OPENING PASS

• The Sacramento State gymnastics team will open the 2025 season on Sunday, Jan. 5, when the Hornets welcome UW-Oshkosh and UC Davis in a three-team meet at The Nest. The meet will start at 2 p.m. PT.
• The meet will also bee Kids Day. All children 12 and under will be admitted for free and the team will sign autographs following the meet.
• This year marks the 12th consecutive season (minus the canceled 2021 campaign) in which Sacramento State opens the season in a meet which includes UC Davis. On the other side, this week's meet will be the first matchup for the Hornets against UW-Oshkosh in program history.
• Sacramento State returns 14 gymnasts from last seasons roster and welcomes six newcomers to the roster. Among the returners are Simone Dumas-Guzman, Grace Gilman, Kara Houghton, Athena Jones, Jillianne Lastra, Sarah Lutrel, Emma Morgenthaler, Rose Wilson and Rylin Zimmerman who were all key starters for the team a year ago.
• The Hornets return its entire coaching staff from 2024. Head coach Melissa Genovese is back for her second season at the helm and 10th with the program as a coach. She will once again be joined by Nicole Brandt, Megan Kyle and Amber Koeth. The foursome is one of the few all female coaching staffs in the country who each graduated from the school where they coach. 
• Links to live stats and a video stream for this week's meet can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

• UC Davis finished last season ranked 47th nationally with an NQS of 195.780. The Aggies placed second at the MPSF Championships behind a score of 196.525. UC Davis is led by Tanya Ho Gomez who is in her third full season as the team's head coach. Reigning MPSF Specialist of the Year Keanna Abraham is the team's top returner. Abraham was a first team all-MPSF selection on vault and floor and was named second team on beam a year ago. 
• UW-Oshkosh was ranked 67th nationally with an NQS of 193.105. The Titans claimed the WIAC Championship as well as the NCGA Championship titles a year ago. The team's score of 194.975 at the NCGA meet was the highest ever recorded by an NCAA Div. III institution. Mia Lucero is the top return for UWO after tying for first place on vault and winning the outright title on floor at the NCGA Championships. Lauren Karnitz is in her 18th season as the Titans' head coach. Karnitz has twice been named the NCGA national coach of the year.
• The three head coaches in this week's meet are all former gymnasts and graduates of the school they currently coach.

LOOK WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN

• Sacramento State received a boost when Simone Dumas-Guzman and Emma Morgenthaler each opted to return for an extra year. Dumas-Guzman required a waiver from the NCAA to be back for the 2025 season. The graduate student began her collegiate career at Seattle Pacific in 2020 and transferred to the Hornets after SPU discontinued its program. Between the two schools, she has been in the lineup in 28 meets, including 13 on floor in 2024.
• Morgenthaler arrived on campus in 2021 but did not participate as the team opted to not compete that season. She has competed as an all-arounder in 32 of her last 33 regular season meets and qualified as a vault specialist to the NCAA Seattle Regional in 2022.

PROVIDING BACKUP

• If the two veterans weren't enough, Sacramento State also brings back senior Grace Gilman and junior Kara Houghton, Sarah Lutrel and Rylin Zimmerman who have all been fixtures in the lineup over the past several seasons. Gilman competed in every meet last season on vault, beam and floor. Her NQS of 9.825 on floor ranked second on the team and she placed fourth at the MPSF Championships.
• Houghton qualified for the NCAA Berkeley Regional and was named second team all-MPSF on bars. She finished first at the conference meet with a 9.925 and set the school record with an NQS of 9.875.
• Lutrel earned first team all-MPSF on beam and as an all-arounder and was a second team honoree on vault. She competed in the all-around in all 13 meets and ranks fourth in school history with an NQS of 39.175. She tied for second in the all-around at the MPSF Championships with an all-around total of 39.275.
• Zimmerman had a breakout season in 2024 where she set career highs on vault, beam and floor. She competed in the first nine meets of the season before an injury ended her year.

HOME SWEET HOME

• 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

• The 2025 roster features six newcomers. McKenna Carnessi is the only non-freshman of the group as she transferred from Washington.
• Sacramento State is not slated to have an all-around in the meet. Last season, both Lutrel and Morgenthaler were all-arounders in each meet.