Nicole Tom was born on April 28, 1989 to Michael and Sue. She competed for Gymnastics Olympic before moving to Team Le Club, or TLC, until 2005. She trained at Josephson Academy of Gymnastics for the remainder of her club career. She graduated from Chatsworth High School as valedictorian in 2007.
In 2000, Niki competed level six. She won beam at the San Diego Classic. She qualified for Level 8 Regionals in 2002. In 2003, Niki was competing level nine. She finished sixth on vault at Regionals. She moved up to level ten in 2004. At States, she placed fourth all-around. She won a bronze medal on bars and a silver medal on floor. She finished third on beam and fourth on floor at Regionals. In 2005, Niki won a silver medal on beam at the Surf City Classic. She placed first on floor at the Friendship Challenge. At States, she finished third on vault and seventh all-around. She ended her season by placing 11th all-around at Regionals.
She continued to improve in 2006. She finished fifth all-around at States. In 2007, Niki won vault and floor at States. She placed third all-around. She qualified for her first JO National Championships by finishing fourth all-around at Regionals. She also won beam. At JO Nationals, she finished fifth in the all-around and fourth on bars. She also placed in the top ten on beam and floor.
As a freshman walk-on at UCLA, she competed on balance beam nine times. She finished second on beam against Cal. Niki also saw time on vault and floor. She performed two exhibition routines on uneven bars. Niki continued to produce good results in 2009. She was a mainstay in the beam and floor lineups. She won beam against Arizona State. Niki also vaulted once and competed on bars twice.
Photos © Shamara & UCLA
