GYMNASTICS RETURNS TO THE NEST TO WELCOME UC DAVIS ON FRIDAY NIGHT

OPENING PASS

For just the second time this season the Sacramento State gymnastics team will compete at home as the Hornets welcome UC Davis to The Nest on Friday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. This will be the second of three meetings this season between the two teams.
Sacramento State has continued to build on its score each week, most recently scoring 194.425 at San Jose State on Jan. 28. The Hornets have seen their score improve each week throughout the season.
Links to live stats and a video stream for this week's meet can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

UC Davis improved to 4-0 despite scoring its lowest total of the year in a 194.600-185.100 win over Gustavus Adolphus last weekend at home. The Aggies swept the individual and all-around titles during the meet with Keanna Abraham placing first on vault and beam, Amelia Moneymaker on bars and in the all-around, and Megan Ray on floor. Abraham was named the MPSF Specialist of the Week with scores of 9.925 on vault and 9.775 on beam.
UC Davis currently ranks second in the MPSF with a season average of 194.975 in four meets. The Aggies' season high of 195.300 also places the team second in the conference this year. Southern Utah currently owns the top spot with an average of 195.131 and a high of 196.025.
Tanya Ho is in her second year as the team's head coach. Ho previously served as an assistant coach at Sacramento State and was the head coach at Alaska Anchorage.
The Hornets hold a narrow 59-58 lead in the all-time series.

A LOOK AT LATEST ACTION

Sacramento State totaled a season-high 194.425 at San Jose State last Sunday afternoon. The host Spartans won the meet with a season best of their own, scoring 196.500.
Sacramento State opened the meet on bars and produced a season high 48.750 on the event where Kara Houghton led the team with a 9.825. The second rotation took the Hornets to vault where the team finished with a total of 48.575. Grace Gilman and Sarah Lutrel tied for the team lead with each scoring 9.800.
Morgenthaler and Lutrel paced the team on floor in the third rotation behind a pair of 9.850s. As a team, the Hornets scored 48.800. The team closed the competition on beam with a 48.300 team score. Freshman Athena Jones led the squad with a career high 9.850 to place second overall in the meet.

A LONG TIME COMING

Sacramento State will unveil a new training facility early in the 2024 season. The building, which is located on Folsom Blvd. and is within walking distance of campus, will be mark the first time the Hornets will have access to its own facility in school history.
The training site will have a full size competition floor and several sets of the other apparatus. The facility is expected to open in February 2024.

SWINGING HIGHER

The Hornets' bars score has also increased in all four competitions this year, most recently scoring 48.750. Against the Spartans, the team counted five scores of at least 9.700. Kara Houghton led the way with a 9.825 while Jillianne Lastra added a 9.800. While the team score was the best of the year, those two individual numbers where just off the season bests of Houghton (9.875) and Lastra (9.850).
The two seasons bests that were recorded on bars at San Jose State came from Emma Morgenthaler and Sarah Lutrel who each scored 9.700 to account for the final two marks that counted toward the team total. The pair also had success in the all-around where Morgenthaler scored a season high 38.900 to place second and Lutrel added a four-event total of 38.850 which was a tenth off her season high.

LEADING WITH CONSISTENCY

Rylin Zimmerman and Grace Gilman rank among the top two on the team in two events through the first four meets of the season. The pair are tied for the team lead on vault with each averaging 9.756. Zimmerman also serves as the team leader on beam with an average of 9.712 while Gilman ranks second on floor at 9.737.
Gilman has seen her four vault scores range from 9.725 in the opener to a season-high 9.800 last week at San Jose State. Her floor scores would have also been within a tenth from low to high if not for her stepping out of bounds last week resulting in a 9.650. Her high for the year on floor was a 9.825 against SJSU at The Nest.
Zimmerman has already set career highs on vault (9.800), beam (9.775) and floor (9.850) this season. The sophomore has eight scores of at last 9.750 in 12 routines this year.

NEWS & NOTES

The Hornets have used 12 gymnasts in their lineup this season with a third of those coming from true freshmen. Athena Jones, Jillianne Lastra and Rose Wilson have been in the lineup in all four meets while Mallory Barron has competed in two.
Friday night's meet will be the annual Compete for a Cause meet. Hornet gymnasts will wear ribbons to show support for a cause of their choosing.

Players Mentioned