OPENING PASS

• The 2025 season will come to a culmination on Saturday, Mar. 23, for the Sacramento State gymnastics team as it competes in the MPSF Championships hosted by Alaska Anchorage. The four-team meet will get underway at 3 p.m. PT from the Avis Alaska Sports Complex. The Hornets will begin the meet on floor while top-seeded Southern Utah will start on vault. UC Davis begins on bars and the host Seawolves start on beam.
• This year marks the first time the MPSF Championships returns to Anchorage, Alaska, since 2015. That season, the Hornets finished in third place in a meet which was won by UC Davis.
• A live stream will be available via overnght and live stats will also be provided. Links can be found on hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

• Southern Utah has moved up to 23rd nationally with an NQS of 196.315. The T-Birds, who won last season's MPSF title in Sacramento, have scored 196-plus in their last seven meets. Niya Randolph is the MPSF leader in the all-around (39.335) and on bars (9.860) while Ellie Cacciola leads the league on vault (9.870) and beam (9.865).
• UC Davis continued its late-season surge and now has a postseason berth in reach. The Aggies are 38th nationally with an NQS of 195.645.  Amelia Moneymaker paces the MPSF on floor with a 9.905 NQS and is second in the all-around (39.305 NQS).
• Alaska Anchorage owns an NQS of 192.435 with a high of 193.325. Montana Fairbairn is the highest-ranked individual for UAA as she is ninth on floor in the MPSF with an NQS of 9.835.

A LOOK AT THE LAST MEET

• Sacramento State set its season best with a total of 195.250 in a narrow home loss to UC Davis (195.800) last Friday at The Nest. The two teams were separated by no more than .125 points on vault, bars and beam. The Aggies were able to pull away on floor where they totaled 49.300 compared to a 49.050 on floor for the Hornets. 
• Hannah Sitzman tied for first place on bars with a career-high 9.900. Sitzman's score was the highest on the team on bars this season and tied for the highest on any event for Sacramento State in 2025. For her efforts, Sitzman was named the MPSF Specialist of the Week for the first time in her career. 
• Other top-three finishes for the team included Rylin Zimmerman on vault (t-3rd, 9.825), Chloe Cohen and Kara Houghton on bars (t-3rd, 9.750), and Houghton on Sara Lutrel on beam (t-3rd, 9.800). Lutrel totaled 39.975 to finish in second place in the all-around while Emma Morgenthaler had her five-meet streak of 39-plus points halted with a total of 38.525.

POSTSEASON PAST

• Sacramento State is in its second tenure in the MPSF. The Hornets joined the conference in 2002 and won three of the first four championships with a second-place finish in the other. After competing in the WAC from 2006-13, Sacramento State returned to the MPSF in 2014 where it again finished first. Following a third-place finish in 2015, the Hornets won the team crown in 2016. Since that point, the team has not finished higher than third place in the last six conference meets.
• The Hornets finished in third place last season at The Nest with a team score of 196.125. Emma Morgenthaler tied for first place on vault with a 9.900 and Kara Houghton was the outright champion on bars with a 9.925. The pair became the first individual event winners for the team at the MPSF Championship since 2007.

SITZMAN EARNS MPSF HONOR

• Hannah Sitzman was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Specialist of the Week. The honor was the first for Sitzman during her career.
• Competing in the final home meet of the season on Mar. 14 against UC Davis, Sitzman opened the team's bar rotation with a career-high 9.900. That score matched UC Davis' Amelia Moneymaker for first place in the competition to give Sitzman her sixth first-place showing the season.
• The Golden, Colo., native heads into this week's MPSF Championships in Anchorage, Alaska with a season average of 9.663 on bars and an NQS of 9.830 which is tied for fifth in the MPSF. Her current NQS would place her 10th in school single-season history.

NEWS & NOTES

• Emma Morgenthaler had her streak of five-straight meets of at least 39 points in the all-around come to a close as she totaled 38.525 against UC Davis. Morgenthaler was still able to increase her NQS and enters this week with an opportunity to qualify for an NCAA regional as an all-arounder. Her NQS of 39.020 currently ranks 10th in school single-season history.
• Sacramento State has yet to use the same lineup in consecutive meets this season. In all 14 gymnasts have been in the lineup this season over the four events.

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.