This Week’s Meet
The Hornets will look to continue their climb up the national rankings
as they take on the Broncos of Boise State in a meet with definite
significance in the shape of the West Regional picture.
The meet will be the first head-to-head contest between the two
programs in over a decade.
Last season, Boise State finished the season ranked No. 22 in the
nation and beat out Sacramento State for a spot in the NCAA West
Regionals.
Meet The Head Coaches
After 23-years, head coach Kim Hughes has built a program from the
ground up and solidified Sacramento State as an NCAA Regional Qualifier
the past two years.
With a career record of 146-150-1, Hughes led the Hornets to a
second-place finish in the NIT last season and gave the program its
first Regional bid in 1999 while also being named NCAA Region 1 Coach of
the Year.
A 1976 graduate of Chico State with a B.A. in physical education,
Hughes competed collegiately for the Wildcats after a successful high
school gymnastics career. He was the Northern California state high
school still rings champion as a senior in 1971. He joined the Hornet
staff as an assistant to the women’s gymnastics program in 1977 and was
named head coach in 1981.
Boise State head coach Sam Sandmire (14th season) has compiled a
146-119-1 overall record since taking the reigns in 1978. Last season,
No. 22 Boise State finished first in the Big West Conference and placed
fifth at the NCAA West Regionals.
Last Week’s Meet
In the second meet of the season, Sacramento State handled UC Davis in
Recreation Hall, 194.125-190.175. The team total was the second highest
score in program history.
Sacramento State’s overall score was .125 short of the all-time high of
194.275 set in last season’s meet against Cal State Fullerton, Cal and
San Jose State on March 3 in Berkeley, Calif.
The Hornets’ team score of 49.200 on floor exercise shattered the
previous record of 48.975 set last season against the Aggies on March 10
at Hornet Gym. The squad also tied the team score of 49.075 for uneven
bars which was also set on March 3, of last year.
Junior Wendy Baisdon matched her 9.9 uneven bars score from last week
and led all competitors with a 9.775 on the balance beam. Sophomores
Jenny Ball (9.675 vault) and Toni Petersen (38.925 all-around) also won
their respective events.
Movin’ On Up
After two meets, Sacramento State has remodeled the program record
books with considerable ease. As of January 29th, the Hornets earned
their highest national ranking for any team in history with the No. 18
spot. Sacramento State also placed in the top 20 for uneven bars (9th)
and floor exercise (13th) while earning a 23rd ranking for balance beam.
That’s No Small Feat
The Hornets are also finding their way into the individual rankings as
junior Wendy Baisdon is ranked seventh in the nation for uneven bars.
The 4-11 native of Ceres, Calif., has recorded a 9.900 on bars against
Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis to open the 2001 season.
Baisdon recorded the school record for bars as a freshman with a 9.950
in a home meet against Alaska Anchorage, Northern Illinois and UC Santa
Barbara on March 14, 1999.
Silent Assassin
Hidden in the midst of high scoring and new school records, senior Jami
Scoville has moved into 35th in the nation for floor exercise. The
Kaysville, Utah, native has recorded a career-high 9.850 in the first
two meets of the season for the Hornets.
Records are Meant to Be Broken
No sooner are program highs established by the Hornets each meet, a
new one is set before the ink is dry.
Against Cal State Fullerton, Sacramento State recorded the
third-highest team score in program history with a 193.575. The Hornets
also saw freshman Binta Coleman score the third-highest mark on beam
(9.850) and all-around (39.000) in her first collegiate meet while
Baisdon recorded the third-highest mark in school history on the uneven
bars with a 9.900.
Last week against the Aggies, the Hornets did one better with a 194.125
to give the squad their second-highest team score in school history.
Sacramento State also left their mark with a record 49.200 on the floor
exercise while also tying a program-best 49.075 on uneven bars. The
previous best scores were both set last season. Individually, senior
Jolane Parr and sophomore Toni Petersen both tied the fourth-highest
score on floor exercise with 9.875 and Baisdon scored a 9.900 on bars
for the second-straight week. Petersen also scored the fifth-highest
mark for all-around with a 38.925.
Hughes’ Quotes
On moving from 29th to 18th in the national rankings: “It shows the
consistency this team already has proven it can do. We’ve showed
improvement by going two weeks in a row without counting a fall in a
meet and improving our score by hitting cleaner routines. The biggest
thing for us has been staying on beam because it has been a critical
event for us in the last three years. We’ve had consistency the last two
weeks with five routines staying on beam.”
On meeting Boise State this weekend: “This is going to be a true test
for us. Thank goodness we were in Davis’ arena because it’s huge like
what we are going into this week (Boise Pavilion) but this is not a team
we are used to competing against. I don’t think we will be intimidated
like we have in the past because we already know we have outscored this
team. There should not be an intimidation factor skill wise but the fact
we’re not competing at home will be a new test for us.”
