GYMNASTICS RETURNS HOME FOR PEPSI KIDS DAY TO FACE ALASKA ANCHORAGE

2/15/2007

This Week’s Meet
Having spent the past two weekends on the road, the Sacramento State gymnastics team returns to the Hornets Nest to host Alaska Anchorage on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. The Hornets enter the meet with a 6-2 overall record and have won four of their last five meets.
   
Friday’s meet will also serve as Pepsi Kids Day. Following the meet, members of the gymnastics team will sign autographs for the public.
   
Alaska Anchorage is currently 0-6 on the season. The Seawolves most recently competed in a pair of meets against Iowa. On Feb. 16, UAA scored a season-high 189.675 but came up short against the Hawkeyes. Two days later, Alaska Anchorage scored 188.475 while Iowa produced 193.725.
   
Sacramento State had dominated the all-time series against the Seawolves and hold a 36-2 lead in the all-time series during the Div. I era. The Hornets have won the last 26 meetings and have not lost to UAA since 1992. Earlier this year, Sacramento State recorded two wins at Anchorage. The first came on Jan. 19 where the Hornets defeated the Seawolves, 191.225-183.800. The team picked up the second win on Jan. 21, 192.150-184.150.

A Look at the Last Meet
Sacramento State got back in the win column despite the fact that it won just one individual event title. The Hornets earned a 191.900-191.550 victory over Seattle Pacific on Friday, Feb. 9. In the meet, sophomore Marina Borisova was the only Hornet to finish first on an event as the Sacramento native scored 9.850 to win bars.

The meet was originally declared a tie, however, Borisova’s floor score was omitted on those results. Once the scores were recalculated, Sacramento State was credited with the win.
   
As  a team, the Hornets were consistent in the opening two rotations with scores of 48.525 on bars and 48.200 on vault. Things did not go as well in the final two rotations where Sacramento State scored 47.325 on floor and 47.850 on beam.

Live Stats Debuts This Week
For the first time at Sacramento State, fans will be able to track live scores from Hornet gymnastics. Beginning with the Alaska Anchorage meet on Jan. 16, fans can click the “Live Stats” link from the gymnastics page of Hornetsports.com to follow all the action from the Hornet Nest.

Finding Her Groove
Senior Sara Williams completed another stellar effort last Friday at Seattle Pacific. The fourth-year member of the team scored 9.725 on vault to finish in a tie for second place and added a 9.700 on bars to finish fifth. The meet marked the second time this season that she has had a pair of scores of at least 9.700. Williams has also recorded five consecutive meets with at least 9.500 on both events.
   
Prior to this season, the Hemet, Calif., native was not much of a factor for Sacramento State. In fact, Williams did not compete in the lineup all of last season and had only six appearances on bars in 2005. She had also never vaulted during her collegiate career but currently ranks third on the team with an average of 9.525. If you remove her lowest mark (8.875), she is averaging 9.655.

Getting Closer
The Hornet medical report became a little better this week with the return of Nicole Giao, Tiffany Bass and Lauren Dyson. Giao had missed four meets with a sprained ankle but returned at SPU to score 9.700 on beam. Bass is still a week away from competition but the junior was cleared by the medical staff to resume training after missing the last four meets with a knee injury. Dyson will also be back in action on bars this week after sitting out the trip to Seattle Pacific with a sprained back.
   
The only bad news for the team is the fact that junior Amber Basgall will now miss the remainder of the season due to back surgery. Basgall is joined on the IR by senior Courtney Hibler (knee), junior Alexis Tsurumoto (finger), sophomore Hava McCarter-Ribakoff (knee) and freshman Ashlei Baker (shoulder).

Streaking
With a win on bars at Seattle Pacific, Marina Borisova extended her streak to five straight meets with at least one first-place finish this season. The sophomore has only been shutout once all year (at Southern Utah) and, including ties, has finished first twice on vault, five times on bars, twice on beam and four times on floor. Borisova has also won the all-around in three events.

In the Rankings
Sacramento State dropped to 40th in the recent NCAA rankings. Beginning on Monday, the rankings will be sorted by RQS and not season average…the Hornets remain the top-ranked WAC team on beam with an average of 47.957. The team is third in the other three events.