GYMNASTICS TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON FOR FOUR-TEAM MEET ON FRIDAY

1/14/2009

On the heels of convincing wins over California and UC Davis, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will again square off against the Pac-10 Conference when it travels to Washington for a four-team meet on Friday, Jan. 16. Along with the Huskies, the Hornets will also face seventh-ranked Stanford and Seattle Pacific.

The meet will start at 7 p.m. at the Bank of America Arena. Washington will also provide a free video stream of the meet at www.gohuskies.com.

Sacramento State (2-0) opened its season on Sat., Jan. 10, by scoring 191.975 at Cal. The Hornets’ score was their highest in a season-opening meet since 2005 and easily bettered UC Davis (190.250) and Cal (186.650). Individually, senior Marina Borisova finished first in the all-around and on bars, beam and floor.

Washington (1-0) destroyed Alaska Anchorage, 192.550-184.650, on Jan. 9 in their lone meet of the year. The Huskies received first-place finishes from Ashley Houghting (vault, floor), Kristen Linton (bars, beam), Haley Bogart (beam), Hatsune Akaogi (floor) and Karen Cain (all-around). Washington leads the all-time series against Sacramento State, 15-0, including a win at the NCAA West Regional last season.

Stanford (3-0) opened its season at the Cancun Classic. The Cardinal, ranked No.5 in the national preseason coaches poll, scored 195.600 points to beat No. 9 Oregon State (194.575), No.14 Denver (193.825) and BYU (189.125). Stanford holds an 8-0 lead in the all-time series against the Hornets.

Like Washington, Seattle Pacific began the year with a win over Alaska Anchorage, 188.075-185.550. The Falcons were led by senior Brianna Schwartz who won the all-around. Sacramento State leads the all-time series, 30-17, and has won 10 of the last 11 meetings.

Hornets to Host WAC Championships
    For the first time since joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2006, Sacramento State will host the WAC Championships on March 21 at the Hornets Nest. The meet will be the first conference championship hosted by the Hornets since the team won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title in 2003.
    Sacramento State won the WAC title in 2006 and 2007 before finishing fourth last year. The team was picked sixth in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches while defending champion Boise State earned the top spot.

Becoming a Habit
    Sacramento State is one of 29 teams to qualify for the NCAA regionals each of the past three seasons. However, the Hornets join Utah, Denver, BYU and West Virginia as the only schools not from the Pac-10, SEC, ACC, Big 10 and Big 12 to achieve the feat.

Borisova Named WAC Gymnast of the Week
Sacramento State senior Marina Borisova was named the Western Athletic Conference Gymnast of the Week. Borisova finished first in the all-around and also won three individual titles to help lead the Hornets to wins over California and UC Davis on Saturday.

The Encina High School graduate scored 39.150 to win the all-around by nearly a half point. She also placed first on bars (9.850), beam (9.750) and floor (9.800), and was second on vault (9.750).

Originally from Kaliningrad, Russia, Borisova was the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2007. She also won the WAC floor title in 2007 and 2008 and has helped the Hornets to a pair of WAC titles and three NCAA regional appearances in her tenure.

Dynamic Debut
While the team knew what to expect from Borisova, it had a pleasant surprise with the performances of several freshmen who made their debut at Cal. Cayla Boyce competed in the all-around in her first collegiate meet, Chantal Angyal was in the lineup on vault and floor and Mary Peck competed on vault.

The Hornets also welcomed back sophomore Lissa Zamolo who missed most of last season with a leg injury. Zamolo’s performance was highlighted by tying for second on floor with a score of 9.750.

Second for Stubblefield
Eryn Stubblefield opened 2009 with a consistent showing. Stubblefield finished second in the all-around with a four-event total of 38.625 and tied her career high with a 9.725 on vault to place third. The Corvallis, Ore., native also tied her career high on bars with a 9.725 to tie for fifth, was seventh on beam and tied for sixth on floor.

Notes
Sacramento State will still be without the services of Alycia Chan, Amber Basgall (knee) and Bethany Barrick (foot)…the Hornets have now defeated UC Davis 20 consecutive times…the Hornet coaching staff of Kim Hughes, Randy Solorio and Tamara Ross have been together 11 seasons…Hughes and Solorio are currently in their 24th year on the staff together.