For the first time in 19 days, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will finally return to competition on Friday, Feb. 10, as it takes on 11th-ranked UCLA and California at Haas Pavilion. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. and marks the team’s first trip to Cal since 2003.

The Hornets come into the meet with a 4-7 overall record but have not competed since finishing first in a three-team meet on Jan. 22. The 19-day layoff, which is the longest break between meets since the program moved to Div. I, was created after the Hornets joined the Western Athletic Conference. In the team’s last meet, sophomores Alexis Tsurumoto (bars) and Melissa Genovese (beam) and senior Trista Condren (floor) each won individual titles to help lead Sacramento State to a first-place finish against Cal State Fullerton and Alaska Anchorage. The Hornets scored a season-best 192.425 and finished over a point ahead of the Titans (191.375). The Seawolves were third with 189.825.

After meeting only twice before last season, UCLA (8-1) and Sacramento State will compete against one another for the third time in the last 13 months. The two teams met earlier this season at the Aloha Gymfest in Oahu, Hawaii. At the meet, the Bruins finished first with a team score of 193.775. The Hornets were sixth at 188.075. UCLA began the season ranked third in the country but has fallen to 11th with a season average of 194.845. Individually, senior Kate Richardson is 11th in the all-around, 10th on vault and 12th on bars. Freshman Kristina Comforte also became the first gymnast in the nation to score a perfect 10 this season. Comforte was flawless on vault against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 3 en route to an all-around score of 39.475.

Cal enters the meet with a 2-7 overall record. However, both of the Golden Bears’ victories have come against Sacramento State. Cal was fifth at the Aloha Gymfest (189.350) and defeated Sacramento State (191.625-190.475) on Jan. 13 at the Hornets Nest. The team is currently 38th in the nation with an average of 192.150.

UC Davis and Sacramento State will meet for the second of four matchups. The Hornets downed the Aggies at Stanford on Jan. 15. Sacramento State leads the all-time series against UC Davis, 33-18.

• Head Coach Kim Hughes

In his 26th 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 the Western Athletic Conference.

With a career record of 216-199-2, Hughes led the Hornets to back-to-back MPSF Championships in 2002 and 2003 and added a third tile in 2005. 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.

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.

• In the Vault

Through the first four meets of the year, vault has been the most consistent event for the Hornets. The team has recorded two scores above 48.000 and is currently averaging 47.813. In the last meet against Cal State Fullerton and Alaska Anchorage, Sacramento State tallied a season-high 48.425. All five scores for the team fell between 9.625 and 9.750. Senior Kimiye Narasaki and freshman Marina Borisova tied for third in the meet with a team-high 9.750. Sophomores Tiffany Bass and Nicole Giao each scored 9.650 and sophomore Amber Basgall added a 9.625.

• Just Like Old Times

Sophomore Alexis Tsurumoto finished first on bars against Cal State Fullerton and Alaska Anchorage for her first win of the season. The Concord, Calif., native recorded a season-high 9.800 in the three-way meet to raise her average to 9.519. Tsurumoto, who won seven meets last season on bars, began the year with a 9.725 at the Aloha Gymfest to tie for seventh. She followed that performance with an uncharacteristic fall against Cal. At the Stanford Quad, she scored 9.750 to tie for fifth.

As a freshman, Tsurumoto won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title on bars and advanced to the NCAA West Regional as an at-large competitor.

• Balancing Act

Sophomores Tiffany Bass and Melissa Genovese have been the anchors of the Sacramento State beam lineup through the early portion of the 2006 season. Bass is averaging 9.606 and Genovese is not far behind at 9.600. In the last meet, the pair finished 1-2, with Genovese scoring 9.700 and Bass adding a 9.625. Bass was a first team all-MPSF selection on beam in 2004 before redshirting last season. Genovese was named to the first team last season and also advanced to the NCAA West Regional.

• Condren Artist

Senior Trista Condren won her second floor title in four meets this season with a season-high 9.850. Condren also finished first against Cal on Jan. 13 after scoring 9.750. The Atwater, Calif., native has anchored the floor lineup in all four meets this season and ranks second on the team with an average of 9.688.

Condren has also been a factor on beam, earning a start in all four meets. This year, she is averaging 9.481 and has scored 9.500 in each of the last two meets.

• News & Notes

Sacramento State did not compete an all-arounder against Cal State Fullerton and Alaska Anchorage, marking the first time this season…Friday’s meet will be worth 1.25 points in the Causeway Cup competition between Sacramento State and UC Davis…the Hornets currently lead 41.25-25.00…freshman Marina Borisova recorded her fifth top-five finish of the season after placing second on vault and floor on Feb. 22.