Nola Matthews

Nola Matthews
Matthews in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Nola Rhianne Matthews
Nickname(s)	Nols
Born	(2006-09-20) September 20, 2006 (age 18) San Jose, California, U.S.
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Country represented	United States (2022–2025)
College team	UCLA Bruins (2026–2029)
Club	Airborne Gymnastics Training Center
Head coach(es)	Cleo Washington
Assistant coach(es)	Tonya Piacente, Melissa Metcalf, Melanie Ruggiero
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing the   United States Pan American Championships 2023 Medellín Team 2023 Medellín Uneven bars FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Challenge Cup 2 0 0

Nola Rhianne Matthews (born September 20, 2006) ^[1] is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2023 Pan American uneven bars champion.

Early life

Matthews was born on September 20, 2006, in San Jose, California to physician parents Drs. Kari Bertrand (ob-gyn) and AJ Matthews (plastic surgery). Bertrand was a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier and an All-American runner for Georgetown University. ^[2] Matthews began gymnastics when she was two years old. ^[3]

Junior gymnastics career

2017–18

Matthews competed at the 2017 Hopes Classic and finished 15th with an all-around score of 44.500, meaning she was 0.500 away from qualifying for the Hopes Championships. ^[4] She finished 41st in the all-around at the 2018 Hopes Classic and did not qualify for the Hopes Championships. ^[5] She then competed with her club at the Tournoi International in Combs-la-Ville, France. She won the silver medal in the espoir all-around behind Levi Jung-Ruivivar. She won the gold medals on the uneven bars and balance beam in the event finals. ^[6]

2019

Matthews began competing in junior elite in 2019. She made her elite debut at the American Classic where she finished ninth in the all-around and placed third on the uneven bars. ^[7] Then at the U.S. Classic, she finished 22nd in the all-around and qualified for the U.S. Championships. ^[8] She then finished 21st in the all-around at the U.S. Championships. ^[9] She went to the Tournoi International again with her club, and she finished fifth in the all-around. She finished sixth on vault and floor exercise, and she won the gold medal on the uneven bars. ^[10]

2021

Matthews did not compete in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. She returned to competition at the 2021 Winter Cup, and she finished fifth in the all-around and won the silver medal on the uneven bars behind Levi Jung-Ruivivar. ^[11] Then at the American Classic, she finished ninth in the all-around. ^[12] She did not compete floor exercise at the U.S. Classic, and she finished 17th on vault, 11th on uneven bars, and 10th on balance beam. ^[13] She then finished thirteenth in the all-around at the U.S. National Championships. ^[14]

Senior gymnastics career

2022

Matthews became age-eligible for senior competition in 2022. She made her senior debut at the Winter Cup and finished fifth in the all-around and won the gold on uneven bars. ^[15] She then made her senior international debut at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge and won a gold medal with the American team. She won the bronze medal in the uneven bars final behind Giorgia Villa and Romi Brown. ^[16] Then at the U.S. Classic, she finished sixth in the all-around and won silver on the uneven bars behind Shilese Jones. ^[17] She finished 13th in the all-around at the U.S. Championships and fourth on the uneven bars. ^[18]

2023

Matthews won the all-around bronze medal at the Winter Cup behind Lexi Zeiss and Ashlee Sullivan. ^[19] She then competed at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge alongside Sullivan, Zoe Miller, Joscelyn Roberson, and they won the team gold medal. ^[20] In April, she was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Championships alongside Miller, Roberson, Tiana Sumanasekera, Addison Fatta, and traveling replacement athlete Madray Johnson. ^[21] She won the gold medal on the uneven bars and finished fourth in the all-around. ^[22] The team then won the gold medal in the team final. ^[23]

2024

Matthews competed at the DTB Pokal Mixed Cup in March alongside Addison Fatta, Dulcy Caylor, Kai Uemura, Fuzzy Benas, and Riley Loos; together they placed first. ^[24] She next competed at the 2024 U.S. Classic and the 2024 U.S. National Championships where she placed fourteenth and eighteenth in the all-around respectively. ^[25] Due to her low placement at the National Championships, she was not selected to compete at the 2024 Olympic Trials. ^[26] In November Matthews signed her National Letter of Intent with the UCLA Bruins. ^[27]

2025

Matthews competed at the 2025 Winter Cup where she placed fifth in the all-around and was re-added to the national team. ^[28] She competed at the DTB Pokal Mixed Cup alongside Simone Rose, Ashlee Sullivan, Riley Loos, Kiran Mandava, and Alex Nitache; together they placed first as a team. ^[29] In May Matthews competed at the Varna World Challenge Cup where she won gold on uneven bars and floor exercise and placed fifth on balance beam. ^[30]

Competitive history

Competitive history of Nola Matthews at the junior level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2017	Hopes Classic		15	14	10	13	15
2018	Hopes Classic		41	20	44	5	11
	Tournoi International
2019	American Classic		9	24	11		15
	U.S. Classic		22	30	24	7	26
	U.S. National Championships		21	29	17	14	22
	Tournoi International		5	6			6
2021	Winter Cup		5	12		9	9
	American Classic		9	13	12	4	9
	U.S. Classic			17	11	10
	U.S. National Championships		13	9	6	10	13

Competitive history of Nola Matthews at the senior level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2022	Winter Cup		5			7	9
	DTB Pokal Team Challenge
	U.S. Classic		6			4	8
	U.S. National Championships		13		4	19	16
2023	Winter Cup				5	6	4
	DTB Pokal Team Challenge
	Pan American Championships		4
	U.S. Classic		4		4	6	5
	U.S. National Championships		12		10	13	10
2024	Winter Cup		12		19	14	5
	DTB Pokal Mixed Cup
	U.S. Classic		14		9	14	19
	U.S. National Championships		18		10	24	19
2025	Winter Cup		5		13	6
	DTB Pokal Mixed Cup
	Varna World Challenge Cup					5
	U.S. Classic		12		8	12	14
	U.S. National Championships		14		12	13	9

References

1. "Nola Matthews". USA Gymnastics . Retrieved May 28, 2023.
2. Lee, Emanuel (April 5, 2023). "Gymnast Nola Matthews competes at elite level". Gilroy Dispatch. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
3. Sandmaier, Christy (June 21, 2022). "Rising Star Nola Matthews Readies for the Road Ahead". Inside Gymnastics Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
4. "35 advance to Hopes Championships". USA Gymnastics . July 10, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
5. "American Classic Hopes Classic Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . July 6, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
6. Hopkins, Lauren (November 17, 2018). "2018 Tournoi International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
7. "2019 Hopes & American Classic Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . June 22, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
8. "2019 GK U.S. Classic Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . July 20, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
9. "2019 U.S. Championships - Women Day 2 Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . August 11, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
10. Hopkins, Lauren (November 19, 2019). "2019 Tournoi International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
11. "2021 Winter Cup - Women Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . February 28, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
12. "2021 Hopes & American Classic Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . April 24, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
13. "2021 GK U.S. Classic Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
14. "2021 U.S. Championships - Women Day 2 Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . June 6, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
15. "2022 Winter Cup - Women Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . February 26, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
16. Hopkins, Lauren (March 20, 2022). "2022 DTB Pokal Team Challenge Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
17. "2022 U.S. Classic - Women Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . July 30, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
18. "2022 U.S. Championships - Women Day 2 Meet Results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics . August 21, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
19. Bregman, Scott (February 25, 2023). "Lexi Zeiss claims women's all-around crown at the 2023 Winter Cup". Olympic Channel . Retrieved May 28, 2023.
20. Crumlish, John (March 19, 2023). "U.S., Germany and Japan sweep team titles at DTB Pokal". International Gymnast Magazine . Retrieved May 28, 2023.
21. "Women's senior team named for 2023 Pan American Championships". USA Gymnastics . April 30, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
22. "U.S. women shine at Pan Ams with eight medals; Sumanasekera wins all-around". USA Gymnastics . May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
23. "U.S. claims men's and women's team titles at Pan American Championships". USA Gymnastics . May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
24. "Weekend Recap: MAG/WAG DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup; RG Aphrodite Cup". USA Gymnastics . March 18, 2024.
25. "Biles wins senior all-around crown at 2024 Core Hydration Classic". USA Gymnastics . May 18, 2024.
26. "Biles sweeps all to extend historical run; Senior Women's National Team announced at Xfinity U.S. Championships". USA Gymnastics . June 2, 2024.
27. "UCLA Gymnastics Signs Four Standouts for 2026 Season". UCLA Bruins . November 13, 2024.
28. "Sullivan wins senior women's Winter Cup all-around title". USA Gymnastics . February 22, 2025.
29. "Weekend Recap: MAG/WAG DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup, RG Thiais Grand Prix, Friendship Cup". USA Gymnastics . March 31, 2025.
30. "Nineteen nations in the medals at Varna World Challenge Cup". International Gymnastics Federation . May 12, 2025.

External links

• Nola Matthews at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Nola Matthews at USA Gymnastics