Teams: UC Davis at Sacramento State, vs. Seattle Pacific
Where: The Hornets Nest – Sacramento, Calif.
When: Friday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: In her stellar collegiate debut performance, freshman Katie Yamamura scored above a 9.525 in all four events. She placed first on floor exercise with a score of 9.750 and tied for second on balance beam with a 9.600 tally.
Yamamura has competed in all events in the first two meets of the 2010 campaign.
As a high school senior, the Palo Alto, Calif. native competed in the Junior Olympics national meet where she placed 18th overall.
Did you know? Sacramento State has defeated UC Davis in 22 straight meets, three of which were in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships.
The Aggies last defeated the Hornets in 2002, earning a 193.400-192.125 victory.
Preview: The Causeway Cup is now in its fifth year, and the Aggies have yet to put a point on the board in gymnastics.
This year, things could be different.
“We have a couple of meets under our belt,” said coach John Lavallee. “We always have a good meet at Sacramento State. We’ve improved this year, so we feel we have a shot to win. We look forward to going over there and surprising some people.”
Among individuals who have helped improve the team are Yamamura and senior Tanya Ho. Both Aggies have already been named MPSF Gymnasts of the Week this year – Yamamura for the first week, Ho for the second.
Lavallee said the Aggies are looking forward to a good competitive meet.
“We’re pumped up to go to Sacramento State,” Lavallee said. “Sacramento State has been a very strong program. We feel that right now, with the team we have, that we can really go in there and compete with them and come back with a victory.”
Also competing in Friday’s meet is Seattle Pacific. The Aggies came from behind to beat the Falcons by a final 188.825-188.400 last week.
– Grace Sprague
