After claiming their third Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women’s gymnastics championship in a row last year, the Aggie gymnasts are seeking to extend their title streak to four years straight.
The team, coached by MPSF coach of the year John Lavallee along with MPSF assistant coach of the year Tamara Ross, will be led by a new group of gymnasts as the two seniors on last year’s team have gone.
Senior Katie Yamamura is back to defend her MPSF gymnast of the year award as she tries to improve on a year during which she claimed three MPSF event championships and set the school all around record with 39.225 during last year’s road quad meet with Sacramento State, Central Michigan, and Seattle Pacific. She broke the previous record of 39.200 set by Flora Bare in 2003.
Yamamura also was named to the Capital One academic All-America second team, the first Aggie to do so since Poppy Major made the All-America third team in 2001.
Seniors Michelle Ho and Taryn West were named captains of the new gymnastics squad. Ho was all-MPSF on bars (9.680) and floor (9.805) for two seasons in a row. West was all-MPSF on floor (9.735).
The 2013 season will kick off this Saturday as the team will partake in a Blue-Gold intrasquad scrimmage. They will seek to return and repeat at the MPSF championship meet that is scheduled to be held on March 23.
— Jason Min
