Gracie Kramer burst into the UCLA floor lineup this season after just one routine on floor last season. Her feisty, sassy routine has been in the first or second spot in the lineup in 11 of 13 meets. One of the highlights of her routine comes in her opening combination pass—a front handspring-front double full-punch front that lands precariously close to the edge of the floor. 

The sophomore has scored a 9.850 or better in 10 of her 11 floor routines. She posted a season-best 9.950 in the final Pac-12 meet against Oregon State. The Bruins finished the regular season as the top-ranked squad on floor exercise with an RQS of 49.575. They have hit a 49.400 or better nine times with a season-high 49.775 coming on February 25 against Oregon State. 

UCLA's floor rotation last night was pure ?! Check out the highlights from @gracekramer98 @kyla_ross96 @katelyn_ohashi @DennisNia @fish_hano #PaulineTratz. #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/vea8JsxxbY

— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) January 7, 2018

The Bruins will take on Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, and Arkansas in the first semifinal session on April 20. 

FloGymnastics: What is your favorite event to perform on and why?

Gracie Kramer: Oh that’s easy. Floor—because it’s really the only event where I can throw in my character and really show my personality as much as I can and just have fun and let go.

What is the most challenging skill that you’ve learned and what made it challenging for you?

Probably my Yurchenko one and a half, just because it really is a skill that you have to feel 100 percent on in order to really execute well. I’m starting to figure out too that as much as I’m prepared physically, if my mental game isn’t there it is never going to be there. So that’s what I’ve been working on a lot, to get back on my game and get back on vault.

What is your favorite skill to perform and why?

A round-off two and a half on floor, because I love setting it up super high. It’s just a really fun skill to execute in competitions because people always go, "Oh my gosh." I can throw it up pretty high.

What is the biggest lesson that you takeaway from the regular season as you move into postseason?

That our team atmosphere and our team chemistry has been our backbone for this season. So basically just going into postseason maintaining those relationships with each teammate and keeping those strong relationships so we can all lean on each other when times get tough and we’re a little tired. Honestly, just creating a dancing environment is just a fun party mood. We all just snap out of reality and we get into this fun place where nothing can ever hurt us so it’s really, really a pretty crazy thing that we have that power and we have that ability.

Career-high 9.95 for @gracekramer98! #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/xmAbeELkTq

— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) February 26, 2018

How does the adversity that you face in the regular season help prepare you for the postseason?

If you’ve heard Miss Val say we haven’t had a perfect meet yet, it’s very true. When we really look back on our season, we look back at our last few meets and even though we had little hiccups the best part is that we had each other’s backs so well that we covered up [the mistakes] and forgot about it and just moved on. So for us to know that we’re capable of and we’re able to do that in any moment in any meet is the best feeling. Everyone’s just so confident that even if we have a blip, no one shuts down. If anything, people look up. We thrive under the pressure and look forward to the adversity and thriving in that environment.

What would you say is the biggest change between last year and this year for UCLA?

Oh yeah, it’s polar opposite really. Being a freshman versus being a sophomore—people say that being a freshman is the longest year of your life and I can attest to that for sure. I think that the start of the season this year was even different. We didn’t really realize how much of an impact it had made but even just the seniors being there for all of the freshmen and being so loving and compassionate and supportive. Everyone started taking up that role. It wasn’t just the seniors taking up the leadership roles, it was us encouraging the freshmen to take on leadership roles, it was the sophomores taking huge leadership roles. Just everyone being on an even platform, I think that definitely enabled a strong foundation for this season and it’s encouraged everyone to have a voice. Even Sonya [Meraz], one of our quietest teammates, has said the most powerful things this season. It really resonates with me and a lot of the other girls and it’s been really inspiring to see a lot of the freshmen grow as well as leaders.

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Bubbly, spastic, and passionate.

How do you bounce back from a fall?

I just make sure to have fun. I promised myself the beginning of my senior year of high school that this was my last year in club, I just have to go out and have fun. So that’s what I promised myself before every single meet and I ended up winning out for the majority of the season because all I did was have fun. That put me in the best mindset possible for my performance. It sounds weird but I get cocky in a way and try to psyche myself out and get myself super hyped up. Like I tell Peng [Peng Lee] hype me up, hype me up right before my floor routine because I do my best when I’m the cockiest, when I’m the most confident and when I’m having fun and I really don’t care what the outcome is as long as I’m enjoying the journey. 

If you ever see my face right before floor, I definitely get into a little diva, sassy character in order to psyche myself out into thinking I’m the best of the best and that’s how I should perform. It’s worked so far.

What are you most looking forward to about competing in the postseason?

In general, I’m just really excited to compete. I didn’t compete last year in the postseason. It’s really been a blessing and I’m just staying grateful. Just going through the process because it’s very different but I’m not letting it affect me emotionally. I’m just really adapting and following the girls who have done this before and enjoying every moment of it. It’s such an amazing experience that not many teams get to experience. Just by living in every moment I can already tell it’s going to be an amazing postseason. All the girls are so prepared and all we have to do is just trust our training and have fun. It’s what we’ve been doing all season so it’s not much of a task, it’s more just doing normal and that’s what we need to do.