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Viral gymnastics routines gain steam as UCLA leads way - Los Angeles Times

Posted: 13 Feb 2021 06:00 AM PST

From the concourse level of Pauley Pavilion, where JaNay Honest was perched for UCLA's season-opening meet against Arizona State on Jan. 23, the former Bruins gymnast and current Pac-12 Networks broadcaster knew almost immediately after Nia Dennis flipped her head back and settled into the finishing pose of her floor routine that Dennis was going to do it again.

Another viral floor routine.

UCLA gymnastics has mastered the art of breaking the internet, making a new viral floor routine an almost annual tradition. Each one takes over timelines on many social media channels while also shining light on a joyful branch of the sport that typically only exists in the American conscious in its rigid Olympic form once every four years.

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"College gymnastics is a great platform and segue way into bringing more awareness into the sport," said Honest, who competed for the Bruins from 2015 to 2018. "It's just a different environment when it comes to elite. College gymnastics — there's just so much more energy and excitement and fun."

Compared with Olympic-level routines, which are often set to classical music and focused on packing in as many difficult skills as possible to achieve higher scores, college routines offer gymnasts opportunities to express their personalities through music, dance and themes. With popular music, updated dance styles and joyful smiles, gymnasts are conquering the internet in 90-second clips that are perfectly suited for sharing online.

Here's a brief history of the internet's favorite college floor routines:

2014: LSU's Lloimincia Hall gets the trend going

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While UCLA has been the epicenter of viral floor routines recently, one of the earliest came from Louisiana State's Lloimincia Hall, who scored a perfect 10 on Jan. 31, 2014. Her energetic routine incorporated gospel music, old-school hits and marching band music and included sky-high tumbling passes.

The YouTube video has nearly 3 million views seven years later, but unlike recent floor routines that seem to catch fire overnight on social media, Hall's rise to fame was more gradual. She performed the routine in January 2014, but didn't reach "viral" status until April when she appeared on "Good Morning America."

2016: Sophina DeJesus becomes "The Hip Hop Gymnast"

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After whipping, hitting the nae nae and dabbing her way to a 9.925 against Utah in 2016, Sophina DeJesus quickly became known as "The Hip Hop Gymnast." DeJesus earned more than 10 million views and appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," where she performed a toned-down version of the routine on stage.

DeJesus was one of the first viral routines at UCLA. Five years later, Honest, who was a sophomore at the time, remembered the unprecedented reaction, but marveled at the way social media has grown to help build the trend in the subsequent years.

"Social media wasn't as big in 2016 as it is now," Honest said. "She went viral to the same caliber at Katelyn [Ohashi] and Nia, but because social media wasn't as big, the word didn't spread as much."

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2017: Hallie Mossett gets in formation

A staple of a viral routine is popular music and Hallie Mossett found the ideal muse in Beyoncé.

The two-time UCLA All-American performed to a mix of Queen Bey's hits including "Formation," "Single Ladies" and "Partition." She showed off her flexibility, opening the routine by lying flat on her back with her leg pinned behind her head in a full split and incorporated unique choreography like a dramatic headstand.

Mossett was the mastermind behind her own choreography, a skill she shared with her teammates by helping craft their routines and brings to her role as an assistant coach at Long Island. She made a TV appearance on the Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family" to discuss the routine.

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2018: Katelyn Ohashi part 1

UCLA's Ohashi earned her first taste of viral fame with a Michael Jackson medley in 2018. She collected more than 90 million combined views for her 2018 Pac-12 championship-clinching routine that earned a 9.95. With a wide, dimpled smile, difficult tumbling passes and a stunning drop to a split, Ohashi captured attention for her charisma and athletic feats alike.

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2019: Ohashi raises the bar

After her success as a junior, Ohashi and then-head coach Valorie Kondos Field set out to deliver an even better performance for the gymnast's senior send-off. Mission accomplished.

Ohashi officially became the "Perfect 10 gymnast" with her flawless routine on Jan. 12, 2019, that has set a new standard of viral floor routines. Everyone was enamored by her inspirational story of how she rediscovered her joy in gymnastics, giving up elite gymnastics where she was body shamed and emotionally and verbally abused by her coaches for UCLA.

Her routine was the most-watched sports moment in 2019 and led into commercial appearances for Microsoft, Disney and Toyota.

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2020: Nia Dennis takes the crown

Like Mossett three years before her, Dennis relied on a mix of Beyoncé tracks to vault her to viral fame. She had more than 20 million Twitter views and appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," where her family watched from the front row. Dennis' younger sister Mya surprised her with flowers.

Dennis performed the routine on her 21st birthday, earning a career-high 9.975.

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2021: Dennis does it again

Dennis' tribute to Black excellence went viral on Jan. 23, less than a year after her original viral routine. The experience felt like "a movie and a dream all over again," she said.

She earned more than 10 million views within one week, did virtual interviews with "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "The Today Show," and NBC, sharing how the past year's Black Lives Matters protests inspired her to use her gymnastics to contribute to the social justice conversation.

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2021: Margzetta Frazier follows up

Just one viral routine wasn't enough for the Bruins this year as junior Margzetta Frazier arrived with another one less than three weeks after Dennis.

Frazier debuted a new Janet Jackson routine on Feb. 10 and continued UCLA's growing legacy of popular floor routines with a medley of Jackson hits, including "Nasty," "If" and "Throb." The two-time U.S. national team member even went as far as mimicking choreography directly from Jackson's music video for "If," taking Jackson's iconic dance break to the gymnastics floor. Frazier makes angular shapes with her arms while shuffling across on the floor before she casually turns into a flip.

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The effort earned Frazier a 9.925 and caught Jackson's eye as the star tweeted back "iLuvIT."

Charli & Dixie D’Amelio face backlash after Beyoncé gifts them Ivy Park PR package - Dexerto

Posted: 12 Feb 2021 03:46 PM PST

The eMLS League Series Two Finals are underway as the league's top teams lock horns on EA's FIFA 21. Follow all of the action as it unfolds with the stream, schedule, and results.


  • Quarter-finals start on Saturday, February 13.
  • Austin FC's xbLeU is the no.1 seed and tops the standings with 27 points.
  • New York City FC's Didychrislito leads in the official eMLS power rankings.

Some of the best FIFA 21 players in the world come together to compete for the eMLS Cup crown in March, but before that fans have a very exciting knockout phase to watch through. The League's Series Two Finals are already upon us, with a prize pool of $15,000 at stake in this round.

In what's slated to be one of the most exciting rounds of clashes in the competition so far, after 14 qualifying rounds we're down to the final eight. Each will looking to cement their name as the best FIFA player in North America, facing off in games between February 13-14.

Here's everything you need to know about the tournament!

eMLS League Series 2 essentials

eMLS League Series 2: Stream

Action will be streamed on the official MLS Twitch channel (embedded above), showing each match live. There's also the option to watch on the MLS Soccer website or free MLS app.

eMLS League Series 2: Season standings

# Player Club PTS GP GD
1 xbLeU ATX 27 12 19
2 KingCJ0 DC 26 12 16
3 AlanAvi DAL 25 12 21
4 Didychrislito NYC 24 12 16
5 Fiddle CIN 24 12 12
6 Maloney ORL 24 12 13
7 Kid M3mito CHI 22 12 15
8 BENR SJ 21 12 3

Story so far: New York City FC's Didychrislito hungry for FC Cincinnati's title

High in the standings is Didychrislito, representing New York City FC, and comes into the finals with some serious momentum. The player was crowned the victor of the eMLS League Series One, presented by Coca-Cola, on January 17, following a 4-2 aggregate win over New York Red Bulls competitor Adamou.

At the top of the table is Austin FC's xbLeU, after putting together an impressive streak of victories in Series Two so far, and just behind him is DC United's KingCJ0. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top — as the margin of points in the top six places were so tight. Now, though, it's all about who can perform in the knockouts.

Lastly, defending champion of Series Two, FC Cincinnati's Fiddle, sits in fifth position this time around. It will be interesting to see if he can turn up on the big occasion to retain his crown.

eMLS League Series 2: Schedule & scores

eMLS League Series Two finals bracket
MLS
Here's how the bracket shapes up for the eMLS League Series Two Finals.

February 13 — Quarter-finals

Fixture PST EST GMT
QF: xbLeU (Austin FC) vs BENR (San Jose Earthquakes) 12PM 3PM 8PM
QF: KingCJO (D.C. United) vs Kid M3mito (Chicago Fire) 12PM 3PM 8PM
QF: NYC_Chris (New York City FC) vs FCC Fiddle (FC Cincinnati) 12PM 3PM 8PM
QF: AlanAvi (FC Dallas) vs Maloney (Orlando City) 12PM 3PM 8PM

February 14 — Semi-finals & Grand Final

Fixture PST EST GMT
SF: TBD vs TBD 12PM 3PM 8PM
SF: TBD vs TBD 12PM 3PM 8PM
GF: TBD vs TBD 12PM 3PM 8PM

eMLS League Series 2: Highlights

Follow all of the latest reactions from the teams, players and fans during the eMLS League Series Two right here.