Last season, Sacramento State defeated UC Davis in three of four meetings between the two schools. Since moving to Div. I in 1992, the Hornets and Aggies are even at 17-17 all-time.

On Jan. 26 of last year, Sacramento State recorded a 194.125 to defeat the Aggies (190.175) at Recreation Hall. Junior Wendy Baisdon led the Hornets with a 9.9 on bars and a 9.775 on beam while sophomore Toni Petersen led all competitors with a 38.925 all-around score. Flora Bare finished with a meet-high 9.925 on floor to lead UC Davis. On Feb. 16, San Jose State scored a 194.300 to win its home tri-meet against Sacrament State (193.550) and UC Davis (191.825) at Spartan Gym. Junior Lara Goold helped lead the Hornets to a program-best team vault score of 48.600 with a career-high 9.825. Ericka Ruelas led the Aggies with a first-place finish on bars with a 9.875. On March 17, UC Davis scored a season-high 192.575 to win the Sacramento Invitational against the Hornets (192.250) and Alaska Anchorage (183.975) at Hornet Gym. Ruelas led all competitors with a 38.725 all-around while Vanessa Baume finished first on vault with a 9.625. Senior Jolane Parr tied for first with a career-high 9.875 on bars while senior Jami Scoville recorded a career-high 9.900 on floor. In their final meeting of the season, Sacramento State recorded a program record 195.275 to win its second-consecutive Western Independent Conference Championship against San Jose State (194.275), UC Davis (193.050), Seattle Pacific (189.675) and Alaska Anchorage (178.725) at Hornet Gym. The Hornets were led by career highs from freshman Binta Coleman (39.175, all-round) (9.875, beam) (9.8, floor) and seniors Elizabeth Lutz (9.875, beam) and Parr (9.925, bars). UC Davis was led by Poppy Major and Bare who each finished with a meet-high 9.950 on floor.

HEAD COACH KIM HUGHES

After 19 years, head coach Kim Hughes has built a program from the ground up and has solidified Sacramento State as a contender in the NCAA West Region.

With a career record of 160-159-1, Hughes has led the Hornets to consecutive Western Independent Conference championships in 2000 and 2001. He will now lead his program into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2002.

Hughes also guided Sacramento State to a second-place finish at the National Invitational Tournament in 2000 and gave the program its first Regional bid in 1999 while also being named NCAA Region 1 Coach of the Year.

THE UC DAVIS AGGIES

Ray Goldbar enters his 12th season at the helm of the UC Davis gymnastics program and has compiled a 111-118 overall record. Goldbar led the Aggies to their first USA Gymnastics Collegiate national title in 1999. He was also named USA Gymnastics Collegiate Coach of the Year that same season.

In 2001, Goldbar led UC Davis to an 8-11 overall record and a second-place finish at the USAG Collegiate Nationals on April 12-14 at Recreation Hall. The Aggies are led by senior Ericka Ruelas and junior Flora Bare. Ruelas, a native of Sacramento, finished the season as the bar and floor champion at the USAG Collegiate Nationals. Bare, a native of Santa Cruz, Calif., earned the USAG all-around title.

PREVIOUS MEET RECAP

Sacramento State earned its first wins of the season with a score of 189.900 to outlast Towson (187.675) and host UC Santa Barbara (183.175) on Jan. 19 at Robertson Gym.

Sophomore Binta Coleman led the Hornets with an all-around score of 37.975 while junior Jenny Diamond finished with a team-high 9.75 on balance beam.

Coleman, a native of Elk Grove, Calif., also led the squad with a 9.525 vault score while finishing second on the team with a 9.675 on beam.

Senior Lara Goold recorded a 9.425 on vault in her first competition since recovering from off-season ACL surgery. The Golden, Colo., native suffered the injury last year at Cal State Fullerton on March 10.

Freshman Stefanie Aeder (9.725, floor), senior Lori Gillette (9.625, bars) and junior Toni Petersen (37.100, all-around) also contributed for the Hornets.

The Hornets have now scored under the 190 mark in back-to-back meets for the first time since Jan. 22 & 28 of 2000.

NO JINX HERE

The “sophomore jinx” has been a common term in the world of sports but in the case of sophomore Binta Coleman, she has found the lucky charm. After two meets into the 2002 season, the Elk Grove, Calif., native has established herself as the Hornets most consistent competitor.

In the team’s last meet on Jan. 19, she led Sacramento State to its first wins of the season by recording team-highs on vault (9.525) and all-around (37.975). Coleman also finished second on the team with a 9.675 on beam. The sophomore has now led the Hornets in all-around for the second-consecutive meet.

At the Maui Invitational, Coleman led the squad by tying her career-high on bars with a 9.775 while also finishing with team-highs on beam (9.550) and all-around (37.900).

FRESH IMPACT

With a rash of injuries in the early part of the year, the Hornets have turned to its freshman class to find some stability as the squad attempts to return to full-strength. Even though most programs don’t like to depend on first year athletes, freshmen Stefanie Aeder, Meloney Greer, Jessica Hoffman and Dana Raeber have made their presence felt early in the 2002 season.

Aeder, a native of Portland, Ore., has led the squad on floor exercise with scores of 9.725 and 9.8 while also competing on vault and beam.

Greer recorded the second-best bar score at the Maui Invitational (9.8) and at UC Santa Barbara (9.55). Due to a lower back strain, the Couer d’Alene, Idaho, native only competed as a bar specialist on Jan.19. She will continue to stay off of vault and floor at this week’s competition against UC Davis.

Hoffman competed as a three-event specialist (bars, beam and floor) at UCSB for the first time his season due to an ankle injury to senior Melissa Prescott. The Escondido, Calif., native recorded a 9.5 on both bars and floor to help solidify the Hornets’ victory. Hoffman also scored a season-high 9.75 as a bar specialist at the Maui Invitational on Jan 4.

Raeber, a native of Visalia, Calif., has been a steady member of the Hornet bar squad with a 9.525 at the Maui Invitational and a 9.325 at UCSB.

The Hornets will get an added bonus this week as freshman Nirvana Zaher will make her debut for Sacramento State at UC Davis. The international champion from Cairo, Egypt, had to sit out the first two meets of the season due to final transcript clearance. Her brother Sherif competes for the Hornet men’s tennis team at the No. 1 singles’ spot.

HORNETS FIND A NEW NESTING PLACE

After spending the past six seasons in the Western Independent Conference, Sacramento State will now call the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation home. The MPSF recently added women’s gymnastics as its eighth sport along with men’s soccer, men’s and women’s water polo, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s gymnastics and men’s volleyball.

The Hornets will be joined by Air Force, San Jose State, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara in the inaugural season. The Spartans and Aggies make their way from the disbanded Western Independent Conference, the Gauchos leave the Big West Conference while Air Force drops its independent status. The first conference championship will be held on Saturday, March 23, at U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.

NEWS FROM THE INJURY FRONT

Senior Wendy Baisdon, the program’s bar champion with a 9.950, will look to return from her ACL injury in 1-2 weeks.

Senior Karen Sorensen, a three event specialist (bars, beam, floor), has sat out the past eight weeks with a neck injury after falling off of the uneven bars during a practice routine. She will look to make her return against Boise State on Feb. 10 at Hornet Gym.

Prescott injured her right ankle on floor exercise while attempting to land her final pass at the Maui Invitational. The sprain will keep the Elk Grove, Calif., native out of competition for at least 1-2 weeks.