GYMNASTICS TRAVELS TO SAN JOSE STATE TO FACE SPARTANS AND UC DAVIS

2/21/2007

This Week’s Meet
After moving into the top 30, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will test its 7-2 record on Friday night as it travels to San Jose State to take on the Spartans and UC Davis. The three-team meet will start at 7 p.m. in Spartan Gym.
   
Sacramento State enters the week having won five of its last six matchups. The Hornets are currently ranked 30th in the nation with a Regional Qualifying Score of 192.005. This week marks the first time that the rankings have been sorted by RQS. One note is that a handful of schools have yet to post an RQS this season, making them ineligible for the rankings.
   
Friday’s meet will also serve as the first meeting for Sacramento State against the two schools. The Hornets will also square off against San Jose State on March 18 in Sacramento and at the Western Athletic Conference Championships in Cedar City, Utah, on March 31. UC Davis will visit the Hornets Nest on March 11 and the Hornets will return the favor on March 23.
   
Sacramento State leads the all-time series with both schools. The Hornets have posted a 32-18-1 mark against the Spartans and are 36-18 all-time against the Aggies. Sacramento State has won the last 16 meetings against UCD dating back to March 15, 2002.

A Look at the Last Meet
Sophomore Marina Borisova finished first on bars, beam and floor and also won the all-around while helping Sacramento State to its season high in a win over Alaska Anchorage on Friday, Feb. 16. The Hornets scored 193.050 while the Seawolves accumulated 186.750.
   
After touching her hand down on vault, Borisova recovered and went on to score a career best 9.900 on bars, 9.825 on beam and 9.875 on floor. Her all-around total of 38.725 was first while teammate Melissa Genovese tied for second at 38.400.
   
Senior Sara Williams continued her impressive season by tying for first on vault with a score of 9.725.

Consistency Equals Success
A season high 193.050 can be attributed to one thing for Sacramento State — consistency. The Hornets scored at least 48.000 on all four events for the first time this season en route to their top score. That balanced effort is even more impressive when you realize the team did not set a season high on any event.
   
Sacramento State ended last season with three consecutive meets with 48-plus in each event. Those scores resulted some of the top marks on the year, including a pair of 195s.
   
The big score against Alaska Anchorage also helped the Hornets in the latest rankings. This week, the rankings are sorted by RQS instead of season average for the first time. A team’s RQS is calculated by taking its top six scores, dropping the highest score and averaging the next five. The only catch is that no more than three of the counting scores can come in home meets. Right now, Sacramento State is counting the following scores: 193.000 vs. Boise State; 192.150 at Alaska Anchorage; 191.900 at Seattle Pacific; 191.600 at Southern Utah; and 191.375 vs. Utah State/UW-La Cross.
   
The top 36 teams at the end of the season will advance to the NCAA Regionals. Currently, five of the WAC’s six teams are in the top 36. Utah State heads the list at 25th and is followed by Sacramento State (30th), San Jose State (34th), Boise State (35th) and Southern Utah (36th). Cal State Fullerton does not yet have enough meets for an RQS.

Power of Pink
Hopefully, Sacramento State did not pack away their pink leotards too early as the team will break them out for a second time this season. Having already hosted their own “Think Pink” meet against Boise State on Jan. 28, the Hornets will don the pink leos one more time on Friday at San Jose State. The meet will serve as Breast Cancer Awareness night and any fan wearing pink will be admitted for $2.

Three Out of Four Ain’t Bad
In any other sport, converting in three out of four attempts is not too bad. However, in gymnastics that number can be costly. Against Alaska Anchorage, both Borisova and Genovese were one routine away from posting enormous scores in the all-around. Borisova’s miscue came on vault when she touched her hand down on landing. If the sophomore had scored her season average of 9.65, she would have finished with a 39.250. Genovese had a rare miscue on beam, falling for the first time since 2005. Had she scored her average of 9.75 she would have finished at 38.825.

News & Notes
Borisova and junior Alyssa Onaga were the only Hornets to record personal highs in the meet against Alaska Anchorage. Borisova scored 9.900 on bars and tied her high with a 9.825 on beam. Onaga tallied 9.450 on floor…Borisova is ranked eighth in the West region on both bars and floor while Genovese is sixth on beam.