The Bruins are losing one of their most experienced gymnasts to a well-known outlet.
UCLA veteran gymnast Nora Flatley will move to Arkansas before next season, she announced on Twitter on Tuesday. Flatley has been on the Bruins list for the past four seasons, achieving several All-American, All-Pac-12 and academic honors before being named Gym News Gymnastics Gymnast of the Year in 2022.
Flatley has one year of super-senior eligibility remaining as a result of the additional eligibility year provided by the NCAA during the COVID-19 pandemic. She will pursue a master’s degree in Arkansas after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA.
Flatley has been competing for injuries and mental health problems for most of his senior year, which has also been plagued by the drama surrounding former teammate and coach Chris Waller’s relationship with his student-athletes. Flatley was one of several team leaders to turn to social media to call on Waller and UCLA Athletics Director Martin Jarmond for lack of accountability and communication with the team, after freshman Alexis Jeffrey was reportedly using racist language in eventually transferred to LSU.
However, Waller resigned on April 19, and his deputy, former Cal assistant Janelle MacDonald, was hired on May 9.
Flatley’s first season was the last for coach Valerie Condos Field in Westwood after a 30-year cycle, and also last year’s Olympic gold medalist Jordin Weber was an assistant at the Bruins headquarters.
Weber left in 2019 to become the next Arkansas head coach, and that’s where Flatley headed to end his college career. Over the years, Wieber has brought in several other UCLA products in Fayetteville, with Felicia Hano joining as assistant coach in the fall of 2020 and Kayla Ross jumping on board as an assistant volunteer coach before last season.
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Wieber and her fellow Bruins, who became Razorbacks, didn’t just want an old friend to join them in the south – they managed to get one of the most successful college gymnasts in the nation.
Flatley made the second team of the All-American Team on uneven bars and the All-Pac-12 Second Team on bars and beams in 2019, followed by honors for the All-American Second Team on bars in the 2020 season, suspended from the pandemic. Unable to compete due to injuries in early 2021, Flatley made her season debut in the Pac-12 Championship and was among the leaders there and the NCAA Regionals in both disciplines.
Taking on a new role as a versatile player in 2022, Flatley makes the most of the additional opportunities.
Flatley finished second in the UCLA all-around with an average season of 39,444 and led the team with 39,450 in the Pac-12s. After making the first All-Pac-12 barbell, she was the NCAA Raleigh Regionals All-Around Champion with 39,575 and eventually won All-American First Team Honors and All-American Second Team Honors around as an individual in the NCAA Championship.
UCLA is still waiting for a message from Margsetta Fraser about her plans for next season and whether she will compete as a super senior in Westwood. Fraser, who was similarly candid during the height of the situation with Waller earlier in the season, missed almost all of 2022 with a leg injury.
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