Hand injury forces UCLA gymnast Ciena Alipio to find creative ways to help her team

Swinging on the bars, Ciena Alipio suddenly peeled off during her dismount. Her right hand was caught behind her shoulder as she landed on the ground, pushed farther into the mat by a leg ramming into her elbow. Her thumb swelled. It was only the fourth practice since her arrival at UCLA.

As her teammates solidified their routines for the upcoming season, Alipio was in a splint recovering from thumb surgery in October. A usual hand-note taker, she had to request extra time for her written exams. Alipio had to quickly learn how to communicate what she needed to her new coaching staff.

Alongside volunteer assistant coach Autumn Grable, Alipio developed a hands-free beam routine to alleviate any pressure and stretching for her thumb. Thankfully, her unique gainer tucked full dismount was already hands-free. She would have to hone in more air awareness and core control. A new mount without a springboard that put less pressure on her hands. A new series with a front aerial to a back tuck.

“It’s inherently a little harder and higher risk because you haven’t had these skills as long. A standing back handspring you’ve had since you were level six, whereas a back tuck you learned later in life,” Grable said.

Without hands, it's more difficult to have power on the beam. You would not notice that while watching Alipio.

“She has great lines and great presentation and so many skills to pull from. It made the process fairly easy,” Grable said.

Said Alipio: “I knew I wanted to compete. If I’m only doing this one event, I have to make it good. All the girls are counting on me.”

Outside of therapy, she spent an hour and a half at practice on beam every day. She also FaceTimed Jess Graba, her former Midwest Gymnastics club coach, asking for guidance. Together, they brainstormed what she could do at home to strengthen her legs.

“She would say, ‘What drills can I do without my hand? What can I do safely so that I can get busy? To get more in shape so that when I can do stuff, I’m ready to go?’ ” Graba said.

Growing up in San Jose, Alipio initially hoped to move out of state for her college career, following her brother as he toured universities. In 2020, Northern California’s COVID-19 restrictions shut down many gyms, causing her to halt practice during a crucial year leading up to the U.S. Olympic trials. After reaching out to U.S. teammate Sunisa Lee, Alipio confirmed an opening at Graba’s gym. Over the course of a weekend, Alipio and her parents packed four suitcases and flew to Minnesota, where she would stay and train from January 2021 until August 2022. A sudden goodbye in the midst of unprecedented times, she faced new coaches, new teammates and below-freezing temperatures.

“The biggest thing I learned was probably that change is scary, but sometimes it's necessary. I was grateful to be in a new environment and growing as a person in that way,” Alipio said.

Most of her father’s family resided in Northern California. Her mother’s extended family lived farther away in New Mexico on the Navajo Nation reservation. Her weekends were spent volunteering at the InterTribal Friendship House in Oakland. Feeling homesick while living in Minnesota quickly solidified a decision to stay in California. In November 2021, she signed her offer letter to UCLA. Although the early injury took her by surprise, Alipio was no stranger to adapting to change.

UCLA teammate Emily Lee, who sat out her freshman season because of a torn Achilles, gave Alipio advice as she transitioned to college. Moving mats, cheering from the sidelines and just being vocal were some of the many ways to contribute.

“You can see that she wants it for more than just herself. She wants it for the team,” Emily Lee said.

Known for her craftiness and signature friendship bracelets, Alipio also quickly became one of the team’s resident hair-braiders during road meets.

“She’s done my hair for pretty much every single away meet. You have to make appointments with her,” Lee said.

At the Super 16 meet in Las Vegas in early January, Grable set Alipio as an alternate for the competition. A strange foot landing on the floor for teammate Margzetta Frazier led to a last-minute lineup change. Alipio proved herself.

Her hard work has paid off. A staple in weekly beam lineups for UCLA, she hit her career high at the NCAA regionals with a 9.925. Though at nationals she’ll likely be competing solely on beam, Alipio has returned to training for the other events in the gym. Especially for bars — the event in which she injured her hand in September — Alipio is going back to basics with the help of coach Janelle McDonald. For many weeks, her visualizations were unsuccessful. She was scared. But little by little, she is building back up in all four events.

“I think the thing in the gym that she’s grown the most is being able to communicate and communicate what she needs and how she’s feeling. And again, just really trying to use those tools to be the best that she can be for our team,” McDonald said.

“She's just a very hardworking and flexible, adaptable young person, so I knew she would push through it and find a way. I think that’s just who she is and how she is,” said Eric Alipio, the gymnast's brother.

Ciena Alipio, a Diné and Filipina athlete who is described by coaches and teammates as “sweet” and possessing a “big heart,” grew up both a gymnast and dancer. Next year, she is excited to unveil her floor routine, which will highlight some of her dance roots.

“It’s very different from what I did all of elite,” she said, alluding to the creative differences between U.S. national team and college gymnastics floor routines. “We still kept the gracefulness, but the style and music are very different.”

She also is working to refine her Yurchenko 1 ½ so that the Bruins can have another 10 start value vault in the lineup.

“The summer will be a great time for me to just play around again,” Alipio said. “And I’m excited.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.