UCLA stepped into the Pauley Pavilion all charged up for their Senior Day meet. Their mad energy showed on the mat. A 197.675 total, the Bruins were in blistering form throughout, too hungry to seal win after win and close in on that NCAA title. After 9 straight meets, scoring 197 or higher in all, there’s nothing that seems to be slowing them down now. But there’s one thing that could shatter this dream they are living. The new scoring system! However, the only Bruin who has escaped its clutches to score a perfect 10 twice this season, Jordan Chiles, has given her final verdict on it now!

The NCAA season 2025 started with gymnasts gloating in frustration. The same perfect 10s that were pouring down like confetti until now have become a rare sight. The way they plummeted, from a total of 87 in 2024, with 2 in the opening week to not a single one in the first week (for the first time since 2021) sounded alarm bells for the gymnastics fraternity. Livvy Dunny and others later opined on the judging standards, but the one who broke through the dry spell was 2x Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles. With that vantage point, of course, the opinion she gave today stands.

In the post-meet press conference on March 9, Jordan Chiles was questioned about her teammate Chae Campbell’s floor routine, which was followed by a very emotional moment at the senior’s last dance at home. It left everyone teary-eyed, but in terms of the scores, the near-perfect routine still got a 9.825, which did not match up. So how would the gymnasts learn from this going forward with the new scoring system? Well the 23-year-old had a perfect answer for it!

Chiles said, “Honestly I just tell all the girls, we can’t control the scores you know. There’s this new system that is happening and we’re all just going to put in our best effort to making everything right and everything you know tenth-worthy.” Clearly, to bag a 10, the gymnasts are having to turn over every rock this season. But as for Chae? Chiles believes, “Chae’s floor routine was remarkable! I think it was being able to understand that we can’t control the outcome we can only control what we’re internally doing and that’s what she did.”

Well, in the 2025, NCAA gymnastics season, they implemented a new judging evaluation system called the ‘SCORE board.’ This eight-person board was meant to address the inconsistencies in scoring, with judges now being evaluated on their accuracy and not just the gymnasts. This was expected to create a level playing field of scores across the country, but it ended up shrinking the number of perfect 10s one could bag.  But regardless of the scores, sometimes some performances are just loved by all!

As for Jordan Chiles, irrespective of the score, Chae’s routine in the meet against Stanford was a testament to putting everything out on the floor and having a ‘floor party of sorts.’ And that’s why the emotions. That’s why everyone came together to celebrate it.

But let us tell you, Jordan Chiles was no less of a stunner that day. Ahead of 12.918 fans, UCLA’s largest-ever crowd in the Pauley Pavilion, she bagged not 1, 2, or 3 but 4 individual titles.

Jordan Chiles wraps it up at home in style

The Senior night was naturally special for UCLA’s 8 graduating Bruins. Emotions were all over the place. But amidst that, it was Jordan Chiles who managed to steal the show, performance-wise. With a massive 39.750 all-around score, she welcomed a new season high for any gymnast in the Big Ten Conference. If you were to ask us, we feel she’s upping the ante with each passing meet.

And to top it all, 4 individual titles? First a 9.950 on the vault, where Chiles tied her season high. She followed through with another 9.950 on the uneven bars. Had it not been for that small adjustment on her landing, it was a near perfect score! When she switched over to the floor, she still bagged another 9.950, the highest score in the UCLA lineup. And finally, the all-around title with a 39. 750.

So yes, Jordan Chiles was the woman of the hour! And everyone resonated this emotion. The UCLA coach Janelle McDonald herself agreed, “Today was a really special day,” We have no qualms about that, for sure!