The Sacramento State gymnastics team will end its two-week hiatus when it travels to Cal State Fullerton this week. The Hornets and Titans will meet on Sun., Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. in Titan Gym. The Hornets last competed on Jan. 23 where they recorded a season-best 194.025 in a victory over Seattle Pacific. The 16-day layoff between meets is the longest gap for Sacramento State this season.

The Hornets come into the meet with a 3-4 overall record. The team, however, has won its last two dual meets, including a 194.025-189.350 victory over SPU. In that meet, Sacramento State set season-highs on beam, floor and total score.

Cal State Fullerton is 1-5. The Titans opened their season with close losses against California and No. 20 Oregon State before downing Boise State. Last week, CSF lost at Southern Utah on Jan. 30 and finished third in a three-team meet hosted by No. 3 UCLA on Feb. 1.

Last season, the Titans defeated the Hornets, 194.050-192.575, en route to earning a bid to the NCAA West Regional. Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series, 10-5.

• Head Coach Kim Hughes

In his 24th year at the helm of the Hornet gymnastics program, 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 and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

With a career record of 187-178-1, Hughes has led the Hornets to back-to-back MPSF Championships. He also directed Sacramento State to consecutive Western Independent Championships in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, Sacramento State recorded program highs with consecutive meets above 193 (four), most scores over the 194-plateau (four) and most scores over the 193-mark (eight) in a season. Those statistics helped Hughes earn the MPSF Coach of the Year award.

Among his other accomplishments, Hughes 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.

Hughes earned his first Coach of the Year honor in 1984 when the Hornets were a member of the Div. II Northern California Athletic Conference. A graduate of Chico State in 1976, Hughes joined the Sacramento State women’s gymnastics program in 1977 and was named head coach in 1981. During his tenure, Hughes also guided the Hornets to Div. I status in 1992.

• Staying On

After the first two meets of the season, it looked like beam was going to be the biggest challenge facing the Hornets in 2004. The team, however, has taken on the task by recording strong performances in back-to-back meets. The trend started at Seattle Pacific where Sacramento State scored a then-season high 48.575. The team then topped that mark at home against the Falcons with a 48.675. That mark is tied for the fourth-best score in school history.

Not only did the Hornets not have to count a fall on in their most recent meet, all six competitors (plus the team’s exhibiton routine) all stayed on the apperatus. Senior Binta Coleman led the way with a season-high 9.775 to finish in first place. Junior Nirvana Zaher and sophomore Trista Condren were not far behind with 9.750 to finish in a three-way tie for second.

Sophomore Carrie Kinghorn (9.735), junior Jessica Hoffman (9.675) and freshman Tiffany Bass (9.475) completed the team’s competitors. Freshman Courtney Hibler also shined, recording a career-best 9.775 during an exhibition.

• Coleman Named Gymnast of the Week

Binta Coleman was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Female Gymnast of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Coleman helped lead the Hornets to their highest score of the season (194.025) with a career-best 39.250 last Friday night against Seattle Pacific.

Against the Falcons, Coleman recorded scores of 9.875 on bars, 9.775 on beam, 9.875 on floor and 9.725 on vault. Those marks earned her first place on bars, beam and floor and third place on vault. Her all-around total also ranked as the second-best score in school history — trailing only Toni Petersen’s score of 39.325 in 2002.

The Elk Grove, Calif., native currently leads the MPSF in all-around and vault (9.850) and ranks fourth in the conference on floor (9.875). Last season, Coleman won the MPSF title on uneven bars.

Coleman was also named Hornet Bookstore Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time in her career. The award is given weekly to a Sacramento State student-athlete who succeeds in both sports and academics. Coleman is majoring in civil engineering and has a 3.09 gpa.

• Clean Sweep

For the first time this season, Sacramento State swept all four events plus the all-around title in a meet. The Hornets not only finished first in each event, they also clamed at least a share of second place on all four rotations.

The meet started with Jessica Hoffman and Nirvana Zaher tying for first place on vault with 9.750. Coleman then won on bars, beam and floor.

• In the Rankings

Sacramento State heads into the week as the top ranked team in the MPSF in overall score (194.025), vault (48.550) and floor (39.250). The Hornets are also represented in the individual lists with Coleman leading the league on all-around and vault. She is also second on bars and tied for fourth on floor. Hoffman is third on vault (9.775), Tiffany Bass is tied for third on beam (9.800), Stefanie Aeder is tied for fourth on floor (9.875) and Nirvana Zaher is third in the all-around (38.950).

Probable Starting Lineup (* indicates all-arounder)

Vault

1. Meloney Greer

2. Rachel Anderson

3. Tiffany Bass

4. Nirvana Zaher*

5. Jessica Hoffman*

6. Binta Coleman*

Bars

1. Julie Hutzenbiler

2. Carrie Kinghorn

3. Jessica Hoffman*

4. Meloney Greer

5.Binta Coleman*

6. Nirvana Zaher*

Beam

1. Carrie Kinghorn

2. Jessica Hoffman*

3. Trista Condren

4. Tiffany Bass

5. Nirvana Zaher*

6. Binta Coleman*

Floor

1. Trista Condren

2. Jessica Hoffman*

3. Courtney Hibler

4. Nirvana Zaher*

5. Stefanie Aeder

6. Binta Coleman*