OPENING PASS

• The Sacramento State gymnastics team will make a rare trip to Cedar City, Utah as the Hornets will take on 29th-ranked Southern Utah on Friday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. PT.
• Sacramento State is coming off a third-place finish at Boise State last Friday. The team scored 194.600 and enters this week with a season average of 194.205.
• This week is the third of six-straight road meets for the Hornets. The team opened the year with three consecutive meets at home and will end the regular season with three more home meets.
• Links to live stats and a video stream for this week's meet can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

• Southern Utah has scored at least 194.750 in each of its five meets this season. The T-Birds most recently won a three-team meet at UC Davis which also included BYU on Friday night. SUU scored 195.875 while BYU was close behind at 195.550 and UC Davis tallied a 194.100.
• Southern Utah holds a 16-7 lead in the all-time series. This week marks the first time the Hornets will compete in Cedar City, Utah since 2016 and just the eighth all-time. The Hornets' last road win at SUU came at the 2013 WAC Championships. The two teams will meet again at The Nest on Feb. 28 and then at the MPSF Championships in Anchorage, Alaska on Mar. 23.
• Niya Randolph leads the team with an average of 38.980 in the all-around. Randolph also owns the top average on the squad on vault (9.795) and beam (9.765).
• The T-Birds are coached by Scotty Bauman who is in his 34th season as the team's head coach.

A LOOK AT THE LAST MEET

• Emma Morgenthaler finished first in the all-around and Sarah Lutrel tied for second on beam and third on vault as Sacramento State (194.600) finished behind #34 Boise State (195.925) and #35 Utah State (195.850).
• For the second-straight meet the Hornets opened on beam. The team totaled 48.925 — its highest score for any rotation on the night — and were led by Lutrel who tied for second place with a 9.850. The team scored 48.525 on floor in the second rotation. Sacramento State's top four scores were tightly packed as Gilman and Morgenthaler received 9.750s and Kara Houghton and Lutrel scored 9.725.
• The Hornets equaled that team score on vault. Lutrel, once again, had the high mark for the team, scoring 9.775. Sacramento State soared past the 194-plateau in the final rotation with a 48.625 on bars. Freshman Maliyah James and Houghton each received a 9.800 to tie for ninth place overall.

MAKING IT OFFICIAL

• After three meets of performing in all four events, Emma Morgenthaler recorded her first all-around score of the season in the tri-meet at Boise State. Morgenthaler has been in the lineup on vault, bars and beam all season and had performed exhibitions on floor in three meets. Against Boise State and Utah State, the senior totaled 38.900 to win the all-around title. She also set season highs on bars (9.675) and floor (9.750). Prior to this season, Morgenthaler had been an all-arounder in 34 of the last 35 team meets. Last season she set her career best with a total of 39.325 against Air Force.

WINNING IS CONTAGIOUS

• Morgenthaler's victory in the all-around extended Sacramento State's streak of having at least one individual winner in each meet this season. Hornet gymnasts have now at least earned a share of first place in 12 events. The number is even more impressive when you factor in that those 12 wins have come from nine different gymnasts. Sarah Lutrel is the only member of the team to finish first multiple times in the same event this year as she has a pair of wins on vault to go along with one victory on beam. 
• The Hornets have seen Lutrel and Grace Gilman win on vault and Hannah Sitzman, Chloe Cohen and Kara Houghton each finish in first place on bars. On beam, Lutrel, Athena Jones, Rylin Zimmerman and Kaitlyn Driessen have each had wins this season. The final two wins have come from Jones on floor and Morgenthaler in the all-around.

ADD IT UP

• Sacramento State's season average of 194.205 is the second highest in program history through five meets. The team's current mark trails on the 2016 average of 194.440. That team went on to win the MPSF Championship. However, the Hornets know this season's average has the potential to be much higher. If you count all four of the team's season event highs, Sacramento State has the ability to score 196-plus.

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.

REMEMBERING RANDY

• Longtime Sacramento State gymnastics coach Randy Solorio passed away on Feb. 5 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Randy served the campus for nearly 40 years as an assistant coach, head coach and kinesiology instructor. The team will wear temporary tattoos for the remainder the year which will have a green and gold ribbon as well as Randy's initials.