Sat., Mar. 24
Sacramento State Hornets vs.
Alaska Anchorage, UC Davis,
San Jose State and Seattle Pacific
Western Independent Champs.
7 p.m. - Hornet Gym
This Week's Meet
The Sacramento State gymnastics team will look to repeat as
conference champions as it hosts the 2001 Western Independent
Championships on Saturday, March 24, at 7 p.m. in Hornet Gym.
This will be the second time that Sacramento State has hosted
the conference championship since 1996.
Among the top returners for this season's contest will be
Ericka Ruelas (UC Davis), Alison Seigel (Seattle Pacific) and Toni
Petersen (Sacramento State). In last year's championship,
the Hornets set a conference record with a score of 193.625 as
Sacramento State defeated host UC Davis (191.875), Seattle Pacific
(191.675), San Jose State (189.875) and Alaska Anchorage (180.450) at
Recreation Hall.
Ruelas dominated the competition by recording the top score
in three of five events including uneven bars (9.925), floor exercise
(9.925) and all-around (39.025). Siegel won the balance beam with a
score of 9.725 while Petersen tied Ruelas with a 9.925 on floor. Keri
Wong of UC Davis won vault with a score of 9.8.
In the West Region Rankings, San Jose State will enter the
contest in eighth place ahead of Sacramento State (ninth), Seattle
Pacific (10th), UC Davis (11th) and Alaska Anchorage (13th).
The Spartans also own a better winning percentage in
head-to-head meetings between the five programs with a 4-1 record.
Sacramento State has the most wins but is second with a 5-3 record,
Seattle Pacific and UC Davis are tied at 4-4 and Alaska Anchorage is
winless with an 0-5 mark.
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.
Paul Stoklos enters his 17th season as the head coach of the
Alaska Anchorage gymnastics program. Last season, the Seawolves
finished with an overall record of 4-22.
UC Davis head coach Ray Goldbar, now in his 12th season, has
accumulated a 97-105 overall record with the program. Last season,
the Aggies finished third at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate
Championships and finished the season with an 8-11 record.
San Jose State head coach Jackie Walker is currently in her
17th year at the helm of the Spartan gymnastics program. Walker has
amassed a 117-155-2 record at San Jose State including a 4-13 mark
last season while leading the Spartans to a sixth-place finish at the
National Invitational Tournament in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Walker has
a career record of 185-177-2 while spending her first eight years
coaching at Louisiana State (21-1) and Stanford (47-21).
Seattle Pacific head coach Laurel Tindall is now entering her
26th season with the Falcons and has a 311-274-1 career record with
the program. Last season, Seattle Pacific finished in fourth place at
the USA Gymnastics Championships while finishing with a 5-13 overall
record.
Last Week's Meets
The Sacramento State gymnastics team finished second to UC
Davis in the final regular season meet of the season,
192.575-192.250, in the Sacramento Invitational at Hornet Gym
Saturday evening. Alaska Anchorage finished third with a 183.975.
Sacramento State seniors Elizabeth Lutz, Jolane Parr and Jami
Scoville competed in their final regular-season events. Scoville led
all Hornet scorers with a career-high 9.9 on the floor exercise,
placing her third all-time in program history. Parr finished with a
career-high 9.875 on uneven bars. Junior Lori Gillette also tied her
career high with a 9.825 on bars.
For the Aggies, Ericka Ruelas led all competitors with a
38.725 all-around as UC Davis finished the meet with its highest
score of the season. UC Davis' Vanessa Baume finished first in the
vault with a 9.625.
A Season Comes to an End
Junior school-record holder Wendy Baisdon, who has only
competed in 6-of-10 meets this season due to pneumonia, will miss the
remainder of the 2001 campaign with an ACL injury. The Ceres, Calif.,
native injured her knee while warming up on bars before last week's
regular-season finale.
Going Out with a Bang
Seniors Jolane Parr and Jami Scoville each recorded career
highs on senior night against UC Davis and Alaska Anchorage last week.
Parr, a native of Salem, Ore., scored a 9.725 on uneven bars
and a 38.600 all-around to surpass her personal best marks. It was
her first all-around competition since March 13, 1999.
Scoville, a native of Kaysville, Utah, continued her
consistency on floor with a career-high 9.9. She joins Parr and
Petersen with the third-best mark in program history.
Things You Should Know
Including last season, Sacramento State has scored over the
190 mark in 18-straight meets...Parr, Scoville and Elizabeth Lutz
will be competing in their final meet at Hornet Gym this
Saturday...the Hornets have an opportunity to join Seattle Pacific
(1997-98) as the only repeat champions in conference competition
since 1995.
