On Thursday night, Twitter officially noticed the awesomeness that is Nia Dennis on floor. The UCLA junior has been owning it since the moment she started air spelling "Nia" in her choreography -- but this year's Beyonce mashup is her best yet. Come for the ponytail grab, but stay for the moment she places a crown on her head at the end. (And for those here for the tumbling, she also does a very cool front layout to double tuck opening pass.) Dennis scored a 9.975 for the routine at UCLA's dual meet against Utah on Sunday, on Dennis' 21st birthday, no less:
A homecoming performance that would make @Beyonce proud! @DennisNia made us lose our breath with her 9.975 on floor exercise last weekend in Pauley.
— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) February 28, 2020
Who else is crazy in love with her routine? 😍 pic.twitter.com/XE4VvTrZOK
If you've made it this far, know this fun fact: Dennis was the first of three 9.975 floor scores given to the Bruins on Sunday (Seniors Gracie Kramer and Kyla Ross earned the other two), and senior Grace Glenn also made history as the first NCAA gymnast to score a perfect 10.0 as the leadoff.
UCLA's Grace Glenn and Utah's Abby Paulson each score the first perfect 10s of their college careers on the balance beam.
But even after a lights-out night, the Bruins were edged by the Utes in the final standings, 198.075-198.025.