Coming off a first-place showing in a three-way meet against UC Davis and Alaska Anchorage, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will compete in its final road dual meet this Friday, March 5, at Seattle Pacific. The meet against the Falcons will start at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.

The Hornets enter the meet with an 8-7 record. The team earned two victories on Feb. 25 to move above .500 for the first time this season. In the meet, Sacramento State recorded the top team score on three events and had the individual winner in all four events and the all-around.

Seattle Pacific is currently 2-12 and has lost its last five decisions. The Falcons most recently competed in a three-way meet hosted by Oregon State. The host Beavers finished first with 195.925 while Cal (190.925) edged SPU (190.300) for second place. Sophomore Debra Huss, who trained locally at Technique in Rancho Cordova, Calif., leads the Falcons on bars, beam, floor and all-around.

Including the Hornets’ 191.600-189.500 victory on Jan. 14, Sacramento State leads the all-time series 26-16.

• Head Coach Kim Hughes

In his 25th 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 206-191-2, Hughes led the Hornets to back-to-back MPSF Championships in 2002 and 2003 before finishing second last season. 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.

In 2004, Hughes led the team to its two best scores in school history. The top mark of 195.875 came at the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational at Oregon State. The team also set program records on the vault, beam and floor last season.

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.

• Aeder Earns MPSF Honor

Senior Stefanie Aeder became the first Sacramento State gymnast to earn Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week this season. Aeder shared the award with Tiffany Chan of UC Davis. Against the Aggies and Alaska Anchorage, Aeder won the floor exercise with a 9.925. The score tied her season-high which was set in the first meet of the season on Jan. 7 at Cal State Fullerton.

That mark also improved her Regional Qualifying Score to 9.870 which is tied for 21st in the country. The Portland, Ore., native also ranks fourth in the West Region, trailing only UCLA’s Tasha Schwikert, Kristen Maloney and Kate Richardson — all of whom are former Olympians.

The pair of 9.925s this season are tied for the second-best score on floor in school history. Last season, Aeder scored 9.950 against Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis on March 12.

• Leaderboard

One quick glance at the MPSF stats will find the Hornets near the top of nearly every category. Sacramento State currently leads the conference in team RQS with a score of 192.090. The Hornets also own the third-highest meet score this season with at 193.200 against San Jose State. The team also has the top RQS on three events (vault 48.160; bars 48.210; floor 48.380). Sacramento State is also ranked 40th nationally and sixth in the West Region. The top six teams in the west will advance to the NCAA Regional on April 9.

Individually, the Hornets are also atop numerous rankings. Freshman Alexis Tsurumoto is the league leader on bars and is third in the West Region with an RQS of 9.835. That score is .135 better than Alaska Anchorage’s Dominique Ingram who is second. Fellow freshman Melissa Genovese leads on beam with a 9.730 RQS and Aeder is the top ranked gymnast on floor at 9.870. The only event a Hornet does not lead is vault where senior Nirvana Zaher is second with a 9.735 RQS. Ingram leads with a 9.775.

• Freshmen Phenoms

Part of Sacramento State’s success on Friday night can be attributed to its strong freshmen class. The group was highlighted by Tsurumoto and Genovese who each claimed event titles. Tsurumoto won for the sixth time this season on bars after scoring 9.825. That mark was .150 better than Jessica Hoffman who finished second. Genovese salvaged a rocky performance by the Hornets on beam with a 9.850 to finish first. The El Dorado Hills, Calif., native has now scored above 9.825 in three of the past four meets.

Other freshmen that competed on Friday included Amber Basgall and Nicole Giao. Basgall recorded a 9.525 on bars and also was in the lineup for vault. Giao scored 9.550 on vault and was solid with an exhibition on beam which scored 9.750.

• Injury Update

The Hornets lost another athlete last week when senior Meloney Greer was scratched from the lineup. Greer, who has been a fixture on vault and bars all season, missed the meet against UC Davis and Alaska Anchorage due to complications suffered from a fall at the UCLA Quad meet on Jan. 23.

The Couer d’Alene, Idaho, native had an MRI performed on Monday and is questionable for this week’s meet at Seattle Pacific. Greer is currently averaging 9.510 on vault and 9.536 on bars. Last season, she qualified for the West Regional on bars.

Freshman Hava McCarter-Ribakoff and sophomore Courtney Hibler also remain out of the lineup. McCarter-Ribakoff suffered a knee injury during practice on Feb. 16 and will likely miss the rest of the season. Hibler broke bones in her foot prior to the season and will redshirt this season.

• News and Notes

Sacramento State is 4-6 on the road this season…after not competing an all-arounder at San Jose State on Jan. 28, the Hornets have at least one in each of the last four meets.