Sacramento State

Gymnastics 3/22/2024 12:55:00 PM

GYMNASTICS HOSTS MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Hornets enter the week after two high scoring road meets last weekend

OPENING PASS

Sacramento State will host the MPSF Gymnastics Championship on Saturday, Mar. 23, at 3 p.m. at The Nest. Along with the Hornets, the meet will include #32 Southern Utah, UC Davis and Alaska Anchorage.
Sacramento State last hosted the MPSF Championships in 2016
Links to live stats and a video stream for this week's meet can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

Southern Utah is the highest ranked team in the field with an NQS of 196.585. The Thunderbirds are led by freshman Niya Randolph who owns the highest NQS in the conference in the all-around (39.335) and on bars (9.895). This week will be the third meeting this season between Sacramento State and SUU. Southern Utah won the first two neutral-site matchups at Boise State and Washington.
UC Davis is the defending MPSF champion. The Aggies have an NQS of 195.530 and are guided by Keanna Abraham who leads the conference on vault (9.900) and floor (9.900). This will also be the third meeting between the Hornets and UC Davis this season with each time winning on their home floor in the previous two.
Alaska Anchorage will be making its second trip to Sacramento in the last two weeks. The Hornets recorded a 195.150-191.500 win over the Seawolves at The Nest on Mar. 10.

A LOOK AT LATEST ACTION

Sacramento State recorded its highest road score in over seven years and posted its second highest score of the season with a 195.400 in a three-team meet at Cal on Sunday afternoon. The meet was won by third-ranked Cal which totaled 197.925 while No. 25 Stanford was second at 197.675.
Sacramento State opened on beam with a 48.850. Sarah Lutrel led the team with a 9.850 while Kara Houghton followed at 9.800. The team moved to floor in the second rotation and totaled 48.950. The Hornets counted five scores between 9.750 and 9.825 with Grace Gilman and Lutrel tying for the team lead.
Lutrel set a career high on vault for the second time in a three-day span, scoring 9.875 on Sunday to tie for sixth overall. That effort topped her mark of 9.850 at Washington last Friday. Sarah Fitzgerald and Emma Morgenthaler each scored 9.800.
Sacramento State concluded the competition on bars where it scored 48.800. Freshman Jillianne Lastra finished in sixth place with a 9.875 and Kara Houghton scored 9.825 to tie for 10th place.
Lutrel completed the all-around with a total of 39.300 which is the second-highest of her career. The sophomore has now scored 39-plus in three consecutive meets and six of the previous seven.

HANDING OUT HARDWARE

Four Sacramento State gymnasts were named to the all-MPSF teams which were announced on Thursday. The group is headlined by Sarah Lutrel who was placed on the first team for beam and in the all-around and second team on vault. Lutrel has surged in the last half of the year, scoring at least 39 points in six of the final seven meets of the regular season, including a career high 39.425 against Air Force. Her current NQS of 9.845 on beam ranks fourth in the MPSF and would place her fifth in Sacramento State single-season history. She has been extremely consistent during the year, hitting 46 of 48 routines, scored 9.8-plus in 18 routines and 9.75 or above in 28.
Kara Houghton and Jillianne Lastra were named second team on bars and Emma Morgenthaler was a second team selection on floor and in the all-around. Houghton leads the team and ranks sixth in the MPSF with an NQS of 9.860 on bars and averages 9.771 in the event. Lastra's NQS of 9.835 ranks seventh in the MPSF this season and would tie her for seventh in school single-season history. Morgenthaler has averaged 38.827 with an NQS of 39.005. On floor, Morgenthaler guides the team with an NQS of 9.84 and an average of 9.808. She has scored 9.750 or better in all 12 of her routines with a best of 9.850 in four meets.
Melissa Genovese was named the MPSF Coach of the Year in her first season. Genovese becomes the second Hornet head coach to earn the honor, following Kim Hughes in 2015.

MPSF POSTSEASON HISTORY

Sacramento State has won five MPSF gymnastics team titles. The Hornets captured the first two and three of the first four with wins in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Sacramento State's last MPSF championship came in 2016.
The Hornets have hosted the MPSF Championships three times (2003, 2005, 2016) and been victorious on each occasion.

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 spring 2024.

THIS AND THAT

Sacramento State's has now scored 194-plus in 11 consecutive meets. The team's scoring average of 194.815 is the highest through 12 meets in program history and makes this year's Hornets one of just four teams to average at least 194 at this point of the season.
Rose Wilson is expected to return to the lineup this week after missing both meets last weekend due to a knee injury.

Probable Sacramento State Lineup
	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor
1.	Grace Gilman	Sarah Lutrel	Emma Morgenthaler	Simone Dumas-Guzman
2.	Bella Lahmidi	Emma Morgenthaler	Grace Gilman	Kara Houghton
3.	Sarah Fitzgerald	Rose Wilson	Athena Jones	Athena Jones
4.	Emma Morgenthaler	Jillianne Lastra	Mallory Barron	Emma Morgenthaler
5.	Rose Wilson	Bella Lahmidi	Sarah Lutrel	Grace Gilman
6.	Sarah Lutrel	Kara Houghton	Kara Houghton	Sarah Lutrel
alt.	Mallory Barron	Sarah Fitzgerald	Simone Dumas-Guzman	Mallory Barron