Jan. 7, 2008

DAVIS, Calif. - When speaking of his 2008 UC Davis women's gymnastics team, second-year head coach John Lavallee refuses to shed his scholastic roots.

"Being a Springfield College grad, I'm all about spirit, mind and body," he says, invoking his alma mater's famous mission statement. "I'm more confident about where we are physically, mentally and emotionally. The team did an excellent job coming back more prepared, and it has showed."

The Aggies' readiness goes on public display Friday night at the Pavilion during a season-opening triangular meet featuring NCAA Regional qualifier California and defending USAG Collegiate Division champion Towson.

According to Lavallee, the team's preseason conditioning has resulted in a fitness level that is substantially higher than it was a year ago. This aspect was evident during the Aggies' intrasquad meet in December, an informal event in the Hickey Gymnastics Center that drew a surprising number of spectators. "The feeling was that we missed a couple of skills here and there, but overall we are really strong and really fast. Twelve weeks of gymnastics can take a lot out of you. The higher your fitness level, the further into the season you can make it."

If the physical preparations truly kicked in during the fall workouts, the mental training began back in March of the previous year, when UC Davis scored a disappointing second-place finish behind rival Seattle Pacific at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship. In that meet, the Aggies scored a 192.825, hitting 19 of a possible 24 routines. According to Lavallee, his team took that finish to heart and uses it as a motivational tool for the 2008 season.

"Our goal for the year is to increase our performance level at meets," says Lavallee. "Last year, we averaged five misses per meet. Our goal is to basically erase that situation. We have set ourselves some numbers that will completely rewrite our RQS [regional-qualifying score] from last year and put us in the hunt to be among the teams that qualify for the NCAAs."

The hunt for the NCAA postseason has undergone a revision of its own. In previous years, six teams from each region qualified for one of six regionals, from which the top two advanced to nationals. Starting in 2008, the top 36 teams -- regardless of geography -- earn spots in the advancing meets. In other words, no longer does UC Davis vie to rank among the top six in the West. Now the task is to climb sufficiently high in the overall national rankings. Last year, the Aggies qualified individuals Tanya Ho and Andi Dolinsky to the West Region meet in Berkeley.

The 2008 schedule, it seems, will provide UC Davis a fair glimpse at its chances of reaching the NCAA stage. In fact, the season opener's competitors, Cal and Towson, were respectively 37th (193.775) and 38th (193.720) in the nation heading into the region meets last April. San Jose State, which held a 39th-best RQS of 193.675 and bubbled the West Regional, appears on the Aggies' 2008 slate on three different dates. Causeway Cup nemesis Sacramento State, which was 35th on April 9 with a 194.145 RQS, faces off with UC Davis on two occasions.

Lavallee insists that neither he nor his gymnasts will get caught up with the NCAA restructuring or the national rankings. "We have to do our thing," he says. "We have to look at our athletes and our situations. We have to make decisions that are best for us, that will allow us to score as many points as we can. We can't control what the judges do with other teams. What goes on at Sac and San Jose is nice to see, but the reality is that we can't do much about it."

Still, Lavallee's stated average of five misses would cost a team more than two full points per meet. UC Davis finished the year with an RQS of 192.550, 51st in the final rankings. Cut those miscues in half - that is, hit 21 or 22 routines per meet instead of 19 - and the Aggies would move alongside the Hornets, Spartans and Golden Bears. "We don't feel that we need to increase our level of difficulty to make us more competitive," Lavallee says. "Going out and hitting our routines is the number one priority."

Pursuing this objective is a relatively young UC Davis team. Of the 17 gymnasts on the 2008 roster, 13 are of freshman or sophomore eligibility. Furthermore, of the three seniors, only former USAG all-around champion Michelle Kulovitz is expected to appear in Friday's lineup. All-MPSF honoree Carrie Lujan and defending MPSF Gymnast of the Year Andi Dolinsky both suffered injuries that will delay their return.

Nevertheless, the Aggies' youth should not be misread as inexperience. Sophomore Tanya Ho, who earned first-team All-MPSF honors on vault, balance beam and all-around, shared the team's Gymnast of the Year award with Dolinsky. She was an integral part of last year's juggernaut vault squad, capturing a piece of the conference vault title at the MPSF meet. Sophomore Lida Gehlen returned from midseason injury to post uneven bars scores of 9.725, 9.800 and 9.825 down the final stretch to earn a All-MPSF first-team nod. Her 9.825, a season-best mark, won the bars at the MPSF Championships.

Sophomores Michelle Bobonski and Katie Reinhardt also have made triumphant returns from injuries and should provide a collective boost during 2008. Due to previous back injuries, Bobonski's participation as a freshman to a few appearances on bars. However, Lavallee expects her to be a three-event performer. "Michelle has come back this year much stronger and faster," he says. "Her bars are improved. She has a new vault that will surprise people. And she has learned some new skills on beam that don't aggravate her back."

Reinhardt, an USAG All-American on bars in 2006, sat out the entire 2007 season after a shoulder surgery. She returned to the team in September, literally unable to raise her arm over her head. Since then, she has worked hard to reinvent herself as a gymnast and become an asset to her team. "Katie has made nothing less than a miraculous comeback from where she was in September," says Lavallee. "She has a new vault, all new passes on floor, and new skills on beam that work around her shoulder."

The Aggies also promise to bring another strong season on vault, even without the immediate contributions from Lujan, who ranked second in the MPSF in the event with a 9.800 RQS. Ho made the NCAA Regional as an individual qualifier, thanks to her conference-best 9.825 RQS. So formidable was the UC Davis vault squad in 2007 that last year's team holds seven of the top eight vault scores in school history. Add to the mix three gifted freshmen, including Stacey Nicolini, who won three state Level 10 vault titles for Rohnert Park Gymnastics.

UC Davis hosts a total of six home meets this season, starting with Friday's opener against Cal and Towson. Highlights on the schedule include the return of the "Beauty & The Beast" event, in which the Aggie gymnastics and wrestling teams compete simultaneously at the Pavilion. This year's meet, held on February 8, has the unique twist of having both teams face off with Cal State Fullerton. On March 23, the Aggies host a major quadrangular meet with former MPSF members Sacramento State and San Jose State. The fourth team is none other than Stanford, which placed fifth at the 2007 NCAA Championship

Additionally, the Aggies host the MPSF Championships on March 28, bringing leaguemates Seattle Pacific, Alaska Anchorage and Air Force to the Pavilion for the annual showdown.