Artistic Gymnastics - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 4 - Source: Getty

WATCH: Jordan Chiles & UCLA teammates break down in tears after booking spot in NCAA Gymnastics Championships Finals

Modified Apr 18, 2025 11:42 GMT

Jordan Chiles, Emma Malabuyo, Chae Campbell and other UCLA teammates broke down in tears after the team booked their spot in the finals of the 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships. Competing in the NCAA semi-finals, UCLA (197.7375) pulled a massive upset as they edged out no.1 seed LSU (197.525) to secure their place alongside Utah Red Rocks (197.7625) who topped the semi-final.

Just like the LSU Tigers, the Florida Gators (197.200), seeded No. 3, fell short in the semifinals, allowing No. 7 Missouri (197.300) to advance to the finals. With this, UCLA, Utah, Oklahoma, and Missouri are the four teams just one step away from winning the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, scheduled for April 19 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

After going all out in the semifinals, Jordan Chiles’ UCLA team broke down in tears upon learning they had secured their place in the championship meet. Take a look at the UCLA gymnasts getting emotional here, shared by the team’s official account on X (formerly Twitter) here -

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They also captioned the post, writing:

“Happy tears. 🥹 #GoBruins”

Additionally, the multiple-time Olympic medalist Chiles collected the NCAA individual uneven bars title with a score of 9.9750. Meanwhile, her teammate Brooklyn Moors claimed the floor exercise title.

Jordan Chiles reflects on record crowd coming to support UCLA gymnastics on senior night

Jordan Chiles at 2025 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships - Source: Getty

Jordan Chiles opened up about UCLA Bruins fans showing up in huge numbers to support the team on senior night at Pauley Pavilion on March 9, 2025. A record-breaking crowd of 12,918 fans turned out to cheer the athletes on the night when CLA was paying tribute to the team's senior members.

On being asked about her X (formerly Twitter) post encouraging people to attend the meet, during her appearance on The Trophy Room with Candace Parker podcast, Chiles said (34:00 onwards):

“The reason why I wanted people to come and show out, is because not only is this entertainment, but it's something that I want the world to see as in, college, it's the same gymnastics you would see in Team USA, it's the same gymnastics you would see at a US Championship.”

“So I think it's really cool to know that I was able to get all those people there to see that we still have fun, it's still us flipping and we're doing all these crazy things. So why not enjoy it? We get to represent UCLA, one of the number one schools in the nation. Like, it's UCLA, so why not come and have fun?”

She further mentioned how she wanted the seniors to feel special on senior night, performing in front of a huge crowd.

About the author

Abhiruchi is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda, specializing in Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, and Wrestling among other sports. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has over 2 years of prior experience in the sports journalism sector.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are Abhiruchi’s favorite Olympians. She began following them in 2018, and seeing their transformation from initially not wanting to play together to becoming the world's top-ranked men's doubles pair inspires her.

Track & Field excites Abhiruchi the most because of the diverse range of events involved in it. Neeraj Chopra's historic performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stands as her favorite Olympic moment as it was India’s first gold in track and field events. She feels that focus should be placed on up-and-coming athletes to increase the coverage of Olympic sports during the off-season.

Abhiruchi applies journalistic principles learnt while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree by prioritizing first-hand information, cross-checking via multiple reliable sources, and fact-checking for accuracy. She follows reputed sources and numerous established athletes on social media platforms to remain updated.

When not reporting, Abhiruchi enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

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