GYMNASTICS TRAVELS TO UC DAVIS FOR THREE-TEAM MEET ON FRIDAY

3/5/2010

OPENING PASS
• Just one spot out of the top 36, the Sacramento State gymnastics team will be in search of another big score this Friday when it travels across the causeway for a tri-meet which also features UC Davis and Eastern Michigan. The meet will start at 7 p.m. in The Pavilion on the UCD campus.
• This week marks the third time this season that the Hornets and Aggies have met. UC Davis has been victorious in both previous matchups, winning 191.525-190.700 in the Hornets Nest and 193.750-193.550 last week at San Jose State.
• The remaining 1.66 points in the Causeway Cup will be up for grabs. UC Davis currently holds a small lead with baseball (5.0 points), softball (1.66) and rowing (5.0) remaining.
• Sacramento State will be facing Eastern Michigan for the first time since 1995. The Hornets hold a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with the only matchup coming at UC Santa Barbara.
• Live stats or video will not be available for this meet. However, a live blog will be used on hornetsports.com for the first time and will provide running commentary along with score updates.

THE LAST TIME OUT
It took season highs from both San Jose State and UC Davis to hand the Sacramento State gymnastics team a pair of losses in a three-team meet at Spartan Gym on Feb. 26. The Hornets scored 193.550 but were bettered by the host Spartans (194.550) and the Aggies (193.750).

Behind a season-high score of 48.975 on floor, Sacramento State held a slight edge entering the final rotation. However, that lead slipped away as the Hornets scored just 47.900 on vault compared to SJSU’s 49.150 on floor and UCD’s 48.825 on bars.

Individually, Cayla Boyce captured the team’s lone event title. Boyce scored 9.775 on beam for her third first-place finish in the event this season.

KEEPS ON MOVING
A week after Sacramento State set a season high on beam, the Hornets produced a season best on floor with a 48.975 at San Jose State. Sacramento State took full advantage of a pair of 9.825s from Boyce and Eryn Stubblefield. The scores were season highs for both and also set Boyce’s career high. Along with the duo, the Hornets also received a career high 9.800 from Bethany Barrick and a matching score from Jasmine Lipka. The final counting score of 9.725 came from Lissa Zamolo.

A LONG WAY FROM HOME
There are only a handful of gymnastics opportunities that would have taken Amanda Blauvelt further away from her home in Wall, N.J. Luckily for the Hornets, the cross country trek proved to be the right fit as the junior is enjoying her finest season with the Green and Gold. Last week, Blauvelt set a season high on vault with a 9.750 — which also led the team. She also scored 9.775 on bars, which is her second best score of the season. Blauvelt capped her meet with an exhibition on floor which received a 9.650.

REGIONAL RUNDOWN
With just four meet remaining, it is, once again, that time to run the numbers for the postseason hunt. Sacramento State comes into this week ranked 37th nationally, placing it one spot out of a regional appearance. The Hornets were able to make a big jump in the rankings as they were able to drop their season-opening score of 188.925. Sacramento State could make another significant jump this week as it still factors a 190.700 into its RQS.

One factor working against the Hornets is that Washington is not in the latest rankings. The Huskies are still one road meet shy of the minimum but will likely move ahead of both Sacramento State and San Jose State.