OPENING PASS

• The Sacramento State gymnastics team will rekindle its rivalry with UC Davis on Sunday, Mar. 8, at the University Credit Union Center. The meet will begin at 2 p.m.
• The Hornets and Aggies have split the two previous meetings this season. UC Davis won a quad meet at The Nest on Jan. 23 behind a team score of 194.775. Sacramento State claimed a 193.625-192.225 home win on Feb. 15. Along with this Sunday, the teams will square off at the MPSF Championships on Mar. 21 in Cedar City, Utah.
• The all-time series between the schools since 1992 is tied 63-63. The Aggies have had the upper hand in meets at the UCUC, winning the last nine. Sacramento State last road win in the series came on Mar. 16, 2018 (195.275-194.475).
• A live stream will be available on Overnght.com and live stats will be provided. Links can be found on Hornetsports.com.

OPPONENT PREVIEW

• UC Davis is coming iff a 196.925-193.525 loss at Southern Utah last week. The Aggies were led by Amelia Moneymaker who scored a season-high 39.350 in the all-around. Like Sacramento State, UC Davis has been plagued by injuries and illness for the majority of the season, but the Aggies were able to return a couple of gymnasts to their lineup against SUU.
• UC Davis currently ranks third in the MPSF in overall score as well as on vault, bars and floor. The Aggies are second in the league on beam with an NQS of 48.625.
• Moneymaker leads the team on all four events and the all-arounder. She is second in the MPSF with an NQS of 39.210 and is the top ranked gymnast outside of Southern Utah in the conference on every event.
• UC Davis is coached by Tanya Ho Gomez who is in her fourth season leading her alma mater. Ho Gomez previously served as an assistant coach at Sacramento State and was the head coach at Alaska Anchorage.

A LOOK AT THE LAST MEET

• Led by a career-high tying 9.900 on floor from Kara Houghton which tied for first place on floor, Sacramento State set its season high on the event with a 49.175. The Hornets finished the quad meet last Sunday at San Jose State with a total of 193.750 to place fourth. Boise State won the meet behind a season-best 196.275.
• Coming off consecutive season highs, including its most recent on Friday night at The Nest, Sacramento State opened Sunday's meet on floor and continued its success. The Hornets counted five scores of at least 9.775 including four of 9.8 or better. Houghton anchored the lineup and finished in a four-way tie for first place. Sarah Lutrel matched her career best and Lexi Frank set hers with 9.850s. Athena Jones added a 9.800 while Emily Countryman set her personal best with a 9.775. The team's performance placed the Hornets in first place after the rotation.
• The second rotation took the team to vault where Lutrel led the squad with a 9.800. Rose Wilson provided a 9.775 and freshman Cady Gaumont matched her season best with a 9.750.
• The Hornets lost some ground on bars where they totaled 48.375. McKenna Carnesi tied for fourth place overall with a 9.800 to lead the team. Freshman Kayla Herrera matched her season best with a 9.750 and Chloe Cohen received a 9.700.
• Sacramento State entered the final rotation with a chance to set another season best team total if the team could hit on beam. Instead, the team was forced to count a fall resulting in a team score of 47.750. Kaitlyn Driessen followed her 9.900 on Friday night with a team-leading 9.825 to tie for second place in the meet. The sophomore has now scored 9.8 or better in four meets this season, including the last three.

PERFECT HOME FOR SOME 49ERS

• After scoring 49-plus points on an event just once in the first six meets of the season, the Hornets have now done it three meets in row. The streak began with a 49.000 on beam against William & Mary. That score was matched the next meet at home against Cal and San Jose State. Most recently, the Hornets scored 49.175 on floor at SJSU. That score was just a half-tenth shy of cracking the school top 10 for the event.

AWARDS SEASON

• Sacramento State senior Kara Houghton was announced as a finalist for the AAI Award which goes to the top collegiate gymnast in the nation. Houghton has career highs of 9.975 on bars, 9.850 on beam and 9.900 on floor during her four-year career with the Hornets. Others on the list include UCLA's Jordan Chiles, Florida's eMjae Frazier and Utah's Makenna Smith.

BOUNCING BACK IN A BIG WAY

• Kaitlyn Driessen has averaged 9.867 over her last three beam routines and leads the team with an average of 9.731 on the season. The sophomore scored 9.875 to win beam against William & Mary, added a career-high 9.900 against Cal and SJSU and scored 9.825 in the San Jose State quad. During the last two seasons, Driessen has now scored 9.8 or better in six beam routines. The only other member of the this year's team to average 9.7 or better is Athena Jones who owns a mark of 9.703.

NEWS & NOTES

• The Hornets have not competed an all-around for the last four meets. However, Sarah Lutrel has performed on all four events in the last two meets with exhibitions on bars.
• The 2026 roster features gymnasts from six states comprised of nine from California, four from Colorado, two from Arizona and one each from Florida, Illinois and Washington.