former athlete, you want more for him.”
Sullivan followed Sumanasekera in the floor exercise, whose performance earned him a score of 9.900, his second highest score in the event.
Throughout the season, she regularly competed on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise, averaging over 9.850 in all three events. She competed in the all-around twice, scoring a season-high 39.325 against Stanford in March.
In their final meet of the regular season, Sullivan earned Event Specialist of the Week honors after winning the vault with a 9.975 and scoring two 9.900s in the Bruins’ win over Utah.
While training with coach Marnie Futch at Metroplex Gymnastics, Sullivan tested herself to see what she was capable of.
“I think she even surprised herself with how much she was able to accomplish last season in the elite world,” Futch added.
After clinching the Big Ten regular season title, UCLA will compete in the Big Ten Championship on Saturday, where the freshman class will showcase their skills for the first time at the college level in the postseason.
