There are lots of intriguing storylines to follow tonight as Oregon State heads down the coast to take on UCLA in their home opener! Even without Pauley magic, the Bruins have surpassed preseason expectations and rocketed into the nationals picture, giving the visiting Beavers a tough hill to climb tonight for a victory. But, they’re the ones who enter as reigning regular-season co-champs in the Pac-12—anything can happen.
Much of UCLA’s surge this early season can be attributed to the addition of Selena Harris, the former No. 1 recruit who’s been matching or outsourcing Olympian and superstar Jordan Chiles from the get-go. Adding a near-guaranteed 9.9 on every event has raised the scoring ceiling for the Bruins significantly, while the new coaching staff has instilled more consistency as well to raise their floor. While head coach Janelle McDonald said this week that Brooklyn Moors is still working back from injury, we can expect Ana Padurariu back in the beam lineup—the event where she’s a World Championship silver medalist. I’d also expect some big floor scores from UCLA as it’s performing in front of a home crowd for the first time this season, and that’ll give them plenty of motivation.
After a slow start to the season, things have been…
