Team: UC Davis at Seattle Pacific
Where: Brougham Pavilion – Seattle, Wash.
When: Saturday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: Though last week’s balance beam – on which the Aggies had to count two falls – may not on the surface appear to have been a success, there was indeed a silver lining.
Kendall McCann, stepping up after a last-minute injury, scored a season-high 9.600 en route to her second place in the all-around (38.075). Before the meet, McCann had never competed in all-around as an Aggie.
“She did a really good job,” said coach John Lavallee. “Right now she is really having a great year. She’s got herself to be very strong on every event for us. We’re very happy with where she’s at and looking forward to a lot of good performances.“
Did you know? Before the season got under way, senior co-captain Andi Dolinsky laid down the basics:
“We’re in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with Air Force Academy, Alaska-Anchorage and Seattle Pacific,” she said. “Seattle is our rival.“
What a rivalry it’s been. SPU outscored the Aggies at the 2006 and 2007 MPSF Championships by a combined total of .600. At last year’s MPSF Championships at the Pavilion, the Aggies got the upper hand, defeating SPU 194.700 to 193.000.
Preview: The Aggies‘ only other meet against a conference opponent came at home two weeks ago, as UC Davis dominated Air Force 191.050 to 187.175. Since then, the Aggies have upped their season’s best to 191.300, and look to be equally dominating against SPU, whose season best sits at 189.000.
Much of last week’s 191.300 success was due to junior Michelle Bobonski, who set season highs as she tied for second on vault (9.775) and won beam (9.675).
“I hit everything I needed to,” Bobonski said. “I think everyone did well. Everyone did a really good job stepping up for people who weren’t there. I’m very proud of everyone.“
As long as their momentum continues, the Aggies should have no trouble taking on SPU at home on Saturday.
“This should hopefully be another good meet for us,” Lavallee said. “It’s a gym we’ve done well in the last couple of years. We’re looking forward to going up to Seattle for a conference opponent. If we can perform like we did last week and get a couple of wrinkles out of beam, I think we can post up a pretty good score and be pretty happy at where we are at this point.“
– Alex Wolf-Root
