Teams: UC Davis vs. California
Record: Aggies, 7-3; Golden Bears, 1-111
Where: The Pavilion
When: Sunday at 2 p.m.
Who to watch: This week, Katie “Yami” Yamamura is ready to get back on the floor after an injury earlier in the season.
Coach John Lavallee admires her work ethic and positive attitude.
“Yami expects herself to do well every turn, every day,” said coach John Lavallee. “She is a fierce competitor and a solid performer. We’re excited to see her back in the line-up.”
Did you know? The gymnasts only have five more meets before the season ends. This is their second to last home meet.
Preview: Less than one month ago, the Aggies beat the Golden Bears by less than two-tenths of a point.
Since then, UC Davis and Cal have been posting similar scores. The Golden Bears have averaged a cumulative score of 191.800 in their six meets, while the Aggies have a mean of 192.108.
Like a majority of UC Davis’ earlier meets, coach John Lavallee predicts this will be another close one that the teams will have to fight for.
This will be an opportunity to go 2-0 against a Pac-10 team for the season,” Lavallee said. “We’re still searching for that performance and we’ll be working hard this week to get it done.”
UC Davis is ranked 40th nationally while Cal comes in just behind at 43rd. Teams that are ranked in the top 36 will qualify for NCAA Regionals.
In order to qualify for Regionals, the Aggies have to increase their scores and step up in the rankings. UC Davis’ team strategy is to stay consistent and always hit five of six routines. Last week, the team was able to accomplish this on all events but the balance beam.
“Every once in a while those things will happen,” Lavallee said. “We hit the panic button. But we know what we’re capable of. We just have to get comfortable with that in competition.”
The Aggies will be adjusting their line-ups and preparing their routines in preparation for Sunday’s big duel. As always, the gymnasts and Lavallee encourage Aggie fans to come out and support the squad.
– Caleigh Guoynes
