OPENING PASS

• After a record-setting opening meet, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will look to continue its early-season success when it welcomes San Jose State on Sunday, Jan. 12. The meet will be held at The Nest and begin at 2 p.m.
• The Hornets earned wins last Sunday over UC Davis and UW-Oshkosh with a total of 194.700. The score was the best by a Sacramento State to start a season in school history. Individually, the team claimed at least a share of  the event title on three of the four events.
• Links to live stats and a video stream for this week's meet can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

• San Jose State will be competing for the first time this season on Sunday. The Spartans are coming off a 2024 campaign which saw the team finish the year with an NQS of 196.555 which earned them a spot in the NCAA postseason.
• SJSU returns a large chunk of last season's squad, including Madison Kirsch, Jaudai Lopes, Mia Nelson and Katherine Weyhmiller who all competed in multiple events at the NCAA regional last year. Weyhmiller also was an individual specialist on beam where she scored 9.875.
• Joanne Bowers is in her seventh season at the head coach of the Spartans. 
• San Jose State holds a 65-53-1 lead in the all-time series. SJSU has won the last 14 meetings and 22 of the past 24.

GETTING IT ROLLING

• The Hornets' score of 194.700 bettered the previous high of 194.475 in a season-opening meet which came at the 2017 NorCal Classic in Berkeley, Calif.
• Each of the four team event scores also landed in the top 10 in program history to begin a year. The beam score of 48.975 is second in the school record book. The only score better than the one produced Saturday was a 49.050 at the 2014 NorCal Classic at The Nest. On bars, the team totaled 48.700 which is tied for the second best in a season-opener. The record of 48.875 came against Cal State Fullerton in 2001. The floor score of 48.500 is seventh in school opening-meet history while the vault mark of 48.475 is tied for eighth.
• Individually, Sacramento State had seven marks land in the top 10 for a season opener. The list is headlined by Hannah Sitzman and Rylin Zimmerman who scored 9.850 on bars and beam, respectively, to tie for second  in each event. The school record on bars in an opener is held by Wendy Baisdon who scored 9.900 in 2001. Amber Koeth holds the record on beam with a 9.875 in 2022.

HOUGHTON NAMED MPSF GYMNAST OF THE WEEK

• Junior Kara Houghton was named the MPSF Gymnast of the Week for the first time in her career. Houghton scored 9.800 on bars, beam and floor in the opening meet of the season. Houghton was named the MPSF Specialist of the Week one time last season. Against UC Davis and UW-Oshkosh, Houghton placed second on bars, and tied for second on beam and floor.

WINNERS CIRCLE

• Sacramento State gymnasts claimed a share of the event title on three of the four events last weekend. Sarah Lutrel scored 9.800 to tie for first place on vault. The win was the fourth of her career on the event and her first since 2023.
• Competing in the bars lineup for the first time in her career, Hannah Sitzman was the outright champion with a score of 9.850. Sitzman's score was tied for the second-highest by a Hornet in a season-opener and was only topped by a 9.900 from Wendy Baisdon against Cal State Fullerton in 2001. Last year, Sitzman performed exhibitions on bars in three meets.
• Rylin Zimmerman claimed her second career victory on beam. Zimmerman received a 9.850 to take sole possession of first place. The score set her career best, breaking her previous high of 9.775. Zimmerman also moved into a tie for second place in school season-opening history on beam. The school record in the first meet of the year is held by current assistant coach Amber Koeth who scored 9.875 at UC Davis/Michigan State in 2022.  

• Sacramento State will start its season with three consecutive meets at home. Since complete records were kept (1992-pres.), this year will mark the first time the team will open a year with three meets in a row at home. In fact, the Hornets have only had back-to-back home meets to begin a year just one time (2019) in that span.

• Sacramento State moved into its new training facility this past summer. The building, which is located on Folsom Blvd. and is within walking distance of campus, marks the first time the Hornets will have access to its own facility in school history. The training site has a full size competition floor and several sets of the other apparatus as well as a locker room, athletic training space and team lounge.

THIS AND THAT

• Olivia Schmitt returned to competition for the first time since in nearly two years and showed no signs of rust. Schmitt last competed on Jan. 7, 2023 but suffered a torn Achilles tendon which sidelined her through the 2024 season. She responded on Sunday with a 9.800 on floor and also competed on vault.
• Kaitelyn Driessen was the only true freshman in the lineup in the opener while two others had exhibitions.