By Derrick Ow — Reporter
Expect your Twitter feeds to explode with trending gymnastics videos today.
The San Jose State gymnastics team (2-1) heads down to Los Angeles for a meet with No. 14 ranked UCLA Bruins (5-2, 4-2 PAC-12). This Bruins team has alumni such as Katelyn Ohashi, Kyla Ross and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Madison Kocian.
The last Spartan meet
SJSU beat Stanford 194.375-192.550 last weekend in their only home meet of its shortened 2021 season.
But the Spartans put in a team effort at Provident Credit Union Event Center last weekend to get the victory
Sophomore Emma Milne was flying on the uneven bars scoring a season best 9.825.
Junior Tia Gin got injured during the warmups and did not participate in the meet. It is still unclear if she will be competing at Pauley Pavilion.
Sophomore Cameron Kelperis helped the Spartans win the floor portion of the meet with a career high 9.825 score.
Jada Mazury put a dazzling performance on the beam, with the sophomore scoring a 9.875.
It will be another team effort if the Spartans want to pull off the upset in Westwood.
A look into the Bruins
This team is still loaded with talent despite their 196.925-198.050 loss to Cal last Saturday. Chae Campbell won her third PAC-12 Freshman of the Week honor this season, a big part of why the Bruins are going for their third straight conference title.
Campbell won the all-around title last week against the Golden Bears and her fourth career vault title. She had a career high all around score of 39.625 in Berkeley.
The Bruins had season high scores on the beam (49.375) and floor exercise (49.450) in their loss. Senior Pauline Tratz tied her career high on the floor exercise with a 9.950 to get her first event win of the campaign.
However, their social media following has set the standard for college gymnastics. Earlier this season, senior Nia Dennis set the world on fire with a floor exercise routine celebrating black culture.
Her video had more than 12 million views and was liked on Twitter by former First Lady Michelle Obama and singer Janet Jackson.
Speaking of Janet, her influence was felt on junior Margzetta Frazier when she delivered a sensational floor routine in a meet against Utah on Feb. 19. Jackson facetimed Frazier shortly after her performance went viral
Homecoming for Mercedes Sanchez
It will be an emotional homecoming for Spartan gymnast Mercedes Sanchez who was a part of UCLA’s squad for the past four seasons.
Sanchez grew up in West Hills, Calif., half an hour away from the UCLA campus. She left her mark as a Bruin, winning a National Championship in 2018 and back to back conference titles.
She got her bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCLA and is targeting her master’s degree in kinesiology from SJSU.
Sanchez has competed in all three of the Spartans meets this year. She has competed on the balance beam this season with a high score of 9.775.
The meet starts at 2 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.
Follow Derrick on Twitter @derrickq42
