Nia Dennis

Nia Dennis
Dennis at the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy.
Personal information
Born (1999-02-23) February 23, 1999
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country represented
 United States
(2012–16 (USA))
College team
UCLA Bruins
ClubBuckeye Gymnastics
Legacy Elite Gymnastics
Head coach
Chris Waller
Assistant coach
Randy Lane
Former coaches
Kittia Carpenter
Li Li
Li Yuejiu
Wu Jiani
Valorie Kondos Field
Jordyn Wieber
RetiredApril 3, 2021
Medal record
Representing  United States
Pacific Rim Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 RichmondTeam
Silver medal – second place2014 RichmondAll-Around
Silver medal – second place2014 RichmondVault
Representing UCLA Bruins
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place2018 St. LouisTeam
Bronze medal – third place2019 Fort WorthTeam

Nia Camille Dennis (born February 23, 1999) is a retired American collegiate artistic gymnast. She was a member of the USA National Team from 2012 to 2016. She is the 2014 Pacific Rim team champion and junior all-around and vault silver medalist. She was a member of the UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team.

Gymnastics career

Career beginnings

2010–12

Dennis competed at the 2010 Covergirl Classic in the 10-11 Hopes Division, where she placed second.[1] In 2011 Dennis qualified to Junior International Elite status. She qualified to the Covergirl Classic in the Junior division. She finished 21st of 36 participants, with a score of 50.450[2] and therefore did not advance to the National Championships.

Dennis was scheduled to compete at the 2012 Secret U.S. Classic but withdrew due to injury.[3] She advanced to the 2012 National Championships as she had already qualified. She had an excellent two days of competition, accumulating a two-day all-around score of 109.550.[4]

Junior elite

2013

Dennis returned to the Secret U.S. Classic in 2013. She finished fifth all-around, picking up a gold medal in vault (15.250) and a silver on floor exercise (14.600).[5] Dennis advanced to the 2013 National Championships in Hartford, Connecticut. She finished her two days of competition with 112.550, placing fourth in the all-around.[6] She took home a silver medal on vault also.

2014

Dennis made her international debut in March 2014 at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. She took home a team gold and individual silvers on the uneven bars and the all-around.[7] She went on to compete at the 2014 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Richmond, British Columbia, where she won the gold medal with the U.S. team and won silver in the all-around and on vault behind teammate Bailie Key.[8] In August Dennis competed at the U.S. Classic where she finished second in the all-around behind Jordan Chiles. She won gold on uneven bars, silver on vault behind Chiles, silver on balance beam behind Norah Flatley, and placed 26th on floor exercise.[9] Dennis finished the season competing at the National Championships. She placed second in the all-around behind Jazmyn Foberg. She placed first on vault and floor exercise, third on uneven bars behind Foberg and Flatley, 22nd on balance beam.[10]

Senior elite

2015

Dennis turned senior in 2015. On February 17, 2015, Dennis announced that she had committed to UCLA for NCAA gymnastics.[11] At the 2015 U.S. Classic Dennis did not compete on floor exercise. She finished sixth and seventh on uneven bars and balance beam respectively.[12] At the 2015 National Championships Dennis finished ninth in the all-around,[13] 13th on uneven bars, fourth on balance beam, and tenth on floor exercise.[14] Following the National Championships Dennis was named to the U.S. Senior National Team and was invited to the World Championships training camp.[15]

2016

Dennis was selected to represent the United States at the Stuttgart World Cup.[16] However, in February 2016, she tore her Achilles tendon[17] and was replaced by Amelia Hundley.[18] In June Dennis competed at the National Championships where she only competed on uneven bars. She finished eighth on the apparatus.[19]

On November 16 Dennis officially signed her National Letter of Intent with the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team.[20]

NCAA

2017–18 season

In the fall of 2017, Dennis began attending the University of California, Los Angeles, joining the gymnastics program for the 2017–2018 season.[21]

Regular season ranking

Season[22] All-Around Vault Uneven Bars Balance Beam Floor Exercise
2018 N/A 28th 43rd N/A 109th
2019 N/A 23rd N/A 347th 86th
2020[a] N/A 32nd N/A N/A 18th
2021 N/A 24th 34th 330th 21st
  1. ↑ The season was cancelled after the 10th week of competition due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Competitive history

Junior

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2012National Championships791358
2013U.S. Classic51st place, gold medalist(s)1692nd place, silver medalist(s)
National Championships42nd place, silver medalist(s)2064
2014City of Jesolo Trophy1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Pacific Rim Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)6
U.S. Classic2nd place, silver medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)26
National Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)221st place, gold medalist(s)

Senior

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2015U.S. Classic67
National Championships913410
2016National Championships8

NCAA

Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
2018PAC-12 Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)137
NCAA Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)5854
2019PAC-12 Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)88
NCAA Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)720
2020PAC-12 ChampionshipsCanceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the USA [23][24]
NCAA Championships
2021PAC-12 Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

References

  1. ↑ "2010 Cover Girl Classic. Meet Results - Multi Women - Hope 10-11" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. USA Gymnastics. July 25, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  2. ↑ "CoverGirl Classic Chicago, IL (USA) 2011 July 23 Artistic Gymnastics Results Women Junior". Gymnastics Results. July 23, 2011. Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Nia Dennis Profile". GymDivas.us. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  4. ↑ "2012 Visa Championships - Women Day 2 Meet Results - Juniors" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. USA Gymnastics. June 10, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  5. ↑ "2013 Secret U.S. Classic Meet Results" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. USA Gymnastics. July 27, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 18, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2013 P&G Championships - Women Day 2 Meet Results - Multi" (PDF). Gymnastics Results. USA Gymnastics. August 17, 2013. p. 1. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  7. ↑ "VII Trofeo Cita' di Jesolo 2014 Jesolo (Venice) (ITA) 2014 Mar 22-23 Artistic Gymnastics Results Women Senior & Junior". Gymnastics Results. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  8. ↑ "2014 Pacific Rim Championships April 9-12, 2014 – Richmond Olympic Oval Team and All-Around Results" (PDF). Pacific Rim 2014 Gymnastics Championships. April 9, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  9. ↑ "2014 Secret U.S. Classic Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. August 2, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  10. ↑ "2014 P&G Championships - Women Day 2 Event Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. August 23, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  11. ↑ "2017-18 Dennis to UCLA - CollegeGymFans.com". collegegymfans.com.
  12. ↑ "2015 Secret U.S. Classic Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. July 25, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  13. ↑ "2015 P&G Championships - Women Day 2 Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  14. ↑ "2015 P&G Championships - Women Day 2 Event Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. August 15, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  15. ↑ "USA Gymnastics announces 2015 World Championships training squad". USA Gymnastics. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Stuttgart World Cup Competitors Announced". January 26, 2016.
  17. ↑ Hopkins, Lauren (February 18, 2016). "Okay, I can confirm that Nia Dennis has torn her Achilles. Truly heartbroken for her after such a strong return to the sport last summer".
  18. ↑ "Amelia Hundley To Replace Nia Dennis At Stuttgart World Cup". FloGymnastics. February 29, 2016.
  19. ↑ "2016 P&G Championships - Women Day 2 Event Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. June 26, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  20. ↑ "UCLA Gymnastics Signs Dennis, Tratz to NLIs". UCLA Bruins. November 16, 2016.
  21. ↑ Vera, Amir (February 29, 2020). "UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis has crowd falling crazy in love with her Beyoncé-inspired routine". CNN. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Standings". roadtonationals.com. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Pac-12 statement on men's basketball tournament, Pac-12 sport competitions and Pac-12 championship events". Pac-12 Conference. March 11, 2020. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020.
  24. ↑ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns". NCAA. March 13, 2020.
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