The Hornets will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., to compete in the inaugural MPSF Championships on Saturday, March 23, at 6 p.m. PST at the USAF Academy. The Broncos will travel to Logan, Utah, for the Western Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday, March 23, also at 6 p.m.

Sacramento State recorded its third-highest score in program history with a 194.350 against Boise State (194.275), San Jose State (193.775) and Cal (191.975) on March 16 at Haas Pavilion. The Hornets are currently ranked 39th in the nation.

Air Force (8-7) enters the contest ranked 42nd in the nation after falling to Denver 195.625-195.025 at Cadet Gymnasium’s West Gym.

San Jose State (12-8) is currently ranked 49th nationally after finishing third against Boise State, Sacramento State and Cal with a season-high 193.775 on March 16 at Haas Pavilion.

UC Davis (12-7) enters the meet ranked 59th nationally after defeating Sacramento State 193.400-192.125 on March 15 at Hornet Gym.

UC Santa Barbara (0-18) ranks 69th in the nation after dropping a 192.800-187.625 contest to Air Force on March 8 at Robertson Gym.

Since joining the Division I ranks in 1992, the Hornets are 27-9 against the Spartans, 18-18 against the Aggies, 9-9-1 versus the Gauchos and 6-1 against the Falcons in all-time matchups.

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 169-162-1, 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 Air Force Falcons

Lisa Woody is in her second season at the helm of the Air Force gymnastics program and has compiled a 19-17 overall record. In 2001, Woody led the Falcons to their first NCAA North Central Regional bid while also winning the team championship for the USAG Collegiate Nationals for the first time in program history. Woody also earned NCAA North Central Region Coach of the Year honors that same season.

The MPSF Championships will be the first meeting this season between the Falcons and Hornets. Air Force is led by all-arounders Jenn Dougherty, Todd Allison, Kim Broughton and Beth Stott. Broughton, a native of Loveland, Colo., competed at Sacramento State during the 1999-2000 season before transferring to Air Force.

THE UC DAVIS AGGIES

Ray Goldbar is completing his 12th season with the UC Davis gymnastics program and has compiled a 117-123 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.

This season, the Aggies fell to the Hornets 190.850-190.275 on Feb. 1 at Recreation Hall. On March 15, the Aggies defeated the Hornets 193.400-192.125 at Hornet Gym.

THE UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS

Alanna Trimble ends her first season with the UC Santa Barbara gymnastics program after competing with the Gauchos from 1996-2000 and serving as an assistant for former head coach Megan Fenton last season. Trimble replaced Mari-Rae Sopper, who was appointed head coach on Aug. 31, but was aboard the Sept. 11 American Airlines flight that was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon.

This season, the Gauchos (183.175) dropped a home tri-meet to Sacramento State (189.900) and Towson (187.675) at Robertson Gym on Jan. 19.

THE SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS

Head coach Wayne Wright is completing his first season with the Spartan gymnastics program following the retirement of Jackie Walker after 17 years of coaching with San Jose State. Wright had spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Stanford after spending nine years as an assistant at San Jose State.

This season, the Spartans (193.325) fell at home to Cal State Fullerton (195.300) and Sacramento State (194.100) on March 8 at Spartan Gym. The Spartans also lost a road contest to the Hornets (193.500-192.450) on March 10 at Hornet Gym.

REGIONAL PICTURE

It has come down to the final meet of the season and Sacramento State is in prime position to qualify for its second NCAA West Regional appearance in program history. The Hornets qualified for their first regional in 1999.

Sacramento State and Boise State currently sit sixth in the region with a Regional Qualifying Score of 193.110 behind UCLA (197.080), Stanford (196.210), Oregon State (195.735), Washington (194.465) and Cal State Fullerton (194.120). Only the top six schools qualify for a trip to Corvallis, Ore., for regional competition.

Several scenarios could determine who would earn the final spot in the regional race but the most direct goes as follows: For Sacramento State, the Hornets must record a score higher than 194.475 and Boise State must not score higher than a 194.550. For Boise State, the Broncos must record a score higher than 194.550. A team’s RQS is registered by taking the top six scores on the season (no more than three home scores) and removing the top score from the average equation.

In two meetings this season, the Hornets defeated the Broncos (193.925-192.350) at Hornet Gym on Feb. 10. On March 16, Sacramento State (194.350) won a quad-meet against Boise State (194.275), San Jose State (193.775) and host Cal (191.975) at Haas Pavilion.

CONFERENCE PICTURE

In the inaugural season of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Air Force and Sacramento State have established themselves as the contenders in the conference championships on March 23. Air Force will host the event at Cadet Stadium West Gym at 6 p.m. PST.

The Hornets are currently ranked first in the conference with a 193.810 RQS. The Falcons sit second with a 193.745 RQS and currently own the conference’s highest score of 195.075. The Spartans are third with a 192.700 RQS while UC Davis (191.355) and UC Santa Barbara (183.705) round out the rest of the conference field.

HORNET NOTABLES

The Hornets recorded a program record 48.850 on vault and a season-high 49.050 on bars while competing at Cal on March 16...senior Lori Gillette is currently ranked 30th in the nation, ninth in the West Region and first in the MPSF on bars...Sacramento State’s national rank (39th) and RQS (193.810) are the highest in program history with one meet remaining on the schedule.