UCLA Gymnastics' Jordan Chiles Wins Pac-12 Freshman of the Week After All-Around Win

The Olympic medalist went viral for her perfect 10 floor routine, securing the all-around win against Utah in the process.

(Jared Tay/All Bruins)

The latest viral performance out of a Bruin gymnast has earned over one million views, as well as one of the top honors in the conference.

The Pac-12 released its weekly awards Tuesday, and No. 16 UCLA gymnastics' (1-1) Jordan Chiles took home Freshman of the Week for her performance against Utah on Friday. It is the first time a Bruin has earned a conference award so far this season after coming up empty across the first three weeks.

Oregon State's Jade Carey won Gymnast of the Week, Utah's Maile O'Keefe won Specialist of the Week and Oregon State's Madi Dagen won Coaches Choice to round out the rest of the Pac-12's awards.

Chiles earned Freshman of the Week for tying or setting new career-highs in each of the four events she participated in, posting a 39.700 en route to winning the all-around. The biggest chunk of those points came out of her floor routine, which earned a perfect 10 in addition to going viral online.

Following in the footsteps of Katelyn Ohashi, Kyla Ross and Nia Dennis, Chiles' routine earned over one million views on Twitter alone, getting retweeted by Simone Biles and Lizzo, among others.

PERFECT 10 FOR JORDAN CHILES 🤩 @uclagymnastics#ThatsaW pic.twitter.com/uQZHFn6xv5

— ESPN (@espn) February 5, 2022

That floor routine only capped her career night, which started with a 9.875 on vault, followed up by 9.925 on uneven bars and 9.900 on beam. Altogether, her 39.700 was the highest all-around score by a UCLA freshman since Tasha Schwikert scored 39.725 at the 2005 NCAA Regional.

Chiles' perfect 10 also broke the Bruins' streak of missing out on perfect scores, which had been going since Mar. 8, 2020.

Going head-to-head with Utah, Chiles carried UCLA to season-best scores in all four disciplines, even if it didn't end in a dual-meet result for her team. The Bruins leapt up the rankings again as a result, crawling all the way up to No. 16 after being unranked to start the year.

The meet between the Bruins and Red Rocks was as tense and competitive as ever, highlighting one of the best rivalries in Pac-12 gymnastics, but it was far from the biggest stage Chiles has performed on. Chiles was a member of Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics last summer, subbing in for Biles and helping the Americans secure silver in the team all-around.

While a conference player of the week award may not hold the same weight – literally or figuratively – of an Olympic medal, it still marks the first honor Chiles has earned at the collegiate level, showing just how quickly she has adjusted from her career in elite gymnastics.

Chiles will get back in the gym when UCLA takes on No. 19 Stanford on Saturday.

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