Feb. 19, 2007

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THIS WEEK
Feb. 23 - at San Jose State w/Sacramento State, 7 p.m.

LAST WEEK
Feb. 16 - AIR FORCE (1st, 192.300)

NOTES
LAST WEEK: Senior Carrie Lujan won her first career all-around in Friday's home dual with Air Force... She scored 38.225 overall, just off her career-high 38.300 set vs. Cal State Fullerton one week before... Senior Mari Inouye enjoyed a breakout meet, scoring a 9.700 on balance beam to edge teammate Andi Dolinsky for the win... She also tied Dolinsky for first place on floor exercise, scoring a career-best 9.775 in the event... Remarkably, Inouye wasn't scheduled in the lineup until moments before the touch warmup... She filled in for Michelle Kulovitz in the No. 2 spot and hit her score... UC Davis compiled season-best team marks on beam (48.000) and floor (48.725) in the win over Air Force.

The Aggie vaulters continue to strike, scoring a 48.775... Lujan and junior Kulovitz each scored 9.800 to share the event win... Freshman Tanya Ho had her streak of consecutive meet wins halted at five, although she did score a solid 9.725 in the event... The vault total of 48.775 ranks second all-time, behind only the 48.875 set in the 2007 opener with San Jose State... This year's vault squad now holds five of the top seven all-time team scores in program history, having hit 48.375 or higher in all six meets.

SOCK WATCH: Head coach John Lavallee has initiated what is hoped to become a tradition at home meets... Any Aggie who scores 9.700 in an event celebrates the feat by firing memorabilia - yes, blue and gold-striped tube socks - into the crowd... No less than 11 pairs of footwear were launched on Friday: five on vault, five on floor, one on vault... Inouye (9.775), Lujan (9.750), freshman Kayla Koch (9.700) and senior Carolyn Kampf (9.725) all hit season- or career-high marks on floor in aid of this cause.

Troester Consulting posted its first set of rankings by regional-qualifying score (RQS), although this week's numbers are skewed by several teams or individuals not having sufficient meets to qualify (e.g. Cal, Seattle Pacific)... Nonetheless, Ho checks in at T8th in the West on vault with a 9.805 RQS... Lujan (13th, 9.755) and Kulovitz (17th, 9.725) also find their names in the top 20 on vault, while Dolinsky is 16th on floor at 9.680... The RQS is calculated by taking the top six regular-season scores (of which at least three must be on the road), dropping the highest mark, then averaging the remaining five... The Aggies' team RQS should change dramatically after Friday's meet, as the 185.600 on Feb. 4 can then be removed from the calculation.

UP NEXT: UC Davis returns to the road seeking a score to wipe the February 4 score at Air Force off the RQS calculation... The Aggies will head to San Jose State to face two former MPSF foes... The host Spartans and visiting Sacramento State joined the Western Athletic Conference as gymnastics members two years ago... The Hornets scored a season-best 193.050 in Friday's home win over Alaska Anchorage... Sophomore Marina Borisova won on bars (9.900), beam (9.825) and floor (9.875), plus the individual all-around (38.725)... Melissa Genovese was second in the meet at 38.400... SJSU is also coming off a season-best score, also on Friday and also against an MPSF member (Seattle Pacific)... Veronica Porte won the vault at 9.750 and totalled 38.900 to claim the all-around title as the Spartans assembled a 193.625 total... Freshman Jessica Khoshnood went 38.650 in the all-around to finish second behind her teammate.

HEAD COACH JOHN LAVALLEE
"Obviously we took big steps forward on beam and floor this week. The team did a really good job finishing on floor. I think a lot of it has to do with the level of confidence, about getting out there and performing. It's also the natural progression of becoming comfortable in front of the judges and having enough experience in practice behind you. It takes pressure in practice in the gym to execute it [in meets]. It's starting to pay off. If you take out the meet at Air Force, we're pretty much right in line with our progression."

"Mari [Inouye] really had a breakthrough meet. She really picked things up. Kayla Koch also did very well, staying on beam and staying on her feet on floor. It was a good sign to see her get through. Those are the first routines she has hit since her sophomore year in high school. There were a lot of good things all over. Vault was very good for us and continues to improve in terms of performance."

"We have to keep doing what we've been doing over these last few weeks. We need to continue to improve and to keep hitting routines. That's how you maximize performances week in and week out."