Jan. 4, 2007

With UC Davis completing its four-year reclassification to NCAA Division I status, the phrase "new era" stands as an oft-used part of the Aggie lexicon.

Such is the case for the women's gymnastics program, even though the sport has competed as a D-I member for more than a decade under the NCAA's multi-divisional provision. The Aggies are no longer eligible for the USAG Collegiate National Championships, a meet at which UC Davis has enjoyed a considerable run of success. As a result, the program will now set its sights on reaching the NCAA regional, either as a team or in the form of at-large individual qualifiers.

Furthermore, the phrase "new era" is particularly fitting in that 2007 represents the first season under new head coach John Lavallee. The former Yale assistant and Sterling Academy owner replaced longtime mentor Ray Goldbar, who announced his retirement last year after more than 30 years at the Aggie helm. As is true for any first-year coach, regardless of sport, Lavallee's first challenge was to acclimate himself to the new program, and for the new program to adjust to him.

"There is a definite honeymoon phase," says Lavallee. "It takes a coach time to figure out each individual, to learn what buttons to push that will get them to move. Each individual has to do the same with you as well. We are fortunate that Ron Manara has stayed on, so there is continuity with the program. But the other two-thirds of the staff is new, with new ideas and concepts, a new philosophy, a new outlook and a new culture."

"The team has turned the corner quite a bit in embracing the new situation," he added. "It was difficult at first, but the team members have seen the changes we've made and what they have done for their gymnastics."

During the preseason workouts for the 2007 season, Lavallee has forged an atmosphere that is physically and mentally demanding. His early emphasis was to install a conditioning program that would prepare his gymnasts for the rigors of both the fall practice season and the 12-week competition season.

"Being strong, fast and powerful aids them in doing gymnastics," said Lavallee. "To be an athlete, you have to prepare your body for what you're asking it to do. That will allow you to not only get through a routine, but to clean it up and make it sharp. At this point, the team is in very good shape, and a lot of it has to do with the conditioning program. Your level of fitness in January is directly proportional to how well your season will go."

Besides its physical trials, gymnastics is equally unrelenting on the psyche. It is a sport in which every competitor is measured against a numerical representation of perfection: the 10.0 score. In essence, a gymnast's routine is evaluated not by its progress toward this idealized figure but rather by its deviation from it. Getting lost in the minutiae can hinder an athlete's focus on larger objectives. Thus, how his team approaches its workouts is an important tenet in Lavallee's philosophy, and it represents a key component of his athletes' preparation for the upcoming year.

"Things happen in gymnastics," he says. "No one goes through the season perfectly each week. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to have problems. Being able to recover and move past them is a very important skill for a gymnast. In a meet, you may have a horrendous first event, but you still have three events to go. You can't allow that one performance to affect you and your teammates."

That view allows his team to cope with, and more importantly, benefit from the otherwise taxing daily regimen in Hickey Gymnastics Center.

"We create stressful environments in practice so that the team will be prepared for competition," says Lavallee. "If you're not doing it in the gym, you're not going to do it in front of 5,000 people, two judges, our coaches and your 16 teammates. That's a stressful environment. We're very conscious of what they're doing in the gym, so having the bigger picture in mind is very important."

As a result, Lavallee is optimistic about his first season at the Aggie helm. "As we close out the quarter, I feel pretty good about this team. They're starting to understand why we do things and what those things will bring to them when they take the competition floor. I think we're going to come out and really surprise people with some big performances in a lot of places."

According to Lavallee, the lofty scores will come from both gifted newcomers and grizzled veterans, from both rising standouts and returning All-Americans. More crucial than these peak performances, however, is the quality of his team's depth. Lavallee aspires to field a team that has at least nine or 10 meet-ready gymnasts at each event.

"We'll have some definite outstanding performances and performers, but that isn't what determines your team score," Lavallee says. "The depth in a rotation is what makes your team strong. An athlete may think on Thursday that she's not competing, then by the time the meet starts on Saturday, she's in three events. What will make our team strong is the mix of people who can fill in when someone isn't healthy, so that we don't experience a dip in the lineup."

On vault, senior Julia Richards and junior Michelle Kulovitz each earned USAG All-America honors at the national meet last April. Carrie Lujan was one of the team's most consistent performers in 2006, earning first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors. Lavallee also anticipates good results from sophomore Adee Schoffman, who hit her last six vaults of her freshman year - including a career-high 9.800 in the national team final. As a team, the Aggie vault squad averaged better than 48.0 per meet and posted three of the program's top four all-time scores last season.

"We have some very good vaulters," says Lavallee. "Michelle has made some changes in her vault that will surprise even her. Carrie's vaulting is coming along very well. Adee and Julia will surprise themselves as well. They are getting stronger and faster, which is the name of the game on vault."

Freshmen Tanya Ho and Lida Gehlen should make an impact on vault, although the latter gymnast's development will be delayed by an ankle injury in the fall. Both freshmen will also contribute heavily on uneven bars, which graduated three four-year performers after last season. Among the bars returnees is senior co-captain Brandi Forte, who led the MPSF with a regional-qualifying score of 9.775 last season. She also was selected as an alternate at-large qualifier for the NCAA regional meet. Gehlen, according to Lavallee, could also be a regional qualifier by year's end.

Another senior co-captain, Carolyn Kampf, competed in all 12 meets last year and will bring her experience to the squad. Kulovitz underwent surgery during the offseason, but she is expected to contribute as the season progresses. Junior Andi Dolinsky, freshman walk-on Michelle Bobonski and redshirt freshman Kayla Koch each has enormous potential and could add some firepower to the lineup. Koch has battled back injuries for three years, so her return to action will be carefully monitored early in her collegiate career.

"We're looking forward to some very high-level gymnastics being performed," says Manara, who as the UC Davis bars mentor earned MPSF Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2006. "In many cases, these are new skills and it may be a while before we get consistent. When we do, it should be spectacular."

The balance beam is perhaps the Aggies' deepest lineup, according to Lavallee. "It won't be easy to make the beam lineup," he says. "We have as many as 10 solid people to choose from, so consistency will be the most important thing."

Michelle Kulovitz became UC Davis' third USAG all-around champion at last year's national meet at Cornell. (Wayne Tilcock, Davis Enterprise)

Ho captured a Level 10 state title then added a second-place Region 1 finish on bars for Byers Gymnastics Center last year. Richards won first-team All-MPSF honors on beam last season, posting an RQS of 9.635 and capturing the event title at the MPSF Championships in March. Kulovitz recorded a USAG All-America finish on beam in 2005, and hit her top two 2006 scores at the national meet in Ithaca, N.Y., last April. Koch will provide punch in this event, as should Mari Inouye, who walked onto the team in 2006 as a junior transfer. Another freshman walk-on, Eve Hui, looks to display the form that captured the beam title at the Level 9 Western Nationals two years ago.

As he is on balance beam, Lavallee is pleased with his depth on floor exercise. Richards made the All-MPSF first team in this event as a junior, and was an All-American at the USAG meet in 2005. Ho is expected to be an impact freshman in this event, as she is on every other apparatus. Among the most pleasant developments is Kampf, who made just two appearances in the event in 2006 after seeing action nine times as a sophomore. "Carolyn has more routines on floor than anyone this fall," says Lavallee. "She is the farthest along in terms of being prepared to start the season."

Veterans Lujan, Inouye, Kulovitz, Dolinsky and Schoffman will battle newcomers such as Ho, Koch and Gehlen for spots in the floor lineup. "The reality is that we will need all of them before the season is over," Lavallee says. "We have a lot of choices, which is good. That's what having a collegiate team is all about."

A drawback to having such depth in each event is making room for all-arounders, which have been in short supply at UC Davis in recent years. Lavallee anticipates that Ho and Kulovitz could score high enough to vie for the NCAA region meet. Kulovitz became UC Davis' third USAG all-around champion in school history last April, scoring 38.0 or better three times. However, her return from surgery will likely limit her to her specialities of vault, beam and floor.

The Aggies host five home meets in 2007, starting with the season opener with San Jose State on January 12.