Malabuyo climbs to no. 4 in US NCAA beam ranking

The 22-year-old Malabuyo got there after racking up an average of 9.925 for the University of California-Los Angeles Bruins, when they emerged unbeaten in three outings in the ongoing Big Ten Conference.

Malabuyo emerged as one of the Bruins’ top bets as they get ready to head to Seattle and meet Washington for their fourth encounter at Alaska Airlines Arena.

So far, Malabuyo, a two-time All-American gymnast, has scored 9.900 or higher in all five meets she joined this season, with her performances contributing to the Bruins’ 6-2 overall record.

Malabuyo even ranks higher than fellow Fil-Am Philippine teammate, Louisiana State University counterpart, Aleah Finnegan, who is at no. 7th in the vault, no. 10 in the all-around and  21st in the balance beam.

Jade Carrey of Oregon is the no. 1 gymnast in the beam, followed by Abby Scanlon (California) and Blake Sloane (Florida).

With the Bruins now ranked fourth nationally, they have five gymnasts ranked in the Top 25 of the Week Four national rankings.

This includes, graduate student Brooklyn Moors, who is no. 1 in the floor, and Chae Campbell, who is ranked in three events, 14th in the floor, 18th in the all-around and 24th in the vault.

Another Paris Olympics veteran, Jordan Chiles is in the Top 10 of two events – third in the floor and ninth in the vault.

Then, there’s Frida Esparza, who is 14th in the bars.

Not only are the Bruins ranked sixth overall, they are also first in the floor, seventh in the beam, eighth in the vault and 17th in the bars in the team rankings. — Peter Atencio