SENIOR NIGHT CLOSES OUT HOME SCHEDULE FOR GYMNASTICS

3/12/2010

OPENING PASS
• The Sacramento State gymnastics team will close out the home portion of its schedule with a dual meet against Texas Woman’s on Friday, March 12, at 7 p.m.
• The matchup against the Pioneers resumes a series which, at one time, pitted two of the top contenders for the USAG title against one another. The two teams have faced each other 16 times but Friday’s meet will mark the first time that TWU will compete in Sacramento.
• Following the conclusion of Friday’s meet, Sacramento State will honor its four seniors who will be competing at home for the final time. The senior class is comprised of Lauren Dyson, Lizzy Norvell, Eryn Stubblefield and Traci Takeda.
• Hornet head coach Kim Hughes and TWU head man Frank Kudlac have combined for 61 years of coaching experience. Hughes is currently in his 29th year as the head coach at Sacramento State while Kudlac has led the Pioneers for the past 32 season. Combined the two have 717 victories.
• KSSU returns with live audio provided by former Hornet gymnast Ashlei Baker and Matt Harrington. Live stats and a live blog will be used on hornetsports.com.

THE LAST TIME OUT
The Sacramento State gymnastics team could not overcome counting a fall on three of the four events and finished third in a tri-meet hosted by UC Davis.

The host Aggies scored a season high 194.250, Eastern Michigan placed second at 192.700 while the Hornets recorded a 192.300.

Individually, Cayla Boyce tied for first on beam and Bethany Barrick  on floor to lead the Hornets. Boyce shared the top spot with EMU’s Kaylyn Millick with a 9.850. She has now won or tied for first on beam in four meets this season. Barrick earned her first career victory with a 9.750 that tied EMU’s Erin Grigg.

Sacramento State opened the competition on bars but had its first two gymnasts fall leading to a total of 47.750. On beam, Lissa Zamolo and Jasmine Lipka started the lineup with a 9.775 and 9.750, respectively, to finish fourth and fifth. After a fall, Boyce tied her career high with the 9.850 but was followed by a second fall. Stubblefield completed the lineup with a 9.725 to give the team a total of 48.225.

The Hornets then moved to floor where they scored 48.450. All five counted scores fell between 9.650 and 9750. Barrick led the way in an event which was tightly judged throughout the meet. The freshman scored 9.750 and was followed by Zamolo who placed third at 9.725.

The final rotation took Sacramento State to vault where the team scored 47.875. Nicole Meiller finished third overall with a 9.750. Amanda Blauvelt and Stubblefield each tied for fifth at 9.700.

SENIOR SEND OFF
Four Sacramento State seniors will compete at the Hornets Nest for the final time on Friday. The group helped lead Sacramento State to a WAC title as freshmen in 2007 and has competed in two NCAA West Regionals (2007, 2008).

Three of the four (Norvell, Takeda and Stubblefield) have been part of the top eight team scores on beam in school history. The fourth senior, Lauren Dyson, has been a key member on bars in her career.

Along with the two regional appearances as a team, Takeda and Stubblefield also both qualified for the NCAA West Regional last season as individuals in the all-around and on beam, respectively.

The class originally consisted of eight gymnasts but has been cut in half mostly due to injuries which have forced Lissa Zamolo and Amanda Bieber to redshirt and Ashlei Baker to retire.

EIGHT IS NOT ENOUGH
Through eight meets this season, Sacramento State has claimed at least a share of first place on beam eight times. Leading the way is sophomore Cayla Boyce who has finished first four times. Boyce has won the last two meets, including a 9.850 last week at UC Davis. Boyce now ranks second in the WAC and is tied for 11th in the West Region with an RQS of 9.790.

Along with Boyce’s four victories, the team has received one win on beam from Takeda, Stubblefield, Zamolo and Jasmine Lipka.

Sacramento State’s only other event titles this year have come on floor (twice) and vault (once).