Jordan Chiles danced with the crowd before cheering for Brooklyn Moors as she completed her floor routine. The UCLA crowd wanted, pleaded for a perfect 10.
They got a 9.975.
Chiles did the same as Chae Campbell‘s interactive floor routine kept the crowd engaged as Pauley Pavilion roared, begging for perfection.
They got a 9.975 — again.
It was like the judges were teasing the junior Bruin, the only one to take off numerous seasons in hopes of Olympic dreams — securing medals in Tokyo and Paris.
It was her to shine in front of a capacity crowd — so crammed that UCLA removed a curtain behind the uneven bars to accommodate scores of fans — and a nationally televised audience on Fox. It was Chiles’ time for her floor party.
“Bruins, get on your feet. It’s Jordan Chiles.”
It was no surprise that she would break the streak of 9.975s. It was no surprise that Chiles rose to the moment, just as she did many times before as a Bruin and an Olympian. Chiles earned perfection for the second time this season, for the 10th time in her career and for the fifth time on floor. Down seven-tenths to the Spartans heading into the final rotation, Chiles’ perfect 10 provided No. 6 UCLA with its best routine in a nation-high 49.800 overall floor score en route to a 197.300 to 197.200 victory over No. 5 Michigan State.
When the perfect score was revealed, Chiles could not help but smile and pose as her teammates celebrated, surrounding her as they leaped up and down.
Chiles — who competed the all-around for the second time this season — provided the Bruins their fourth consecutive 197-plus score and second Big Ten victory.
The teams could not have been closer on paper. Each squad featured two of the top four all-around gymnasts in the Big Ten, and each has a gymnast ranked in the top three of an event.
But Chiles made the difference despite errors in other events. UCLA struggled on balance beam, avoiding counting a fall, but recording a season-low 49-flat on the apparatus. Chiles even fell on bars, with the Bruins scoring just a 49.150 on the event.
Chiles led the Bruins with a 9.925 on vault, but it was Riley Jenkins who made a name for herself on the event Saturday. The freshman made her debut on the apparatus, nearly sticking her Yurchenko 1.5 vault for a 9.850.
She leaped toward assistant coach Mark Freeman in celebration, where Chiles met her teammate to celebrate with her. Jenkins helped UCLA record a season-high 49.350 on vault to end the first rotation — the only time the Bruins led until Chiles ended the meet with perfection.
UCLA next faces Washington in Seattle on Friday before hosting Penn State on Feb. 14.
