Gymnastics 3/2/2023 5:19:00 PM

GYMNASTICS HOSTS SENIOR NIGHT, SOLORIO FAREWELL ON FRIDAY

Hornets to take on No. 19 Southern Utah, San Jose State and UC Davis at 7 p.m. in The Nest

OPENING PASS

For the final time during the 2023 season, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will appear at The Nest on Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m. The Hornets will host San Jose State, Southern Utah and UC Davis in the meet.
Following the action, the University will recognize the team's six seniors who will be performing at home for the final time. Sacramento State will also honor head coach Randy Solorio who will be retiring at the end of the year.
Sacramento State set its season high with a 195.725 in a narrow win over Air Force last Friday. The Hornets are averaging 195.267 in its last three home meets.
Links to live scoring and a live video stream can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

Southern Utah is the highest ranked team in the field as the T-Birds come in 19th in the latest RoadToNationals poll. Karley McClain is tied for 19th nationally with an NQS of 39.435 in the all-around and 9.915 on floor.
SUU is coached by Scotty Bauman who is in his 32nd year leading the team. The T-Birds hold a 12-7 lead in the all-time series. Southern Utah has not competed in The Nest since 2012 when the teams were in the WAC.
San Jose State currently owns the final postseason berth as the Spartans are 36th with an NQS of 195.780. SJSU leads the MPSF on bars and beam and is second in the other two events. Individually, Jaudai Lopes is tied for first in the conference on vault (9.850), Emma Milne leads on bars (9.880) and beam (9.875), Jade Mazury on floor (9.900) and Lauren Macpherson in the all-around (39.265).
Joanne Bowers is in her fifth season as the team's head coach. SJSU has won the last 10 matchups between the two teams and now owns a 61-53-1 lead in the series.
UC Davis is ranked 45th and is just over a half-point out of the postseason. The Aggies have scored 195.250 or better in five consecutive meets. The team leads the Big Sky on vault and floor and is second overall with an NQS of 195.245.
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, 59-54, but have dropped the past 17 meetings to UC Davis.

A LOOK AT THE LATEST ACTION

Sacramento State produced its best score in nearly seven years and rallied for a narrow 195.725-195.650 victory over Air Force last Friday at The Nest. The score is the fifth highest in school history and the best since the team totaled 196.300 at the MPSF Championships on March 19, 2016.
The Hornets accounted for the individual winner on all four events. Amber Koeth claimed the top spot in all three of her events, sharing the honor with freshman Kara Houghton on bars and floor. Emma Morgenthaler added a victory on vault to spark the team.
The teams were never separated by more than three-tenths of point throughout the meet. Air Force opened with a strong showing on bars, totaling 48.975 and held the lead following the first rotation as Sacramento State scored 48.650. The Hornets took their first lead at the midway point of the meet after a 49.150 on bars which is tied for the fourth best in program history.
Air Force remained within striking distance with a 48.925 on floor compared to a 48.975 on beam for the Hornets. The Falcons finished beam with a 49.125 but it was not enough to top the Hornets who scored 48.950 on floor.

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.

SENIOR SALUTE

Peyton Gillen has been a beam specialist throughout her career…owns a high of 9.900 set last season at Stanford…trained at Byers Gymnastics II in Roseville…majoring in psychology.
Bella Lahmidi has competed on vault, bars and floor during her career…set career bests on bars (9.800) and floor (9.725) in the last three meets…best vault was 9.750 as a freshman…competed for Waller's GymJam at the club level…majoring in health science.
Anna LeRoy was named second team all-MPSF on floor as a freshman…missed all of 2022 but returned to perform on floor this season…career high of 9.850 came against UC Davis…also competed on vault as a freshman…trained at Desert Lights…majoring in environmental science.
Kelly MacLeod has missed the entire 2023 season due to injury…competed on vault five times as a freshman…trained at National Gymnastics Training Center…majoring in communication sciences and disorders.
Karissa Hoffman has served numerous roles for the team and athletics department…is president of the SAAC…overcame numerous injuries to make her debut last season…trained at Desert Lights…earned her degree in kinesiology.
Amber Koeth will leave Sacramento State as one of the all-time greats on beam…scored 9.925 on beam this season to tie for second in school history…has seven scores of 9.9+ during her career…four time all-MPSF honoree…trained at Gymcats…majoring in psychology.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE

Amber Koeth has taken home the MPSF Specialist of the Week award two weeks in a row. Against Air Force she started her meet with a career-high tying 9.875 to finish tied for first place in the event. She then scored 9.900 on beam to win the event outright and record her third straight performance on the event with a score of 9.9 or better. Koeth's final routine was a 9.850 on floor which tied for first place.
Kara Houghton was named the MPSF Freshman of the Week after tying for first place in two of her three events. Houghton set a career best with a 9.875 on bars in her first routine. She then scored 9.700 on beam and ended with a career high 9.850 on floor. The event victories were the first for Houghton during her freshman season.

PROBABLE SACRAMENTO STATE LINEUP
	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor
1.	Bella Lahmidi	Torri Tavenner	Grace Gilman	Torri Tavenner
2.	Sarah Fitzgerald	Sarah Fitzgerald	Emma Morgenthaler	Bella Lahmidi
3.	Rylin Zimmerman	Sarah Lutrel	Kara Houghton	Grace Gilman
4.	Grace Gilman	Kara Houghton	Sarah Lutrel	Kara Houghton
5.	Torri Tavenner	Bella Lahmidi	Peyton Gillen	Emma Morgenthaler
6.	Emma Morgenthaler	Amber Koeth	Amber Koeth	Amber Koeth
ex.	None	None	None	Anna LeRoy

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Fitzgerald: 5' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore

Peyton Gillen: 5' 3"; Senior

Grace Gilman: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Karissa Hoffman: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Amber Koeth: 5' 6"; Graduate Student

Bella Lahmidi: 5' 7"; Senior

Anna LeRoy: 5' 3"; Senior

Kelly MacLeod: 5' 2"; Senior

Emma Morgenthaler: 4' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

Torri Tavenner: 5' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Sarah Fitzgerald
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Sophomore

Peyton Gillen
: 5' 3"; Senior

Grace Gilman
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Karissa Hoffman
: 5' 2"; Graduate Student

Amber Koeth
: 5' 6"; Graduate Student

Bella Lahmidi
: 5' 7"; Senior

Anna LeRoy
: 5' 3"; Senior

Kelly MacLeod
: 5' 2"; Senior

Emma Morgenthaler
: 4' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

Torri Tavenner
: 5' 3"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned

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