GYMNASTICS PUTS WINNING STREAK ON THE LINE AT CAL STATE FULLERTON

2/1/2007

This Week’s Meet
Winners of its last three meets, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will take its 5-1 overall record to Southern California for a meet against Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Feb. 2. The meet against the Titans will start at 7 p.m. and will be part of a “Beauty and the Beast” meet. Along with the gymnastics, Cal State Fullerton will also conduct a wrestling meet against Wyoming simultaneously.
   
The Hornets come into the meet following a season high 193.000 in a win over Boise State. Despite the improvement in the average, Sacramento State dropped to 37th in the latest national rankings. The top 36 teams will advance to the NCAA Regionals at the end of the year.
   
Cal State Fullerton is also 5-1 after defeating Southern Utah, UC Davis and Hamline in its last meet. The Titans are ranked 46th nationally with an average of 190.033.
   
In 21 all-time meetings, Cal State Fullerton holds a 13-8 advantage. However, Sacramento State has won the last three meets, including a 192.425-191.375 decision in Sacramento.

A Look at the Last Meets
The Hornets capped an improbable comeback on floor to defeat Boise State, 193.00-191.125 on Sunday, Jan. 28, at the Hornets Nest. Sophomore Marina Borisova scored a career high 9.925 and junior Melissa Genovese added a 9.900 to cap a strong set on floor.
   
Sacramento State trailed entering the final rotation after a season low on beam. However, the Hornets recorded their best score of the year on floor (48.850) and were helped by a few falls from the Broncos on beam to secure the win.
   
Along with Borisova’s win on floor, Sacramento State also recorded a first-place finish from Genovese on beam (9.875) and in the all-around from freshman Eryn Stubblefield (39.000).

All-Around Effort
Freshman Eryn Stubblefield scored 39.000 in the all-around against Boise State to record her first career victory in the event. The Corvallis, Ore., native began the meet with a personal-best 9.725 on vault. She followed with a 9.675 on bars which also set a personal high and then placed second on beam with a personal-best 9.850. Stubblefield ended the afternoon with a 9.750 on floor to finish third. That score was also her best this season.

Stubblefield was not the only Hornet to have success in the all-around on Sunday. The freshman just edged Marina Borisova for first place. Borisova scored 38.950 to finish .05 points off the lead. A win against the Broncos would have given Borisova three consecutive first-place finishes in the all-around. This season, the Sacramento, Calif., native has already finished first on vault once, on bars three times, on beam twice and four times on floor.

Melissa Genovese was also in the hunt for an all-around title against Boise State. The El Dorado Hills, Calif., native scored a career high 38.925 to place third. Genovese scored 9.400 on vault, 9.750 on bars, 9.875 on beam and 9.900 on floor. Her score on bars set a personal best while she matched her previous high on beam. Prior to the BSU meet, Genovese’s high was 38.725 set at Alaska-Anchorage one week earlier.

Williams to the Rescue
After spending most of her junior season out of the lineup, the future for senior Sara Williams was unclear entering the 2007 season. However, Williams impressed the coaches enough prior to the season to earn a spot on both bars and vault and has not been disappointing. The Hemet, Calif., native set career highs on both events last weekend against Boise State. Williams scored 9.750 on vault and 9.775 on bars.
   
This season, she has scored at least 9.600 on vault in three of her four meets and has recorded a 9.700 or higher on bars in three of five performances.
   
Prior to this year, Williams had never competed on vault for the Hornets and her top bars average was 9.296 in 2005. This year, she is averaging 9.469 on vault and 9.575 on bars.

Numbers Game
The only good news for the Hornets this week is that there are no new bodies on the injured list. However, the bad news is that no one is coming off the list either. Currently, the team is without the services of senior Courtney Hibler (knee), juniors Amber Basgall (knee), Nicole Giao (ankle), Tiffany Bass (knee) and Alexis Tsurumoto (finger), sophomore Hava McCarter-Ribakoff (knee) and freshman Ashlei Baker (shoulder).
   
Giao should return next week at Seattle Pacific and Hibler, Basgall and Tsurumoto are each progressing in their rehabilitation.

News & Notes
Friday’s meet will be the first “Beauty & the Beast” meet for Sacramento State. BSU, UC Davis and CSF host a meet every year but none have come against the Hornets…the team set or tied 16 personal bests in the meet against Boise State…six of the 10 gymnasts that competed against BSU where freshmen.