Gymnastics 3/11/2023 3:13:00 PM

GYMNASTICS READIES FOR FINAL MEET OF THE REGULAR SEASON ON SUNDAY

Hornets travel to Cal for four team-meet

OPENING PASS

Sacramento State will compete in its second straight four-team meet as it makes the short trip to Berkeley, Calif., on March 3 to take on California, Arizona and UC Davis at 1 p.m.
The Hornets have scored their two best scores of the season in their last two meets finishing with a 195.725 against Air Force on Feb. 24 and most recently a 195.450 last Friday against San Jose State, UC Davis and Southern Utah.
This week's meet will be the final competition for Sacramento State before it takes part in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships at Air Force on March 18.
Links to live scoring and a live video stream can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

Cal will be the highest ranked opponent Sacramento State has faced this season. The Golden Bears enter the week seventh in the RoadToNationals.com rankings with an NQS of 197.575. The team hosted a quad meet on Mar. 10 against Stanford, Ohio State and Utah State where it set a school record 198.100. Cal ranks third among Pac-12 teams overall and leads the league on bars. Individually, Andi Li was the team's top all-arounder at 39.520.
The Golden Bears are coached by Justin Howell and Elizabeth Crandell-Howell who are in their 11th season. Cal leads the all-time series against Sacramento State, 28-9, and has won the last 14 meetings.
Arizona is well positioned to make a postseason appearance as the Wildcats are 29th in this week's rankings. Arizona most recently scored 197.275 in a win over BYU on Friday night.
John Court is in his fifth season as the team's head coach after serving 19 years as an assistant. UofA is 6-0 all-time against Sacramento State.
UC Davis' performance at The Nest last Friday (196.475) has put the Aggies within striking distance of the top 36. The team is 41st this week but has two meets to try move up five spots. UC Davis leads the MPSF on vault and floor and ranks second overall in the league.
Former UC Davis gymnast and Sacramento State assistant coach Tanya Ho is in her first season guiding the Aggies. The Hornets lead the all-time series, 59-55, but have dropped the past 18 meetings to UC Davis.

A LOOK AT THE LATEST ACTION

Sacramento State recorded the 10th-best score in school history with a 195.450 in a four-team meet on Senior Night last Friday at The Nest. The score was the second highest for the team this season.
Amber Koeth tied school records on both beam and floor, receiving 9.950 in each event. She tied for first place in the meet on beam and was the outright winner on floor. As a team, the Hornets also recorded their best floor score this season at 49.200.

SOLORIO ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT FOLLOWING 2023

After close to 40 years at Sacramento State, head coach Randy Solorio announced that he will retire following the 2023 season. Solorio joined the Hornet coaching staff as an assistant coach in 1986 and then transitioned to head coach prior to the 2016 season.
During his career, the Hornets have won eight conference titles, made four NCAA regional appearances as a team and have accounted for all of the team and individual scores in the school top 10.

GOING OUT ON TOP

Amber Koeth made her final meet at The Nest one to remember as she tied a pair of school records. Koeth anchored the Hornet beam lineup and scored 9.950 which tied current Associate Head Coach Melissa Genovese's record she set in 2008.
Koeth has now scored 9.9 or better in four straight meets this season and has eight routines at or above that mark during her career. The next closest in school history in Genovese who scored 9.9 or higher in six meets during her career.
With the beam record under her belt, Koeth matched the school high mark on floor with a 9.950. That routine came on the final performance of the night and all eyes on Koeth. Her score topped her previous best of 9.900 and tied Stefanie Aeder who scored 9.950 in 2004 and 2005.

ADDING IT UP

Koeth's floor score punctuated the best team performance on the event this year. Sacramento State opened the rotation with a career best from Torri Tavenner who scored 9.850. The team later added a 9.750 from Grace Gilman, a 9.775 from Kara Houghton and a 9.875 from Emma Morgenthaler before Koeth.
The 49.200 team score marked the first time this season that the Hornets surpassed 49 points this season on floor. The total is tied for ninth place in program history and is the highest on floor since a 49.350 at the MPSF Championships on March 19, 2016.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Sacramento State did not have an all-arounder in its lineup last week for the first time this season. The Hornets have relied on Emma Morgenthaler in all four events for the first eight meets. Freshman Sarah Lutrel also competed as an all-arounder in the opening six meets before an ankle injury knocked her out prior to the Air Force meet.
This past week, Morgenthaler competed in three events while Lutrel saw action in two. The pair, who are both trying to qualify for the NCAA postseason, are both expected to return as all-arounders for the final two meets.

DO THE MATH

With just two meets remaining in the season, a lot of math is being done to figure out what teams and individuals will advance to the NCAA postseason. After the conference championships, the top 36 teams will qualify for one of four regionals. The top 12 all-arounders and top 16 individuals on all four events outside of those 36 teams will also punch their ticket.
As of now, Amber Koeth would qualify as a beam specialist as she is eighth nationally among gymnasts on non-advancing teams. Emma Morgenthaler and Sarah Lutrel are both on the outside in the all-around. Morgenthaler will see her score increase if she scores higher than 38.200 in both meets.

Probable Sacramento State Lineup
	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor
1.	Bella Lahmidi	Torri Tavenner	Grace Gilman	Simone Dumas-Guzman
2.	Sarah Fitzgerald	Emma Morgenthaler	Emma Morgenthaler	Bella Lahmidi
3.	Rylin Zimmerman	Sarah Lutrel	Kara Houghton	Kara Houghton
4.	Torri Tavenner	Kara Houghton	Sarah Lutrel	Grace Gilman
5.	Sarah Lutrel	Bella Lahmidi	Peyton Gillen	Emma Morgenthaler
6.	Emma Morgenthaler	Amber Koeth	Amber Koeth	Amber Koeth
ex.	Grace Gilman	None	None	Torri Tavenner