After claiming its fifth league title in the last six years — and its first in the Western Athletic Conference — the Sacramento State gymnastics team will turn its attention to the national scene as the Hornets will participate in the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, April 8, at Stanford. The six-team field will also include fifth-ranked Alabama, No. 8 Stanford, No. 26 Boise State, and No. 35 San Jose State.

Sacramento State is currently ranked 31st in the final regular season rankings. The Hornets scored 193.950 to win the WAC championship on March 25 at Utah State. The team’s score was just strong enough to hold off Boise State (193.775) and No. 25 Southern Utah (193.600). The title is just the latest in an impressive run which began in 2000. That year, the team won its first of back-to-back Western Independent Conference titles. In 2002, the Hornets moved the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation where they finished first in 2002, 2003 and 2005.

Along with the team accomplishments, Sacramento State head coach Kim Hughes was named the 2006 WAC Coach of the Year and Marina Borisova earned the Freshman of the Year award. Borisova also captured the floor title and was named all-WAC on the event along with Tiffany Bass.

Saturday’s meet will mark just the second time that Sacramento State has appeared at the NCAA West Regional. The team also competed at Oregon State in 1999 where it finished sixth. That year, the team scored 190.275. Boise State and OSU also competed at that same regional.

The Hornets have already faced four of its five regional opponents this season. The team opened the year at the Aloha Gymfest in Oahu, Hawaii, and was defeated by Oregon State. Sacramento State was downed by Stanford two weeks later but beat San Jose State in that same meet. The Hornets ended the year 3-1 against the Spartans and 1-1 against Boise State. The regional will mark the first time that the team has faced Alabama.

A Closer Look at the Opponents

Alabama - The Crimson Tide finished second at the Southeastern Conference Championships with a season high 196.975…Saturday marks the 25th time that Alabama has participated in an NCAA Gymnastics Regional and the second time in the last three years that the team has been assigned to the West Regional…senior Ashley Miles and Brittany Magee finished in a three-way tie for first place on floor at the SEC meet…Miles became the first gymnast in conference history to win at least a share of the same event title all four years…this is the first meeting between Sacramento State and Alabama…the Hornets are 1-1 all-time against SEC schools with a win over Auburn in 2000 and a loss to Arkansas this year.

Stanford - The host Cardinal scored a season high 197.100 to win the Pac-10 Conference crown…sophomores Tabitha Yim and Liz Tricase each claimed individual titles…Yim won the all-around with a score of 39.650 and finished first on beam with a career high 9.975…Tricase, who leads the nation on bars, finished first with a 9.925…Stanford leads the all-time series against Sacramento State, 6-0, including a 194.350-191.525 win on Jan. 15.

Oregon State - The Beavers finished third at the Pac-10 Championships with a 196.400…Tasha Smith scored 9.925 on vault and 9.950 on floor to win the individual titles on each event…freshman Jami Lanz was named Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year…OSU has never lost to Sacramento State in five meetings…the Beavers beat the Hornets at the Aloha Gymfest, 191.9253-188.075

Boise State - Another gymnastics powerhouse, Boise State returns to the regionals for the 20th-straight season…the Broncos finished just behind Sacramento State to place second at the WAC Championships…BSU scored 193.775 in the meet…Shaniece Craft finished first on vault with a 9.875…the Broncos lead the all-time series, 6-4, against the Hornets…the two teams split two meetings this year.

San Jose State - SJSU is making its second trip to the regionals in the last three years…the Spartans finished fifth at the WAC Championships after scoring 192.800…Kelsey Spellacy was the team’s highest finisher, placing third on bars with a 9.800…Sacramento State won three of four meetings between the two schools this season and leads the all-time series, 32-18-1.

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 227-202-2, Hughes led the Hornets to the 2006 WAC championship and was named WAC Coach of the Year. The team also won 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. This season, Sacramento State set the school record for most consecutive scores above 193 (seven and counting). In 2002, Sacramento State recorded program highs with 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.

WAC Recap

Sacramento State proved to be the most consistent team at the WAC Championships. The team opened the meet on floor and scored 48.775 with the help of a 9.825 from Borisova and a 9.800 from Bass. That score held throughout the meet allowing the Hornets to win the event team title. Sacramento State also scored 48.625 on vault, 48.375 on bars and 48.175 on beam. The Hornets held a slim lead over Boise State heading into their final rotation. Sacramento State responded with a solid effort on beam while BSU scored 48.050 on floor.

Individually, the top three finishers in each event were named all-WAC. Borisova and Bass earned the honor on floor and senior Brooke Morari tied for third on vault.

On a Roll

It took a while for Sacramento State to adjust to the new scoring this season, but the Hornets have found the right time to get hot as the school has scored 193.000 or better in each of the last seven meets. That streak destroys the previous best of four which came in 2002 and 2004. The current team also scored 195-plus in two straight meets — a feat which had never been done at Sacramento State.

Making a Name for Herself

The accolades continued to roll in for freshman Marina Borisova. Two weeks ago, she became the first Sacramento State gymnast to be named Xbox WAC Gymnast of the Week. Two days later, she won her third-straight all-around with a career-best 39.100 at UC Davis. Against the Aggies, she scored 9.725 on vault, 9.700 on bars, 9.825 on beam and 9.850 on floor.

Last week, Borisova tied for second in the all-around and won the floor at the WAC Championships. Her all-around total of 38.875 tied Utah State’s Jessica Parenti and trailed only Leah Sakhitab of Southern Utah who scored 39.050.

Been There, Done That

While this trip marks the first time that Sacramento State has qualified for the regionals as a team since 1999, it is not the first trip for many of the gymnasts. Over the last three years, three members of the current team have competed as event specialists at the West Regional. Senior Kimiye Narasaki advanced in 2003 on vault. Narasaki, however, was injured during warmups at Washington and did not compete. Last season, both Melissa Genovese and Alexis Tsurumoto made the trip to Seattle. Genovese scored 9.725 on beam to tie for 25th while Tsurumoto tied for 29th on bars with a 9.600.

More on Morari

Senior Brooke Morari made the most of her first and only WAC Championships. The Phoenix, Ariz., native tied for third after scoring 9.825 on vault to earn all-WAC honors. Morari came to Sacramento State in the fall after spending three years at Eastern Michigan. In her time with the Eagles, she helped the team qualify for regionals as a sophomore.

After coming to the Hornets, Morari immediately earned a spot in the vault lineup and has also worked her way into the floor team. On vault, she is currently averaging 9.669 and has scored at least 9.825 in each of her last three vaults. On floor, she has scored 9.700 or better in three of her last four routines.

Winners Circle

During the course of the season, Sacramento State has had a gymnast finish first or tie for first 30 times. The most success for the team has come on beam where the Hornets have claimed eight titles. Genovese leads the charge on beam after winning a team-best six times. Narasaki and Borisova have also claimed a title during the year.

Floor ranks second with seven first-place showings. Borisova and senior Trista Condren have each won three times while Bass has the other title. Sacramento State has found itself atop the awards stand six times on both vault and bars. On vault, Morari is the only repeat winner. Condren, Narasaki, Borisova and sophomore Amber Basgall have also added victories. Sophomore Alexis Tsurumoto has been the catalyst on bars. The Concord, Calif., native won four times this season raising her two-year total to 11 victories. Basgall also finished first on two occasions.

Borisova is the lone Hornet to win the all-around, a feat she accomplished three times.

News & Notes

Sacramento State will have the following rotation for Saturday’s meet: beam, bye, floor, vault, bye, bars…three of the six teams in the regional represent the Western Athletic Conference.